Voices nationwide has helped put Nationwide back on the map, helping their 130 year old Building Society values resonate with a whole new generation.
But despite the success of the campaign, one of the biggest obstacles we have encountered is that people still don’t actually understand what a Building Society is, so they don’t understand why Nationwide’s different to a bank in lots of really important ways.
Our campaign that had always been about the voice of the people, had to take a detour.
We would work with poets to tell stories from the Building Society’s history, explaining how it first originated and introducing some key individuals from Nationwide’s past. These ads would not only help people understand what exactly a building society is, but demonstrate how their founding values have endured. Most importantly, they’d show how Nationwide still care for what matters to all of us everyday people, not just the wealthy or powerful.
Our first task was to tell the founding story of Nationwide, how it began in Victorian London, with a Mr Charles Cooper. We then worked with poet Jo Bell a second time to tell the story of working-class hero Alfred Idle, Nationwide’s first mortgage holder.
In addition to the TV we created a national out of home campaign.
In high-dwell placings we made giant annotated versions of the poems, encouraging people to explore the details of the true story behind the poet’s words.
Meanwhile in low-dwell spots we wrote bold headlines to reinforce the values that embody being a Nationwide member.
Our next TV ad takes us to Birmingham, where the first ever Building Society originated, with a poem told beautifully by the charismatic Stephen Morrison Burke...and directed this time by Jon.
Look out for it when it airs in early July.
