2023 Winner

CASE SUMMARY

BMO needed to connect with a generation of customers that actively ignores it.

In Canada, young adults hate traditional banks. New options and the desire for personalization have driven many younger millennial and Gen Z customers to dislike traditional banking and turn to big tech and non-banks. Traditional banks are getting left behind and are having a hard time engaging these younger consumers. To reverse this trend and connect with younger current and potential customers, BMO needed a new initiative to meet them where they are.

Seeing explosive growth, and a global revenue of $220B, surpassing the global film industry and all North American sports combined, gaming is popular among young people. Many brands are dipping their toes into gaming, but banks have been slow to make significant commitments. BMO saw this as an opportunity to be the first Financial Institution (FI) to own the gaming space, provide value and intercept more of its consumers' lives as they connect with their passions.

BMO knew that gaming was where it had to be but needed to figure out how a bank could authentically engage there.

Gaming is replacing traditional advertising channels such as print and television and becoming a significant part of a modern, digital lifestyle for millennials and Gen Z. This coupled with the fact that 71% of millennials would rather go to the dentist than listen to a bank’s message means that many traditional ways of connecting with and marketing to young people are gone forever.

BMO knew that for gamers, the progress, skill and success that they feel while gaming doesn't always extend into their daily lives, especially when it comes to their finances. However, with the endless amounts of expert players to watch, threads to read and games to play, it’s easier and far more entertaining to progress in a game than it is to progress financially in real life. So BMO partnered with FCB who decided to use Twitch, a space with 100 million monthly visitors, known for its massive gaming community, to educate gamers and help them level up in their financial progress the same way they level up in game.

The team launched the first banking channel on the world’s number one streaming platform to help gamers level up in gaming and finances.

To launch BMO NXT LVL, a first-of-its-kind communications platform on Twitch, gamers would need to see one of their own to authentically take the bank to a place where no FI had been before. So BMO hired a new kind of employee: the world’s first gaming relations specialist (GRS), a skilled gamer with six years of banking experience working at a branch in Windsor, Ontario. It transplanted him from the physical customer front lines to a virtual one at a moment when customers are rethinking the role banks play within their daily financial experience.

On May 13th, the first season of BMO NXT LVL went live. Three live-streamed episodes provided financial education through the lens of gaming. BMO’s GRS played popular games while discussing finance with the hottest Canadian gaming influencers like Wardell, MTashed and Kate Stark. Episodes saw the GRS answering questions and sharing tips on topics like monetizing gaming, homeownership and budgeting. To deepen visitors’ experience it created an augmented reality version of the GRS’ office with interactive hotspots, video content and financial and gaming tips. It added a landing page, contests and gameplay across Twitter, TikTok, Steam, Discord, Reddit and Twitch, all designed to own the gaming space. The campaign was supported with paid units on Twitch and organic content to reinforce the GRS’ authenticity.

FCB & BMO built a first-of-its-kind platform that far exceeded its goals, and reimagined where and how consumers engage with a bank.

By launching its communication platform on Twitch, with content that
intersects gaming culture and personal finances, BMO took a bank to a place
no bank had been before. BMO showed younger consumers that a traditional bank
knew them better than they thought and proved there is room for an FI to live
and thrive within gaming culture.

Season one key results include 40% improvement in unaided awareness, 30% improvement in gaming association, 15% improvement in perception of innovativeness and 4% improvement in consideration/purchase intent. It garnered 118,746 unique views, 8,600 hours of watching BMO play games and talk personal finances, 8.5 million video views and 24,119 total campaign engagements.

Credits

Client: BMO
Client Credits:
Chief Marketing Officer: Maja Neable
Managing Director, Personal Banking: Mike Stean
Director, Customer Growth Marketing: Bessie Lam
Senior Manager, Segments Marketing: Alexis Chen
Senior Marketing Manager: Matthew Tang
Marketing Manager: Samantha DeGregorio
Gaming Relations Specialist: Sean Frame
Social Media Coordinator: Kenya Marcelline
Senior Manager, Media Communications: Kate Simandl

Agency: FCB Canada
Agency Credits:
Chief Creative Officer: Nancy Crimi-Lamanna
Executive Creative Director: Andrew MacPhee
VP, Creative Innovation: Eli Ferrara
Creative Director: Mike Kotevich
Sr. Copywriter: Caleb McMullen
Art Director: Hussein Rumaithi
Copywriter: Patrick Gravel

EVP, General Manager: Tracy Little
VP, Group Account Director: Jessica Lax
Group Account Director: Hailey Scott
Director, Integrated Production: Maia Spetter
VP, Managing Director: Tim Welsh

Chief Strategy Officer: Shelley Brown
Strategy Director: Stephanie Gyles
Jr. Strategist: Shao Xu
VP, Strategy 1:1 Practice Lead: John Fung
Sr. Social Content Strategist: Daisy Qin

UX/UI Tech Specialist: Lara Goldsmith
Full Stack Developer: Lily Han
Jr. Quality Assurance Analyst: Natasha Phillip

Augmented Reality Room: FlyAR

Broadcast Producer: Tania Overholt

Production Company 1: Unified Content
Executive Producer: Laurie Jones
Executive Producer: Michi Lepik-Stahl
Director: Tom Feiler
Line Producer: Caitlin Cucco
Director of Photography: TJ Derry
Director of Photography: Adam Madrzyk
Editor: Peter Miller
Assistant Editor: Luke Ionico
VFX: Jay Ryan
Colourist: Kristina Mileska
Online: Rebecca Burtnik
Producer: Rebecca Burtnik

Post Production Company 1:
Music/Sound Company: Oso
Music/Sound Company Credits:
Creative Director: Daenen Bramberger
Engineer: Leo Hicks
Executive Producer: Hannah Graham
Producer: Jane Heath

Media Agency: UM
Media Agency Credits:
Tim Davies
Ryan Hunter
Sarah Fraser