The Bank that Gets it Done

Campaign: "Arc"
Brand: Citibank Flexi Home Loan & Credit Card Deals
Client: Citibank


Problem: Generic offerings with benefits that are not much different from competitors. Citibank rides on the strength of its reputation and size.

Solution: When it comes to a big brand like Citibank, with its mnemonics and templates, the job is always about cleanliness and succinctness. If you get a chance to be creative in delivering a product benefit through words alone, you do it. It's not about satisfying the 'creative soul' or anything cliched but about catching attention with word-play. Yes, even in the most mundane of all circumstances, the consumer is at the forefront of the work.

Basically the arc (hence the brand) acts as the enabler that gets you there

Twist it and you may turn it around

It ain't rocket science but it does the trick

Small page 3 print ads in the national dailies are used to run credit card promotions. I doubt their effectiveness in the long-term especially with the explosion of mobile devices but clients have a tough time letting go.

Take a leaf from Groupon, guys

Campaign: "Outdoor - Miniature Billboard"

Brand: Standard Chartered MortgageOne

Client: Citibank

Problem: Standard Chartered Bank's MortgageOne was gaining traction among house buyers for its unique selling proposition (though mainly through word-of-mouth: "Own your home at half the cost, in half the time." By acting as a checking, savings and home loan account, spare cash deposited into it would immediately offset the loan principal over time, reducing interest payments as a result. Since banks mostly subscribed to the traditional world of templated kitchen-sink print ads, point-of-sale beckoned for something punchier and attention-grabbing. After all, decisions are usually made at the show-room where scale models are displayed.

Solution: Prospective buyers are usually taken to view a small scale version of a particular development upon arriving at a show unit. They are told the features, given a run down of the built-up details and available units after which they can inspect models of the units in which they're interested. So a miniature billboard that played on the concept of "ratio" was placed in these models to advertise the MortgageOne advantage.

Just like in real life...a billboard outside your home