A hero campaign of our giro.

The situation: Sparkasse was and is the strongest brand out of all German credit institutes. But because of the strong competition offering more and more fee-free accounts and its square, old-fashioned image, Sparkasse was recording declining customer loyalty, especially in the “young adult” target group.

The challenge: create a modern campaign that highlights the innovative features of Sparkasse accounts and lets young people reconnect with the brand.

The mission: to establish Sparkasse’s checking accounts as an offer with excellent service within the target group of young adults and to give Sparkasse a fresh and more youthful image.

The strategy: win over the younger customers, by giving Sparkasse a surge in innovation and by entering the everyday world of our core target group with a relevant topic.

The idea: to go on the offensive with an outstanding, humorous and integrated campaign: the world’s first interactive testimonial contest starring two trendy celebrities: MTV hosts Joko and Klaas.

The results speak for themselves: after four months “Giro seeks Hero” had not only defined a new benchmark for integrated communication in Germany but also for the international financial sector. It achieved and exceeded all communication goals: it increased awareness and image of the brand, it created high involvement and interaction with the key target group of “young adults”. Furthermore, it was an overall commercial success for the brand: it increased willingness to close a deal, stopped the ongoing migration of younger consumers and activated people to download the mobile app. Above all, the campaign increased brand value through supporting Sparkasse’s cooperation with “Junge Helden e.V.”. There is even more to tell: a global ranking amongst worldwide financial institutions revealed that good old-fashioned Sparkasse made it into the top ten of outstanding financial campaigns.

So overall, “Giro seeks Hero” was an across-the-board success. Defining a new benchmark for integrated campaigns in Germany in 2011. A success that got globally honored as one of the top 10 financial campaign in 2011/12. A success that continued in 2012 when Sparkasse ran a sequel and a success that still defines counts as best practice within the financial sector.