Tangerine Bank’s clients have been asking the same question that the rest of the world has been posing: when will life get back to normal?
According to CMO Martin Fecko, this question served as the catalyst for the bank’s latest campaign, “Again.”
The campaign spot shows people travelling, working out, going to school, and dating again, highlighting how people will do all these things “again,” in the future and that, with a Tangerine savings account, they’ll be ready when that time comes.
“The campaign is about reminding Canadians that we will emerge from this,” Fecko said in an email to strategy. “We will travel again, eat out again. Life will go on. And Tangerine can help you save for that day when we’re all ready to do all those things.”
Tangerine is communicating a message of hope and optimism, Fecko says, grounded “in truth and the role [the bank] plays” in its clients’ lives.
“In our initial research for the concept, we found people were really interested in hearing this kind of message, especially when we’re so used to hearing about the challenges of the ‘now,’” he says. “We wanted to focus on the other side of this – even if the ‘when’ is uncertain.”
Fecko adds that the world has changed and Tangerine’s clients’ lives have changed– so the company needed to change its approach as well. According to an Angus Reid Institute study, 16% of Canadians say their financial situation has worsened since the start of the pandemic, with 26% reporting a worse situation for both their financial and mental health situation.
“The realities of changing financial situations, and what this means for our future, is top of mind for our clients,” he says. “This is a big part of our mission – to help people make smart decisions about their money. This includes our steadfast focus on providing tangible solutions to clients to manage these challenging financial times, such as [a] range of unique digital features that aim to help clients achieve their financial goals on their own terms.”
Fecko didn’t specify how many Tangerine clients had been impacted by job losses due to COVID-19, but instead referred to the financial relief measures the bank has put in place for clients who had. On Mar. 18, the digital bank announced that clients affected by COVID-19 can receive payment deferrals of up to six months and that it was temporarily reducing credit card interest rates to 10.99%, for those who are receiving a credit card minimum payment deferral. Helping clients with their short-term financial hardships, Fecko says, will show clients how the bank behaves as a company and that it is there for them in the long-term as well.
The creative work for the campaign was done by John St., with a media buy handled by PHD. Starting on Monday, the 60-second spot will be running on TV for two weeks, followed by a transition to a 30-second spot. The TV buy will over-index on news broadcasts. Tangerine says it will also be launching 15-second versions of the spot into its digital video placements on YouTube and Instagram.