Mower's Emotion-Driven Campaign for Northwest Bank Lifts Awareness, Drives New Business

quotI39ve always believed that if you can make your audience feel something they39ll do somethingquot said Mike Baron pictured below Senior Vice President Group Creative Director MowerWhen Northwest approached Mower it had already defined its internal culture so Mower had a good idea where to start with the brand Baron explained that early on Devin Cygnar Executive Vice President Chief Marketing Officer for Northwest Bank said quot39I want to be the bank that sees around the corner for consumers39quotI referenced that with the creative team throughout our processquot Baron continued quotA lot of times banks are coming to you with a product in the moment not anticipating your future needs There39s a banking life cycle you open a checking account get a mortgage finance college save for retirement and so on Those stages are similar for everyone So looking around the corner stuck with me as both a writer and a creative directorquotFrom that standpoint Mower ultimately recommended the line quotFor what39s nextquot Internally it aligned with Northwest39s progressive and forwardthinking mindset in terms of growth and digitization But more importantly the line and subsequent campaign would position Northwest as the bank that helps customers proactively recognize opportunities and reach their financial goalsBaron39s career as an advertising executive and director spans more than 30 years That allowed him to take on Northwest39s campaign with a trained eyequotWe wanted to recognize the moments that are made possible by the products It39s not about the mortgage it39s about the housequot Baron said When executing the television portion of the campaign quotthe director part of me was about creating authentic moments that resonated with the broadest group of viewersquotTo do that Mower set about producing four distinct situations thinking about saving for a child39s education moving into a new house growing a small business and a night out with friends quotWe have four distinct vignettes in our 30second brand spot We39re always looking at diversity and how we best represent real customers today We want to create moments that our customers can see themselves inquotIt was also important to show these moments in ways that viewers had not seen before For example showing a young child39s face reflected in a diploma39s glass versus a teenager driving off to college or seeing the pride the tailor takes in fitting a customer instead of ringing up a saleTo bring further authenticity to the moments Baron and longtime creative partner Jeff Hopper cast several nonactors for the vignettes including the staff of the tailoring location BureauMade and a real customerWhile casting one of the young women in the friends vignette Baron asked her to describe her real best friend Instead of describing him she Zoomed him into the audition Baron cast them bothquotI never want casting to feel forcedquot Baron noted quotPeople should feel like they belong together like they39re not playing a rolequotBuffalo NY was chosen for the production as it39s one of the markets where Northwest Bank seeks to expand quotIt was important to Northwest that we shot in Buffalo to give back to the community and show that they are part of itquot said Art Director Hopper who also creative directed the photo shoot alongside the television production quotWe felt like the casting and locations were authentic to the Northwest customer and brandquotOnce all the footage and stills were gathered Mower set about producing a fully integrated campaign including 30second broadcast television to air in Buffalo multiple 15second overthetop and connected TV spots to air in Buffalo and other relevant markets outofhome digital inbranch marketing and more Mower also relied on newly created assets to evolve Northwest39s social media platformsquotWithin a few weeks of the brand launch we were seeing upwards of a 20 lift in brand awarenessquot Baron said quotWe also received feedback from Northwest that credit card applications were up 100 and that home equity were twice as many as expectedquotMower built the campaign to last and to grow and evolve with NorthwestquotThat39s something you always want to take into accountquot Baron concluded quotYou don39t want to rebrand every two to three years I think we landed on a position that Northwest can own for some time We don39t have to think about a rebrand any time soonquotClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet

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Mower's Emotion-Driven Campaign for Northwest Bank Lifts Awareness, Drives New Business

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Paige Albiniak

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Mower's Emotion-Driven Campaign for Northwest Bank Lifts Awareness, Drives New Business

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