This Brand of the Year story was originally published in the Fall issue of Strategy Magazine. Check out the winners as they appear online over the course of the week here.

High interest rates. Economic uncertainty. Housing market declines. Regulatory challenges. The last couple of years have not been easy on Canadian banks. Yet, while the big banks recorded, at most, a 0.7% growth, with some earnings falling as much as 23%, EQ Bank managed to grow its net income by 11.2% in 2023. Those positive results led to shares of the mid-sized lender jumping more than 50%, making it the best-performing banking stock last year.

Beyond its digital-only model, attractive interest rates and strategic collabs with fintech firms, EQ’s success has also been a result of its marketing strategy, positioning itself as a more optimistic alternative to the Big Five banks. While Canadians tend to be loyal customers – with many having been with the same financial institution since the day they were allowed to set up an account as a child – the arrival of EQ Bank in 2016 revealed Canadians had an appetite for disruption. In fact, says EQ’s SVP and group head of personal banking Mahima Poddar, when it first debuted with a savings-based offering, it generated so much interest that the brand had to throttle customer sign-ups, what Poddar calls a “fantastic problem to have.”

“There was clearly a pent-up appetite for banking solutions that provide Canadians with value and our initial campaign very much exceeded our expectations,” she says.

While data shows that Canadians are averse to switching banks, recent SRG Research reveals that 84% of newcomers – a key segment all banks are fighting for – expressed a “willingness to consider additional banking options with the right offer and product.” That’s because many newcomers arrive in Canada from countries that have more competitive banking markets, and so they are typically more open to switching banks or using a digital challenger for their primary account.

As for those who have been in Canada their whole lives, there is a higher degree of tension that’s endemic to the world of banking. Customer satisfaction rates with banks, according to J.D. Power, are in decline. People have been growing frustrated by the steep cost of living; some feeling stuck with bank accounts that have high fees and other onerous requirements. As a result, EQ Bank has mostly marketed in a way that looked to shake people out of this mode, unabashedly bashing the Big Five. For example, EQ’s “Make Bank” platform features messaging like, “I have zero interest in making zero interest,” and “Less take, more make.”

EQ is also targeting audiences differently and reaching out to “aspirants” – a strategy that’s more focused on mindsets, rather than age demographics or income criteria. It even chose a bright yellow palette to evoke feelings of optimism and joy, which aligns with its “aspirational” mission and positions the bank as a place where people can grow their potential.

As Poddar explains, most bank brands tend to use a common financial marketing trope, whereby a customer will visit a branch to assist them with their banking needs. At EQ, Poddar says it consciously positions every message to instead say: “Come to EQ Bank, and we’ll give you the tools you need to achieve what you already know you’re capable of.”

After showing consumers that a different bank exists – one that’s worth switching to – EQ transitioned to a softer marketing approach with its “Second Chance” campaign. It began talking about pain points through humour, creating ads that are more casual and have a sitcom vibe, tapping into well-liked celebs to build trust.

The campaign features father/son actors Eugene and Dan Levy in English Canada, with “Deuxième Chance” starring mother/daughter Diane Lavallée and Laurence Leboeuf in Québec. Each of the spots, created by The Hive, feature casual (and often funny) kitchen discussions about avoiding fees and bank accounts which offer zero interest, and the benefit of switching to EQ.

The work led to a 10% national lift in aided awareness of the brand year-over-year after just six months in the market. In Quebec, specifically, EQ saw a 16% lift in aided awareness within just four weeks of the campaign’s launch. “Our brand awareness is the highest it’s ever been since we began measuring,” Poddar notes. EQ Bank also recently crossed the 500,000 customer threshold, welcoming 28,000 customers in the latest quarter alone, or around 400 customers each day.

Poddar has noticed that Canadians feel compelled to “do more to get more” when it comes to banking with traditional financial institutions, and so his team has leaned into that by offering meaningful benefits for actions. These include payroll direct deposit options, which offer consumers a chance to earn up to a 3.75% interest rate, and removing what Poddar calls “unnecessary complexity.”

“It’s the core idea that drives our ‘Make Bank’ slogan. In an industry where there’s typically a lot of take, we’re flipping the script to help customers make.”

According to Poddar, the brand has also succeeded by not offering special promotional rates, which have become commonplace in the banking world. “We treat our customers equally by offering consistent, high-interest rates without requiring them to chase temporary offers that would revert to unfavourable base rates,” she stresses. “With EQ, what you see is what you get.”

No-fee offerings like its Notice Savings Accounts, which pays 3.50% or 3.65% if a customer agrees to give at least 10- or 30-days’ notice of a withdrawal, have also proven to be attractive to both existing and new customers.

Tactically, EQ has found “enormous success” in shifting ad dollars toward harder-hitting, higher-impact channels. “We adjusted our media mix based on insights from our media model to focus more on driving sign-ups, which has yielded better results in terms of customer acquisition and brand awareness,” Poddar says. “We find that digital platforms like YouTube and streaming services with video-based content allow us to lean into brand storytelling moments very effectively.”

If Poddar had a time machine, she says she would have invested in the brand early on and through more channels at greater regularity. “When you’re launching something new, consistency of message can make all the difference as you seek to maintain momentum, which is something we’ve learned and applied to more recent campaigns,” Poddar says. “Over the course of almost 10 years, one thing that we’re proud that has remained consistent – no matter the channel, campaign or how big we grow – is how we continue to drive change in Canadian banking and enrich lives.”