Background
The prospect of switching banks isn’t top-of-mind for most people. Amid an uncertain economy, Canadians were more conscious about the value they were, or rather weren’t getting from their banks. However, with so much sameness felt across the category, they remained apathetic about their options.
RBC’s personal banking accounts (PBAs) did offer something different thanks to RBC Vantage: a suite of powerful benefits that provided added value for customers every day. It was exactly what customers wanted, but in a market full of indistinguishable claims and incentives, it was hard for RBC to break through the noise and earn attention. Even with a cash incentive of its own, RBC would need another angle to stand up to more competitive offers on the market.
To get people to switch banks and create an account with RBC, we needed to get noticed with an idea people wouldn’t expect, and make them believe in the unbeatable value RBC had to offer.
We set two goals for our new campaign:
1) Drive PBA acquisition among non-RBC customers by 17% compared to last year’s PBA campaign.
2) Increase consideration of RBC personal banking accounts by building equity in the RBC Vantage platform.
Strategy
Our campaign was aimed at “Everyday Value Seekers”: AKA Canadian adults and non-RBC clients (18-55), who wanted more value from their banking, but felt that all banks were the same. RBC needed to break through to consumers, both in the value RBC offered, and in the creative it used to tell that story, to get them to switch
Many competitors focused on one-time perks like cash offers and no-fee banking. But with rewards, savings, insights, and more through RBC Vantage, RBC helped its clients constantly unlock more value, just by doing the things they did everyday.
RBC also had a partnership with the reigning NHL Hart Trophy winner Auston Matthews, whose recognition and favorability across RBC’s key audiences made him a prime ambassador for this campaign. Celebrity talent could help RBC break through, but only if Auston’s role strengthened, not distracted from, our value message. When early testing showed that his depiction as a pro-athlete failed to resonate with audiences, we set out to rethink his connection to the brand and product and feature him in a context that anyone could identify with.
Luckily, Auston had dimension and versatility that provided the unlock we needed. His attitude, style, and his passions off-the-ice strengthened Auston's appeal and relatability among all kinds of people, especially younger Canadians. For someone who seemed to have so much natural talent, he credited all to making every opportunity count. Within that insight was a unique story that RBC had license to tell, and we couldn’t wait to use Auston’s fun-loving personality to bring it to life.
Creative Idea & Execution
The “Making It Count” campaign starred Auston Matthews and his sidekick, Gene Raymond, to help RBC customers discover added value during everyday shopping moments.
While most banks avoid humour for fear of distracting from its credibility and value, RBC had success in using humour to reinforce its benefits in memorable, distinctive ways. Auston has a playful personality and a passion for fashion in real life, so it felt like an authentic choice to bring him into the store to speak to shoppers themselves. Auston’s sidekick (whose namesake was inspired by the industry’s generic cardholder name) not only helped Auston’s delivery feel less like a straight-read, but also created a dynamic that gave way to gags within the scripts. Added touches like styling their host outfits in RBC colours did double-duty to add to the humour and reinforce the brand connection.
Our campaign leveraged broadcast and online films that could be repurposed across various digital and social touchpoints. Given how well the humour translated to social, we heavily leveraged film cut downs to help capture attention and engagement across our owned channels. In addition, Auston also shared the work on his own social channels to help reach his fans.
Auston Matthews was recognizable, of course, but it was really the tone and the treatment that made the work stand out. Far too often, choosing a bank can feel like a chore, and we had faith that getting people to believe in our worth started by telling a story they actually wanted to hear.
Results
The “Making It Count” campaign was RBC’s best performing cash campaign ever, driving 42% growth YoY in PBA acquisition and exceeded the acquisition target by 23%1. In the first two weeks alone, we saw over 30% YoY growth of in PBA acquisition.2
The campaign boosted perceptions of the RBC brand among its target audience. RBC Vantage was highly effective as a value offering, as shown by a double-digit lift across consideration and call-to-action metrics like intent to purchase intent and consideration to bank with RBC (compared to those not exposed or who didn’t recall that message).3
Our end-of-campaign research also helped to confirm the effectiveness of our use of talent. Work featuring Auston Matthews drove clicks from over 155k users4. We achieved a 66% average video completion rate across our skippable ads compared to our benchmark of 38%, meaning we outperformed our benchmark by a whopping 74%.5 Plus, the use of humour in our social videos helped drive a 5pt lift in ad recall above the category benchmark.6
Overall, RBC was able to cut through the noise with a memorable, distinctive campaign that unlocked more value for more customers who believed in the power of making it count.