N26 came to us with a creative brief that could be rolled out across the US and its European markets. They asked us to help them raise awareness of its products, educate consumers on the downsides of traditional banking and encourage them to trust N26, getting them excited about what it has to offer.
But when it comes to traditional banking, people are mostly frustrated, confused and – let’s face it – really bloody bored. And in 2020, what with a global pandemic to contend with, they’ve also become really worried.
So we needed something that was going to offer a bit of light relief to help us start a conversation, while delivering an educational message that helped people take back control over their finances.
Our research showed that anxiety over finances had become the second most common concern for the global population, following only worries over personal health and that of loved ones in light of the pandemic.
And yet more than half of us won’t seek advice when we’re worried, and of those of us that would, only 27% would go to our bank for financial advice. Why? Because we’re scared of saying the wrong thing, looking stupid and generally unsure on how to break the silence on how we look after our money.
So we decided to lay it all out on the table with the Big Banking Chat.
More people than ever were – and still are – spending a significant proportion of their time online, and we wanted to show them that we get it. How? We undertook global research across 11 markets, created seven financial tribes to take people on a virtual journey and turned it into a global campaign. It started with an interactive map and landing page where they could find out how people handle their money and what’s rubbing them up the wrong way about traditional banks. And it took off from there.
As the campaign gained momentum across social, PR and owned channels, we invited questions from the very same people we were trying to reach. 25 blogs, 583 pieces of global coverage and over 120 social media videos and infographics later, questions had come through thick and fast.
We worked quickly to recruit 15 influencers globally to take to social media and get them answered. But we didn’t stop there.
We also worked with N26’s team of experts all over Europe to remotely film an explainer video series that provided accessible answers and guidance to their burning questions. And we developed 35 animated videos based on the financial tribes we’d developed that mapped the most common questions back to how N26’s product suite provides a better way to bank.
The video series was such a hit that we even created a second round of videos based on new questions that had come through. Here’s a snapshot of some of the highlights:
Who said it wouldn’t be possible to launch a global integrated campaign during the outbreak of a global pandemic? Oh, that’s right, not us. It turns out that where there’s a will, there’s a way. And, even in the beginnings of an entirely new world of working, it’s possible to deliver a huge impact from a bunch of tiny laptop screens in London and Berlin.