The Background

Metro Bank were the first new bank to open on the High Street for over 150 years. Opening stores as traditional banks closed their branches, Metro Bank were the original banking revolution. 

Nine years on, amidst a flurry of digital first banking disruptors, and following a bruising year in the news which saw customer and colleague confidence dented, Metro Bank needed to rediscover the magic in their brand. The time was right to reinvigorate this amazing business with their first ever advertising campaign.

As long term friends of the bank, Mr President were asked to undertake our Brand Defining Idea process. Speaking to colleagues, customers and the C-Suite, we helped uncover their most compelling point of difference: their people. But not just any people - people-people.

In a category where human interaction was being engineered out of every interaction, Metro Bank are busy innovating people back into banking. With stores open 7 days a week, from 8 until 8, filled with genuinely lovely people-people, hired for their people (as well as their banking) skills. People-people who teach local kids about money, remember your birthday, give dogs treats, and print off new debit cards on the spot. 

Metro Bank have bucked the trend of the superficial service promises of other banks, so it’s no wonder they’ve won awards for their service, both offline and online. This is the Metro Bank magic, this is what we needed to bring to life.

The Work

The stars of the show needed to be the real stars of Metro Bank - its people. After a talent search within the bank, we unearthed the wonderful Joy-Ann, Byron, Jass, James, Desirée and Alex. All brilliant representatives of the people-people culture of Metro Bank.

We worked with the amazing Hannah Maule Ffinch to shoot characterful portraits of our colleagues. Using them to bring simple, bold product proofs to the public where they were most relevant - on the high streets, right by our stores.

Our campaign was featured in OOH across London and the South East, as well as in city centres up and down the country which are home to Metro Bank stores.

The accompanying film - featuring Ems, our personable Metro Bank manager on the way to work - was shot by the Metro Bank store on Bexleyheath High Street. The film was aired across cinema and YouTube.

The Results

The work was hugely well received by customers and colleagues alike. The impact was immediate, with the Metro Bank share price rising over 10% in the first seven days of the campaign.

As a direct result of the campaign consideration jumped by 5% and familiarity by 10%.