SunTrust: “Live Solid. Bank Solid.”
Earlier this week, SunTrust Bank unveiled a new brand tagline and marketing campaign focused on savings. The “Live Solid, Bank Solid” campaign speaks to what the bank describes as “a new era of thrift, security and financial responsibility.”
The new campaign is rooted in the notion that consumers are moving away from conspicuous consumption towards a more mature, solid approach to their finances.
The script for the TV spot reads, “Remember the Joneses? And all their stuff? And how people were always trying to keep up? Well, some of us woke up instead. We no longer want big and flashy. We want real, true and honest. We want to stand on solid ground, and we want a bank that does the same. A bank that’s here to help us prosper, whatever our definitions of ‘prosper’ may be. Live solid. Bank solid.”
Copy writing throughout the campaign is creative, direct and crisp. The messages reflect the new economic reality many Americans are facing. And it’s all delivered in a casual, confident manner.
SunTrust says it conducted months of consumer research prior to developing creative components. Among the findings:
- Nearly 80% of those surveyed would rather be envied for spending wisely than for spending freely.
- 83% believe it’s not about how much money you have, it’s about what you do with the money that you already have.
- Eight in 10 believe that while having more money won’t necessarily make you happier, feeling in control of the money you have will increase happiness.
Key Question: How many financial institutions do any research before they launch an ad campaign? For that matter, how many do any research afterward either?
“Consumers are thinking more about how they are handling their money than they were.”
– John Fitzgerald,
President/Mullen
“It’s apparent that consumers are thinking more about how they are handling their money than they were even six months ago,” said John Fitzgerald, president of Mullen, SunTrust’s ad agency. “They are moving to lives of more substance, reason, and long-term thinking, and feel a stronger sense of personal responsibility for the direction of their lives.”
SunTrust says the campaign was underway months before the economy took a nosedive.
The campaign debuted during NBC’s Sunday Night Football, and includes TV, print, radio and internet advertising.
SunTrust’s previous tagline was “Seeing beyond money.”
SunTrust spent $26 million on advertising last year (excluding online), and $21 million through September of this year.
The ad’s body copy reads, “Something has been missing. But more and more people are choosing to find it again. Solid ground. It’s a great place to be. A life built around balance. More substance. Less flash. Priorities straight. Ready for a return to solid? There’s a bank ready to help with that. SunTrust. A bank that’s here to get the fundamentals right. Uncomplicate the complicated. Champion convenience. And find ways to help you prosper, whatever your definition of prosper might be.”
This article © 2012 by The Financial Brand and may not be reproduced.
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you all certainly are easily amused…
…another venerable institution beimg rammed into the groumd unceremoniously.
but if they run a few ads and claim to have conducted a couple of market surveys prior and post, then it’s all good!?!?
do you have any idea how much money this bank is LOSING right now?!?!?
This review was neither an endorsement nor criticism of the campaign. Do I believe “a few ads” and “market surveys” makes everything “all good?” No, and I didn’t say anything along those lines either. Your accusation is unfair.
The Financial Brand shared this campaign because it is a large project from a large bank. That’s all. The article draws attention to one aspect of the project that is both interesting and uncommon — the research.
Instead of heaping one criticism on top of another and telling financial institutions what they’ve done wrong, The Financial Brand aims to help them by singling out some positives. Pointing out where people screwed up is easy. Anyone can do that, especially with the benefit of hindsight.
Lucas, do you have any constructive advice for financial institutions?
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Apparently Lucas doesn’t…! I for one think this is an excellent campaign. Whether the bank lives up to it or not is quite another matter…
I work on many branding projects for financial companies and find the most frustrating thing in the world is to create a great brand position, only to watch the client fail to live up to it, often to a considerable degree. The key question is: How much should brand designers temper their imaginations and big ideas with the reality of a client’s ability or even desire to live up to them? I always like to aim for the top – the clients tend to agree…and then don’t make the effort on their side. So if the brand fails, who’s fault is it – the brand designer who dared to think too big for the client? Or the client who went along with it without questioning their own ability or even interest in upholding their side of the deal?
“How much should brand designers temper their imaginations and big ideas with the reality of a client’s ability or even desire to live up to them?” Great point Hm. This is something I’ve wrestled with personally every time I’ve developed brand strategies.
[...] part of SunTrust’s ongoing “Live Solid, Bank Solid” branding campaign, the bank has launched LiveSolid.com, a large-scale financial education website. [...]