Ads, social media eschew product promotion for storytelling that makes emotional connection to customers' desires, needs
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - April 24, 2015
On Monday, April 27, Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) will launch a new integrated marketing campaign featuring storytelling that conveys Wells Fargo's appreciation of the many reasons why people work, and resonates with consumers by connecting at an emotional level.
"By recognizing and appreciating people's hard work, and, importantly, why they do it, we are showing them we understand their desires and needs. We believe their ability to see that in us is fundamental to customers welcoming Wells Fargo to help them succeed financially," said Jamie Moldafsky, Wells Fargo's Chief Marketing Officer. "Caring is core to who we are at Wells Fargo, a belief that very much influenced our approach to this campaign."
The campaign's first TV ads will debut on Monday, with others premiering later in the week and into next month. As each new ad premiers, they will also appear on Wells Fargo's YouTube channel ‡, other campaign elements include radio, print, in-store, ATM, online and digital. Wells Fargo will also invite social media fans and followers to use the hashtag #WhyIWork and share stories about what motivates them - be it to start a family, to start a company, to have more time to volunteer or mentor, or to have the financial resources to care for their loved ones.
Moldafsky said the new campaign aims for a variety of narratives, reflecting Wells Fargo's commitment to diversity and inclusion and its "total market" approach to major marketing initiatives - outreach to mass market audiences through fully integrated cross-cultural approaches and messages that represent the increasingly diverse U.S. population and incorporating cultural cues with universal appeal.
"We believe you can create marketing that resonates with a wide range of people if you have storytelling with universal themes that they can emotionally connect to," Moldafsky said. "The message behind our new advertising is a great example - we all work, and do so for what are often emotional reasons. That's a place where we think Wells Fargo's brand can have a very meaningful connection with people."
As an example, one of Wells Fargo's new commercials‡ depicts the emotional journey of a same-sex couple as they prepare to adopt a young deaf girl. The two women are followed as they learn sign language, leading up to meeting their new daughter and helping ease her worries by showing they can communicate with her. The ad, which is the first national commercial for the company to feature a same-sex couple, shows that people work hard for different reasons, in this case to grow their family.
The new campaign is also the first time the company will feature a television commercial for its Wholesale Banking group, highlighting the hard work, and teamwork, that comes with growing a company. Wells Fargo is the country's largest commercial lender to mid-sized, or "middle market" businesses, in addition to being one of the largest community banks, home mortgage and consumer lending businesses.
The new campaign is Wells Fargo's first with BBDO-San Francisco, its agency of record since March 2014. It is the latest expression of the company's long-running brand positioning, "Together we'll go far."
About Wells Fargo & Company
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a nationwide, diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.7 trillion in assets. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through more than 8,700 locations, 12,500 ATMs, and the internet (wellsfargo.com) and mobile banking, and has offices in 36 countries to support customers who conduct business in the global economy. With approximately 266,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 29 on Fortune's 2014 rankings of America's largest corporations. Wells Fargo's vision is to satisfy all our customers' financial needs and help them succeed financially. Wells Fargo perspectives are also available at Wells Fargo Blogs and Wells Fargo Stories.
Media
Christina Kolbjornsen
305-523-2544
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