Though Scotiabank does business in 55 countries, it’s weaving all messaging into one voice for its first-ever global brand spot.
In recent years, Scotiabank has grown considerably in markets such as Mexico, Chile and Peru and it’s now looking to unify its messaging across all markets. To do that, Scotiabank and its agency of record, Bensimon Byrne, crafted a 60-second brand spot that puts a human face on banking by showcasing the bank’s role in customers’ lives.
Set to the song “This Little Light,” the ad shows a parade of customers turning to the bank in scenarios ranging from intimate family moments (a young girl deposits cash from the Tooth Fairy) to professional triumphs (a student who walks into a classroom in one scene is pictured sitting in a boardroom in the next).
There are English, French and Spanish language versions of the spot, which launched Nov. 9.
Scotiabank CMO John Doig, told Marketing the bank has done international campaigns in the past, but it has never run a single piece of creative across all markets. The idea, he said, is to increase awareness while presenting Scotiabank as a global brand, which is why the ad features vignettes set in different countries.
With the new spot, Doig said the brand wanted to be as universal as possible. The role banking plays in a consumer’s life varies by country to country and he wanted the creative to reflect that, he said.
“It’s like the song – this little light could be your family, it could be your son or daughter, or your small business,” Doig said. “Define it how you want. We want people to define it for themselves and to think maybe Scotiabank can help them.”
Beyond language, there is one key difference between the Canadian version of the ad and the international adaptations: only the Canadian spot has a tagline. The bank’s current “You’re richer than you think” tagline has great equity in Canada, Doig said, but it doesn’t necessarily match the bank’s positioning in all markets.
In the coming months, Doig said Scotiabank plans to run the ads in-flight across multiple airlines in addition to traditional and digital channels.
PHD handled the media buy.
