Richmond Savings Credit Union has reunited with some old friends. The financial services provider has handed its account to Vancouver-based Rethink Communications, the fast-growing shop formed last fall by three key players from Richmond Savings’ former agency, Palmer Jarvis DDB.
The account was awarded without a review. PJDDB resigned the business earlier this year, in order to pursue the coveted CIBC account.
Rachael MacKenzie, manager of marketing communications for the Richmond, B.C.-based credit union, says the decision to go to Rethink was an easy one to make.
As another small, West coast-based company, Rethink has a culture that meshes well with that of Richmond Savings, she notes. And, of course, it was Rethink principal Chris Staples who helped to spearhead the credit union’s successful "Humungous Bank" campaign – which mocked the arrogance and indifference of the big banks – when he was creative director at PJDDB.
"Obviously there’s a great deal of familiarity with who we are," MacKenzie says. "We’re not walking in cold and having to re-educate people about our business."
For his part, Staples says the agency will need to gather some fresh consumer insight before deciding on a creative approach.
"The world has changed a lot since the launch of ‘Humungous Bank’ six years ago," he says. "Consumers have changed. We want to make sure we’re still striking a chord before we move forward."
For Richmond Savings, the recent split with PJDDB was difficult but necessary, MacKenzie says.
"Our needs have changed on both ends," she says. "They were ‘that West Coast agency’ when we signed up with them, but they’re not anymore. They’re a national agency and…we weren’t big enough for a truly national agency."
