The brief
Following the credit crunch, trust in banks plummeted by an incredible 69%. Being lumped together with the other banks wasn't good for first direct. Nor was it fair. The bank had just achieved no. 1 status in the Customer Satisfaction Index, and was about to embark on a pioneering service that showcased live comments - taken from hundreds of websites, including social media and blogs - on their own site.
It was our job to ensure that these 'good news' messages reached a jaded public.
The approach
Research showed that it was often the little things that first direct did which made a difference to customers. This was why satisfaction levels were so high.Taking this as our cue, we generated a film that captured people's genuine reactions when we did nice things for them. Shot over a single day, the film shows the bank giving out flowers and chocolates, interspersed with the key statistics behind the satisfaction levels.
Displaying live feeds from all manner of social media on your website is a courageous step for any company, let alone a bank. But that's exactly what first direct did. Harvesting comments from Twitter, Facebook, Money Saving Expert and a huge number of other forums, first direct shared them with the world, showing it wasn't afraid to reveal what people genuinely thought of them.
To prompt conversations around the campaign, we conducted research on consumer feelings about openness, doing business online and sharing information. We identified 'a new age of openness', and used the stories that our research revealed to develop online content that was then seeded via social media sites and bloggers.
The result
Our two-pronged approach achieved exactly the response the client was hoping for. The film was exceptionally well received on the Times online and CondeNet sites, generating over 1.6 million views - an amazing return on investment.
Similarly, the live feed initiative proved extremely popular with the public and industry alike - it gained extensive coverage in the national press and scooped a prestigious eConsultancy Innovation Award for online PR in 2009.