Credit Suisse is a bank steeped in heritage and well respected within the financial services sector. As with most of the sector however, this traditional positioning can also be seen as an inhibitor against an increasingly fast paced and dynamic backdrop. To remain top of mind, the business has begun to reposition itself with a new forward-thinking approach as a progressive bank of the future.

Credit Suisse has a strong belief that large leaps in progression across technology and business are down to a select few individuals within industry – the entrepreneurs. Those that will run the influential businesses of the future and require a bank to match. Credit Suisse set out to prove their credentials and show how much of a valuable partner they are.

Briefed to challenge the traditional image that is associated with Swiss banks and change the perception of Credit Suisse amongst entrepreneurs, the ‘bank of the future’ proposition was introduced.

A commitment of this scale requires a suitable platform. The World Economic Forum in Davos was selected as the launch moment for the campaign due to its importance on the financial and economic calendar. It is the single largest meet of the world’s most influential people and leaders, where announcements hold weighted significance.

The creative arm Havas London created a topical strapline for the campaign -‘ What Happens in Davos, Shouldn’t Stay in Davos’. Aside from the literal interpretation of projecting a message outside of the physical boundaries, this
also hinted towards the future, encouraging people to contemplate what comes next.

The target audience comprised of High net-worth, business individuals that are consistently keeping up to date with the changing world around them. Their media consumption habits are defined as time poor and on-the-go; they
have higher than average time spent on mobile due to frequent travel requirements resulting in reduced desktop access. To effectively target those at WEF, it was essential to be able to serve content on mobile and tablet, which
they would be able to see between each event.

Two strategies were applied to change perception amongst entrepreneurs:
Visible commitment had to be shown by announcing the message across high impact media, with publishers who would have presence on the ground at Davos. Although this tactic is routed within traditional broadcast principles, the large media spend was designed to install trust and intent to follow through to the promise amongst a savvy audience.

Trusted media brands were utilised to provide third party proof points and built stature, by creating an additional layer of content mirroring Credit Suisse’s message from a different perspective. A combination of top tier global
publishers were selected that provide trusted, reliable content and access to assets that would be highly influential to the higher tiers of decision makers in business and entrepreneurship.

To ensure those already successful weren’t the only ones targeted, the messaged was projected on a global scale to reach the budding C-Suites and entrepreneurs of the future.

Traditional awareness driving provided comprehensive stature and coverage at Davos WEF and was far above the visibility of any other brand. Colleagues on the ground reported back that our message was truly unmissable during
the week – with a copy of our branded Bloomberg edition also being spotted under the arm of Bill Gates!

The mobile 360* unit results provided the evidence that the target audience showed an active interest in Credit Suisse. The highly sophisticated mobile activity provided remarkable results, with an engagement rate 163% above
the industry benchmark, and a dwell time of over one minute (Celtra European benchmark at the time was 9.22 seconds). This result was very encouraging, proving the relevance of the campaign, and channel selection amongst
the highly influential audience.

Consumption of content on CNBC exceeded all benchmarks significantly: double the benchmark dwell time with individual pieces of content, 55% higher engagement across social channels than CNBC benchmark and a VTR rate
of 80%. In addition to this a connect study ran by CNBC showed that 85% of respondents felt that the partnership was beneficial to their perception of Credit Suisse. These engagement figures prove that leveraging the combining
the strengths of both publisher and brand was a highly effective way to position Credit Suisse as future facing partner for entrepreneurs.

This integrated approach to merging both traditional and digital media proved to be a compelling form of communication for a heritage brand looking to future proof itself. Evolutions of the communications architecture are
being replicated for future campaigns and content themes are being expanded and developed for secondary phases
– providing the next step in the journey to prove Credit Suisse as the ‘bank of the future’.