Zag Bank’s first foray into the RRSP advertising season includes a lighthearted campaign focused not on savings deadlines, but on the ease of saving money.
The upstart bank, which launched in June as an exclusive “mobile-first” bank, has launched two TV spots that dramatize what life would be like if it was “as easy as saving with Zag.”
One 15-second spot shows a relationship starting with “Hi, I’m Gary,” and quickly transforming into “I do.” Another shows a young man mastering the Spanish language in mere seconds. The campaign also has a five-second pre-roll spot that says, “If skipping ads was as easy as saving with Zag Bank.” The campaign also promotes a special 2.5% interest rate until June.
The ads were created by LG2 Toronto with a similar straightforward approach and wit from its first set of ads promoting the bank’s mobile services.
“We’re taking a pretty laser-focused approach, which is a positioning of simplicity,” said Chris Hirsch, partner and co-creative director at LG2.
The new ads can be seen across social media, on TV in Alberta and B.C. and out-of-home on transit in Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.
There are some digital ads targeting Ontario, which is the first time the bank has put some focus on Canada’s most-populous province as it slowly builds its brand eastward (Zag was founded in Calgary in 2003 as Bank West, then bought by Desjardins Group in 2011 and subsequently re-launched).
Hirsch said the campaign doesn’t target a specific demographic, but a psychographic that includes people comfortable with digital technology.
Rachel Milan, senior marketing advisor for Zag Bank, said the company will continue to take a more “fun” approach to its advertising to distinguish its brand from the major banks across Canada.
“There is nothing too traditional about the way we go about go about engaging our clients, but we are the same in terms of being a bank and offering many of the same products,” she said.
Zag Bank ran a contest last summer asking consumers to help it develop a jingle for the new brand, which included a $10,000 prize. The winning “sting” was featured at the end of the bank’s first set of TV spots launched in the fall. The campaign spread to the streets in Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver, where bank representatives asked consumers to share their “savings secrets.” Their video replies were then posted on the Zag Bank website.
Milan said the bank plans to continue the street campaign, including the “savings secrets” in the coming weeks.
The bank is cognizant of not going overboard on its humour (money is a serious business, after all), and Milan said the latest TV spots are slightly and purposefully less lighthearted than the first set.
“There has been a slight change, but still keeping with the overall positioning of the bank,” she said.
