Nationwide Embarks on Its Biggest Rebrand in 36 Years with Launch Film Starring Dominic West

Nationwide Building Society has embarked on its biggest rebrand in 36 years, led by its creative agency New Commercial Arts.

The rebrand has been devised to modernise the building society and push the fact it is member-owned. The visual identity – a modern take on Nationwide’s heritage – includes a fresh logo, typeface and colour palette, which Nationwide will roll out across bank cards, branches, communication and marketing materials, and social channels.

Research revealed 63% of people value their local branch, naming face-to-face service as a top priority, so as part of the rebrand Nationwide has promised to keep branches open. It says it will modernise them to reaffirm its commitment. Some 67 branches have been rebrand in time for launch, with Nationwide pledging to rebrand the remaining 538 by next summer.

To announce the major rebrand, Nationwide and NCA have devised a three-stage advertising campaign.

'A good way to bank,' launches with an out-of-home campaign. “We’ve changed. Or have we?” Reads the poster, which goes on to explain why Nationwide is “A good way to bank”. The film, directed by the acclaimed Bryan Buckley and produced by Hungry Man, stars The Wire and The Crown actor Dominic West as the unsympathetic head of “A.N.Y. Bank”. West racks up huge bills and puts them through as expenses, refuses to sign leaving cards and considers closing the local branch to make his office space bigger.

The greedy banker and his exasperated assistant consider the Nationwide branch below which, in comparison, remains open. “Unlike the big banks, we’re not closing our branches. Nationwide. A good way to bank,” a voiceover says as the film ends.

The third stage involves another series of OOH ads that reiterate Nationwide’s promise to not close any of its branches.

Richard Warren, director of brand marketing and experience at Nationwide, said, “This campaign marks a new chapter for Nationwide as a modern and confident challenger to the big banks.”

"We don’t have shareholders, so we can focus entirely on our customers and doing what’s right for them. We think this makes us ‘A good way to bank’, and our Branch Promise and sharing our profit through our Fairer Share payment are just a couple of examples of this in action. I believe the new campaign will resonate with everyone who feels that too often today big corporations fail to act in their customers’ best interests.”

Media strategy, planning and buying for the campaign was conducted by Wavemaker UK, which has worked with Nationwide since 2016.

Nationwide awarded its ad account to New Commercial Arts in March, following a competitive pitch process.

David Golding, chief strategy officer at NCA, said, “It’s a privilege to be working with a brand like Nationwide. It’s a true challenger to the big banks with something to say and a fresh desire to be more seen and heard. Our new brand design and advertising campaign heralds a more confident Nationwide, proudly standing apart from the traditional big banks and the people who run them.”

Kelly Parker, chief executive at Wavemaker UK, added, “Nationwide is entering an exciting, bold new phase of its brand journey, reclaiming its rightful status as a challenger to the big banks. Our media approach reflects that ambition, with a plan that will capture the attention of audiences and spark new opinions of the brand at scale."