Yet another of Canada’s big financial service accounts seems to be on the move.
CIBC appears to have shifted its account away from longtime agency partner Publicis following a review. At least part of its creative assignment is now with the Toronto-based Juniper Park. Several senior industry sources, all speaking off-the-record, say that the move has taken place.
Juniper and Publicis were the two finalists in CIBC’s summer review.
A senior representative from Juniper Park told Marketing via e-mail that all agencies participating in the review for the assignment were governed by a “strict” non-disclosure agreement, and referred all enquiries to CIBC. The bank did not respond to phone or e-mail interview requests.
The rumoured account move comes just two weeks after TD Bank Group announced that it was moving its creative assignment to Leo Burnett from longtime agency DraftFCB.
CIBC spent an estimated $32 million on advertising (excluding online) in 2011 according to Nielsen data.
Like many of its rivals in the financial services category, CIBC has aggressively pursued a sponsorship strategy. It signed on as lead sponsor for the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games late last year, while earlier in the year it announced a sponsorship with CTV’s The Marilyn Denis Show that includes a monthly financial segment featuring CIBC personalities.
It has also been the title sponsor of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation’s annual Run for the Cure for the past 16 years.
The company’s most recent consumer marketing campaign is “Switch,” which shows people how easy it is to switch their banking to CIBC.
