The Israel-Hamas War has impacted numerous sectors countrywide, including the agriculture industry which suffered a severe blow that endangered its existence, and the academic sector, with many students reluctantly "earning" free time following the postponement of the academic year opening. They wanted to volunteer and join the national effort, but over time had to deal with daily reality and the need to make a living.

Joining the national effort, Bank Leumi offered a holistic, continuous solution that assists two sectors that were affected by the crisis and helps restore Israel's economic and social resilience.

The Objectives:

1. Restore and drive the Israeli economy.

2. Save agricultural crops and aid the agriculture industry by recruiting significant manpower.

3. Strengthen Bank Leumi's relationship with the community and customers while reinforcing its positioning as a leading, innovative bank.

The Creative Concept: Create Connections

In difficult times of war, when uncertainty surrounds us, the citizens of Israel connect with each other, demonstrate solidarity, and help one another. In that spirit, Bank Leumi has also created a connection between farmers that needed working hands and students that had free time and wanted to volunteer through the Tomato Scholarship, a platform that enabled students to help farmers and receive a full year's academic scholarship.

In the campaign video, Gal Toren, the Bank's presenter, picks tomatoes in a greenhouse and talks about the farmers' needs, while mentioning the postponement of the academic school year that left thousands of students on hold with free time on their hands. Then, the presenter continues talking about the harmonious connection that Bank Leumi has created in the spirit of national solidarity.

The strategic process was characterized by a deep understanding of the local context,and a creative approach that leveraged Leumi's resources. All Israeli banks offered assistance to help customers get through the difficult period. Still, Leumi realized that this dramatic event requires a substantial solution that exceeds banking and financial boundaries.

We conducted an in-depth study, in which we mapped the sectors that were affected (or that could have been affected) by the war. Adopting a goal-oriented, holistic approach, we were able to look beyond a specific problem and provide a broad solution that was greater than the sum of its parts.

Students had free time due to the postponement of the academic year and wanted to volunteer. All we needed to do is provide the infrastructure that will enable them to do so where their help is mostly needed – the agriculture industry which was severely affected by the war.

As we identified the solution – give scholarships to students that would commit to long-term agricultural work - Bank Leumi has collaborated with Leket Israel, Israel's national food bank that oversaw the connection with farmers and the logistical aspects of filed activity, as well as the Student Union of Israel that oversaw the connection with students countrywide and increased project exposure.

In less than two weeks following the outbreak of the war, Bank Leumi launched an emotional campaign that announced the important initiative, calling students to enroll. The campaign was broadcasted on television alongside social media channels. In addition, to ensure no student misses the campaign, we also communicated it on the Student Union's social media channels, and distributed a WhatsApp message that was sent in student groups. Communicating the relevant value proposition using the right medium made the news spread like wildfire, generating 500K organic exposures!

The creative solution offered by Bank Leumi was accurate and addressed a real need of farmers who needed working hands, but also of students that could volunteer and receive a scholarship. The results speak for themselves:

•The campaign quickly became viral in WhatsApp groups and student forums, reaching a huge organic exposure of 500K students nationwide (the entire student population in Israel!)

•Over 30,000 students applied for the scholarship within one day following the campaign launch.

•Over 2,000 students took part in this initiative, received a scholarship, and helped save Israeli agriculture.

•Sixteen hundred tons of agricultural crops were harvested in 1,359 fields.

•The following month, the program inspired official state entities to launch similar initiatives.

Brand Results:

•Leumi became the preferred bank in Israel!

•Following the campaign, we witnessed a 75% increase in the Bank's perception as innovative and customer oriented

•The most memorable campaign in Israel for months