CharterBank: Charting a Course to Happiness

Millennials meet Babyboomers

CharterBank was eager to be more appealing to Millennials. The perception of its prior brand was not what the bank represented anymore. Additionally, they needed an ad campaign that would not only resonate with a younger audience, but would connect with older customers looking for options to meet their banking needs. 

Independent Thinking

The campaign had two primary goals – The first was to elevate the CharterBank brand in a way that created a new meaning for banking, positioning it as an exercise in independence and freedom. The second was to communicate its revamped, straightforward service offerings in a way that kept customers confident in their continued ability to live a life unfettered by the burden of complicated finances.

The Pursuit of Happiness

We instituted messaging around  “The Pursuit of Happiness,” and “How You Get There is Up to You,” to illustrate a bold freedom that was key in CharterBank’s new banking experience.

The campaign rollout included several components, each designed to engage with a specific audience. An employee launch, which introduced an all-American identity, a retail rollout using a variety of posters, wearables, and print collateral, a digital market launch, and an out-of-home market launch all centered around “freedom” and “happiness.” 

Three Times the Return

The rebranded CharterBank and new campaign had nearly instantaneous results. Through the checking conversion, which was originally expected to result in widespread dissatisfaction, they had less than 2% attrition. Additionally, checking income increased by record numbers. The bank had more new checking account openings than ever before in their history and Millennial checking acquisition nearly tripled since the campaign went live.