'Advice is our Craft' is UBS' new brand platform, supported by the brand's first international TVC campaign, tying craft and banking together
UBS is the leading global Swiss bank and, following the acquisition of Credit Suisse in 2023, has over 160 years of experience and an unrivaled global footprint. Even with this pedigree, coming up with the right advertising messages is no mean feat when a brand's business is all about keeping money safe and future-proofing people's hard earned income.
John McDonald joined UBS in 2023 as Group CMO and since joining the company, has lead the rollout of a new brand platform, brand positioning and this month, UBS’ first international advertising campaign. John came to UBS after a successful career both on the client and agency side. He has spent time in senior roles at Digitas, WPP and Ogilvy One, as well as a stint at British Airways as VP of Marketing. Most recently he was SVP, Global Integrated Marketing and Communications at Mastercard, leading Global Brand, Digital and Creative capabilities.
We spoke with John on finessing a campaign that speaks to people in different cultures, putting clients at the heart of the brand's message and creating a beautifully executed series of TVCs in partnership with award-winning cinematographer, Edu Grau.
JM: 'It’s been a busy and exciting year with the campaign launching in January and then rolling out across 10 markets around the world. Our new approach was developed after a significant amount of research, with prospects and clients. We wanted to focus on creating something that would be effective for the different parts of our business - Wealth Management, Asset Management and Investment Bank. Strategically, we wanted to reinforce that after the acquisition of Credit Suisse’.
Crafted for You is UBS’ first international TV campaign, created through Team UBS, Publicis Groupe Switzerland, and the decision to go cross-border is benchmarked in UBS’ status as the only truly global investment bank. We learned more about the research that went into creating a campaign and platform that will resonate with people of different backgrounds, needs and culture, yet deliver a consistent message that is true to the brand’s DNA.
'We are the world’s only truly global Wealth Manager so for us, a global approach to this campaign reflects our genuinely global business footprint. Our media approach also reflects this, with specific geographical differences and market media consumption behaviors informing our local media plans’.
'We did research in over a dozen markets, with different types of clients and prospects to try and identify what the main drivers of consideration are for our audience. Ultimately, we found the strengths of our people and the qualities of our brand - dedication to clients, deep and diverse expertise, and a long and proven track record - were reflected in our research on what really matters to our audience - giving us confidence that the Craft campaign would resonate’.
'I would add two other points - first, we executed the campaign across different channels including experiential - we made it a priority to engage them where they are and in the passion areas that they love. As an example we launched our brand experience platform, House of Craft this year in New York. Secondly, we spent a lot of time working with a business division partners to make sure we communicated around the themes that matter to our audience - be that wealth succession, navigating a volatile market or trying to determine the right long term retirement strategy. This combination - talking about what matters to our audience, meeting them where they are, and explaining our craft in terms of the crafts they care about - has most definitely helped us resonate’.
Speaking about the TVCs, Team UBS at Publicis Groupe Switzerland selected Edu Grau to direct the advertising work. The overarching position of ‘craft’ has been taken into careful consideration in the production of the work itself, reinforcing a message of skill and expertise.
'Both ourselves and Publicis Groupe were obviously huge fans of Edu. More now than ever! I would like to think that his interest was sparked by a combination of genuine intrigue about a bank talking about why craft matters (as master of his own craft) and the super open and collaborative way in which our Creative Director, Jason Romeyko, approached Edu from the very start of the process. It was a creative partnership from beginning to the end of the process.'
And on the topic of John’s deep experience on both the client and agency side:
'I’ve been very lucky to work with some fantastic people and some fantastic brands over my career. UBS represented another opportunity to continue that tradition. As a brand with a fantastic history, an incredible commitment to clients and a passion for innovating, it was clear there was an opportunity to learn, grow and do interesting work. I’m very lucky that has proven to be the case.’