With a new national brand campaign, EQ Bank is leaning further into its challenger positioning to spark what it calls a long-overdue change of mindset in Canadian banking.

The latest work in the “Make Bank” platform evolves a creative message that started in 2022 as a single consumer’s rant about outdated banking. This fall’s campaign includes a broader cast of characters in a nod to the more than 600,000 Canadians who now make up the digital-first firm’s clientele.

Andy MacPherson, VP of marketing at EQ Bank, tells strategy that the work stems from a core message the category hasn’t been able to shake: that Canadians are bound to accept low interest, high fees and generally dated banking experiences. He says the Arrivals + Departures-led creative is meant to be a passing-the-torch moment that symbolizes the bank’s growth from person to person.

“With a small group of incumbents controlling most of the retail-banking market, the category simply hasn’t kept up with how people live today or what they expect from their money,” MacPherson says. “By being digital-first, we can return more value – no fees and high interest on everyday banking, backed by innovative, intuitive digital tools built for today’s reality. The campaign is all about showing that a better way isn’t theoretical anymore.”

The campaign is running in English and French and includes 30-, 15- and six-second TV and online video across broadcast, connected TV, YouTube and paid social on Meta and Reddit. It will be supported in the coming months by digital, 3D and motion OOH, including streetcar and transit-pathway dominations, along with audio, podcasts and mid- and lower-funnel performance media.

Success for the campaign will be measured by growth of topline awareness, which MacPherson still sees as the biggest opportunity for the challenger brand. The full-funnel mix is also expected to boost consideration and translate interest into new account openings.

Arrivals + Departures, handled both creative upper-funnel media strategy as EQ Bank’s new media and creative AOR. MacPherson says the agency’s challenger orientation and integrated model aligned well with the bank’s growth aspirations.

The Hive launched the “Make Bank” platform in October 2022 after taking on the role of AOR at the company that spring.

EQ Bank and Arrivals + Departures are also planning to launch a separate campaign soon to draw interest from small businesses and solopreneurs to the new Business Banking platform, which features high-interest business accounts, business GICs and tailored rates.

MacPherson says EQ Bank’s research with Angus Reid showed that the biggest frustrations among more than half of solopreneurs are high or unexpected fees, low interest on balances and tools that don’t align with the needs of one-person businesses.

“The ‘Make Bank’ campaign for small businesses takes that same idea and applies it to small businesses, especially solopreneurs – a group we believe the big banks have overlooked,” he says. “It brings the ‘Make Bank’ idea to a segment that wants more control and more time back.”

In the spring, EQ Bank rolled out an in-house created brand refresh featuring new visuals across its family of brands, keeping its trademark yellow and black gem logo at the forefront while expanding its colour palette for its digital properties in an effort to enhance the customer experience.