UniCredit launches its new European advertising campaign "Life is full of ups and downs. We're there for both. Welcome in UniCredit".
Milan, May 17, 2011 - UniCredit today launches its new advertising campaign, which will go live across Europe. The campaign has been developed by advertising agency BBH London and heralds the arrival of UniCredit's new brand idea - "Life is full of ups and downs. We're there for both."
The "Ups and downs" brand idea was developed from UniCredit's brand positioning of 'Real Life Banking'. It is designed to build on the trust Unicredit has developed with its customers, through the products and services it delivers. This has created an opportunity in communication to tap into people's emotions with a campaign that demonstrates a direct, empathetic and real life banking approach.
"Life is full of ups and downs. We're there for both." Is the verbal expression that demonstrates this empathy, but also reassures the customer around Unicredit's role in supporting people through life's unpredictability, its challenges and opportunities.
"The new campaign originates from the knowledge that a bank must be able to speak a simple way, that also reflects the changes in life"- said Paolo Fiorentino, Deputy General Manager of UniCredit. "It originates from our brand positioning -which is about how we try to be perceived by our customers. For us this means to simplify the organization, develop simple products and communicate effectively. Above all the new campain wants to show the ability to appreciate and understand the concrete needs of our customers in order to provide them with real and tangible benefits and to be a reliable partner in the long run - one who can support the customer in difficult moments as well as in successful times."
The 'Ups and Downs' positioning will be applied to both UniCredit brand communications and UEFA hampions League sponsorship across all 22 European markets and some territories beyond. This 360° campaign will run across TV, print and digital platforms. The brand campaign starts in May, with the UEFA work set to follow in August for the start of the next seasons' competition.
The new brand launch will be the first time that all banks in the UniCredit group align under a single brand idea, creating a unified message in all the countries it operates. Italy, Germany and Austria are the first markets to launch, with CEE following in the coming months.
Sir John Hegarty, Worldwide Creative Director, BBH, said "Nearly all bank advertising is full of clichés. I think UniCredit differentiates because it admits to a truth and just like a person, an institution that tells the truth is respected. Our job is to tell that truth in a way that captures the publics imagination".
The first piece of communications to go live will be the brand TV spot and print work, which will hit screens across Europe from 22 May 2011. The TV spot was directed by the Dempsey Brothers at Knucklehead. It focuses on helping small and medium sized business expand abroad and features a group of entrepreneurs going up an escalator to catch their flights. The escalator acts as a metaphor for life, sometimes going backward and hindering progress, other times going the right way, just as in
life.
The print work was photographed by James Day and features a distinctive visual device to contrast the ups and down of life, whether that be ski boot versus a plaster-cast, a wine-cork versus one that has broken or a sun parasol versus an umbrella.
BBH London was appointed by UniCredit to its European account following a pitch in Autumn 2010, to develop communications for all of UniCredit's main business units including Retail, Private Banking, Corporate & Investment Banking as well as UniCredit's Sponsorship of the UEFA Champions League. The new campaign is the first work to go live.
Alongside BBH, Publicis Milan will work on local market adaptation of the idea in Italy, as well as specific local market and tactical briefs around the new brand idea. Daniele Tranchini; CEO, Publicis Italy, said "It is a pleasure and an honour for Publicis to be able to collaborate in making this a successful campaign. Our role will be to ensure that this strong and distinctive idea comes to life in the most relevant way in each market where it will be rolled out, respecting rigorously the positioning thought and the creative executions".
About UniCredit
UniCredit is a major international financial institution with strong roots in 22 European countries and an overall international network present in approximately 50 markets, over 9,600 branches and 162,000 employees as of 31 Dicember 2010. In the CEE region, UniCredit operates the largest international banking network with nearly 3,900 branches.
The Group operates in the following countries: Austria, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey and Ukraine.
About BBH
In 2010 BBH London has won the Baileys account globally, Yeo Valley, Kronenbourg, Wonderbra, charity ONE, Matalan, and has been given a place on the Reckitt Benckiser roster. The Agency is currently APG Effectiveness Agency of the Year and won the most awards at the 2010 IPA Awards. BBH holds the BTAA and Creative Review Magazine Agency of the Year awards and was the second most awarded Interactive Agency at Cannes. The Johnnie Walker film "Man who Walked" was Best in Show at the One Show. Most recently, BBH has created the rapping farmers phenomenon for Yeo Valley which aired during Xfactor in October and has now received a 1.5 million views on youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOHAUvbuV4o) and became one of the most talked about ads of 2010 in the UK.
Bartle Bogle Hegarty (or BBH) is a full service advertising agency with an exceptional record of producing highly effective creatively-driven communication that builds brands. BBH have produced
some of the most famous advertising campaigns in Europe. In 1982, they created Vorsprung Durch Technik; now a component of every single Audi made.
Their work for Johnnie Walker in developing the global brand idea 'Keep Walking' helped deliver over $2.2 billion incremental growth. In 1996, they launched 'The Lynx Effect' and helped grow the
business 20% in value year on year for the past eight years. BBH has won 14 Agency of the Year titles since 2000 and is the only ad agency to win Campaign magazine's Agency of the Year three
years in a row. Other Clients include Axe Deodorant, Baileys, Barclaycard, British Airways, Google, Heineken, Myspace, Vigorsol, Vivident, and Vodafone UK.
About Sir John Hegarty
Creative lead on all aspects of the UniCredit business, Sir John Hegarty is Worldwide Creative Director of BBH which he co-founded in 1982. Throughout BBH's two-plus decades, Sir John Hegarty
has been responsible for numerous accolades for the agency. His credits include Vorsprung Durch Technik for Audi, and Levi's' Bath and Launderette. More recently, he was awarded the D&AD
President's Award for outstanding achievement in the advertising industry.
About Publicis Milan
Publicis Italy is one of the most important agencies in Italy. Its total offering includes advertising; interactive and digital marketing; CRM and direct marketing. Publicis's client portfolio includes some of the world's best known companies: Renault, L'Oréal, Nestlé, P&G, Sanofi, Heineken, Alitalia, Parmalat, Bolton and Adidas. Publicis is part of the holding company Publicis Groupe SA, the fourth
largest communications group in the world.
From July 2010 the agency is led by CEO Daniele Tranchini.
Enquiries:
Media Relations
Tel. +39-02-88628236; e-mail: mediarelations@unicredit.eu