McCann saw off rivals Naga DDB, Leo Burnett and Lowe to win the assignment. The brief — developing the brand essence, corporate brand and launch advertising strategy —was to position Al Rajhi as an ethical bank run on Islamic principles.
“The main challenge was to find a point of differentiation in Malaysia’s highly-cluttered banking industry. Al Rajhi wanted to take a leadership position and gain emotional appeal,” said Pratik Thakar, deputy MD and chief strategy office, McCann Worldgroup Malaysia.
“We wanted to create a brand voice with strong values. Nowadays, most bank brands are mere marketing products rather than brands you can believe in.”
McCann’s creative strategy was based on three core values: honour, respect and truth. Print and poster ads were designed to provoke debate on each value. One execution read: ‘Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.’
From print ads, consumers were driven to the website malaysian-values.com to discuss what they valued most, while an advertorial feature asked: ‘Moral values — how important are they?’
“We decided to stay away from regular banking promises and clichéd jargon. We wanted to develop a long-lasting brand culture that represents Islamic principles and a world-class standard of banking,” Thakar added.
The campaign is expected to run until June this year.
Al Rajhi Bank has launched 12 branches in Malaysia, all in Kuala Lumpur. It is a major name in Saudi Arabia, where it originates and leads the market. It has more than 500 branches in the Kingdom, and the largest ATM network (1,600 machines).
