SITUATION

Nedbank recently repositioned as the bank that ‘sees money differently’. In a country where we don’t save, where we overspend and where only 6% of us can afford to retire comfortably, Nedbank believes the first step towards better financial behaviour is to start talking about our own.

BRIEF

As the financial experts who do good, Nedbank wanted to get South Africa talking about money. The insight that started it all was a stat that said 62% of people would rather talk about their weight than their bank balance. Treating money as a taboo is obviously part of the problem, and why South Africans have such a bad relationship with our money, and in turn with banks.

OBJECTIVES

To get South Africans talking about money, one of the most taboo topics in our country.

When it comes to hard-hitting statistics, TV ads generally don’t change our ways. To make our facts more compelling, we didn’t make an ad. We made a movie.

Featuring some of our country’s most well-known actors, an absorbing story and a message that made it the most important film of the year. We launched our film without branding, creating intrigue to get as many people as possible to watch our movie about three ordinary South Africans with terrible secrets. Then comes the twist. Their secrets are actually financial in nature. By being immersed in the film, viewers identified with our characters and so, when the truth hit, so did the emotion. Based on statistics, these stories became more powerful than any ad.

Nedbank, one of South Africa’s most prominent banks, recently repositioned themselves as the bank that ‘Sees money differently’. In a country known as the worst saving nation in the world, where South Africans overspend and where only 6% of them can afford to retire comfortably, Nedbank believes the first step towards better financial behaviour is to start talking about our own

We started with a trailer for our film on TV and radio, as well as outdoor advertising on 5 July 2019. We then held a red-carpet cinema premiere for the media, revealing the 15 minute film and that it was actually an advertisement by Nedbank. The full film was then flighted in national cinemas across South Africa, on national TV and on national entertainment streaming platforms like Showmax.

Placement:

Newspaper, radio, online, Cinema: NuMetro and SterKinekor

TV: SABC, ETV,E-MOVIES ,VIU, SHOWMAX

YouTube

Timeline:

19 February 2019 - 28 February 2020

Scale:

NuMetro:1400 screenings in 40 theatres

SterKinekor: 700 screenings in 20 theatres

For the first time, national streaming platform Showmax flighted ‘advertising’ at no charge due to the high ratings: over 15000 views on the platform alone. National cinemas flighted it for an additional three weeks at no cost, due to high ratings.

Over 700 000 views on YouTube.

Trended organically on Twitter, winning the social media channel's award for innovation and performance. The conversation about money – our core objective – exploded nationwide.

- Unaided brand awareness increased 3%, consideration 5%, with 2% usage increase, 2% loyalty increase and 6% in brand advocacy.

- For the first time, Nedbank ranked 1st in the 2019 Brands Eye Banking Sentiment Index, with a positive consumer net sentiment of 20,4% - a significant achievement considering Nedbank's negative sentiment in previous years.