Customer Owned Banking Association (COBA), the industry association for Australia’s customer-owned banking institutions – mutual banks, credit unions and building societies – has launched a digital campaign via creative agency Supercurious.
The campaign aims to to bust common myths about the sector, raising awareness of people-first financial institutions including mutual banks and credit unions.
The work comes after COBA commissioned strategic consultancy Pollinate to conduct market research, which found that most Australians found their bank lacked a human touch.
Pollinate director Jacky Heath explained, “over 70% of those surveyed felt that most banks treat them like a number, rather than a valued customer.
“At the same time, those surveyed believed customer-owned banks offer better and more personalised service, resulting in higher satisfaction.”
Roy Morgan research further found that customer-owned banks as a group are the most trusted when it comes to banking in Australia.
Rolling out over the next two months across targeted websites and social media platforms including Meta and TikTok, the campaign encourages Australians to make the switch to a bank that treats them like a valued customer, rather than a number.
Supercurious creative director, Annette Nel, explained the campaign roll-out “involved customised animated videos, each created around the specific needs identified in Pollinate’s research.”
“The creative style was adapted to work in different mediums to create a campaign that’s fun and makes everyone believe that ‘there’s a bank that gets me,’” she said.
The digital ads direct people to the Find-a-Bank tool, which helps Australian customers find a purpose-led bank that aligns with their needs.
Nel continued, describing that the creative approach “was to reposition Customer Owned Banking as Customer First Banking, thereby directly linking these banks with customer service. Whatever a customer puts first, we wanted them to know that there’s a Customer Owned bank that aligns with those needs.”
COBA’s chief executive officer, Mike Lawrence, added: “Customer-owned banks are centred on helping customers and have been putting people before profits for almost 180 years.
“Time and time again, mutual banks and credit unions have proven that a people-first focus delivers better outcomes for customers and communities.”