2023 Winner
SilverBest in Finance and Services
BronzeBest in Social Media
BMO
"Stealth Mode Banking"
UM / FCB
"Stealth Mode Banking"
UM / FCB
BMO has consistently sought innovative ways to engage communities. In early 2022, BMO launched a program that elevated the profile of the brand among the under-35 demographic by piloting the use of an unexpected platform, Twitch. While this initial launch managed to get them talking, their objective in 2023 was to get them banking.
This year, to help transition them from discussion to action, they employed the very anonymity that appealed to gamers on platforms like Twitch and Discord to encourage them to explore banking without fear or apprehension. Their ambitious objective was twofold: to initiate engaging, financial interactions and to ignite a 10% increase in digital account openings.
Many under 35 are uncomfortable talking about their finances, especially with traditional banks, because of a sense of vulnerability and fear of embarrassment. A staggering 37% of Millennials and Gen Z are more anxious discussing personal finances than politics or religion. Apprehension was clearly a barrier to their financial progress and a threat to the health of their financial future. BMO was ready to help.
They knew this group was far more inclined to engage in anonymous financial discussions online. Research showed that 59% of Gen Z and 55% of Millennials preferred this format. Guided by this insight, their plan was to bridge the disparate worlds of gaming and banking, and use media to help establish a new paradigm: “stealth mode” financial management, where their target could navigate their journey anonymously and, therefore, more confidently. To goal was to trigger a behavioural shift, transforming banking from a daunting task into an empowering part of their life. Specifically, to use the power of media to inspire younger consumers to interact with BMO and sign up for an account.
Their approach would address the young adult community’s need for comfort and anonymity, and capitalize on their penchant for open, candid discussions. Specifically, BMO sought to break down barriers by transforming their audience’s comfort zones – specifically, gaming and social platforms – into arenas for open, judgment-free financial discussions. The strategy was to weave together the inherent sense of progression and skill of the gaming world with the practical function of the financial world and transform key social platforms into launchpads for financial confidence.
BMO’s own Sean Frame – an influencer and former BMO personal banker turned “BMO Gaming Relations Specialist” – streamed across multiple gaming and social platforms. They connected their audience to his expert financial advice and to the resources that their target knew they needed but were too embarrassed to ask for in real life. For their time and engagement, in addition to helpful “stealth mode” financial advice, they also got to witness Sean navigate some of the biggest titles in gaming with his weekly solo streams and regular drop-ins from notable gaming influencers, like Juiceboxx, who further amplified experiences to their own communities.
Then, leveraging a B2B-inspired strategy, other BMO lines-of-business got in on the action by sponsoring Sean’s streams to introduce their growing, and newly trusting, audience to incremental services like online investing, small business banking solutions, and student-specific financial products.
The brilliance of their innovative approach lay in leveraging the anonymity afforded by gaming and social platforms, so desired by their audience – realm very rarely explored by the banking sector. Born out of their strategy, they created a media-driven banking innovation, Gamer’s Branch “Stealth Mode Banking”. It was an entirely new banking ecosystem that harnessed the power of media to deliver enhanced anonymity and advice to prospective customers, who would otherwise be unlikely to engage with a traditional bank.
The brand launched “Stealth Mode Banking” to expand on their base of gaming enthusiasts and to deepen their engagement with their under-35 audience beyond a simple introduction to BMO, breaking new ground to form a deeper relationship. They expanded BMO’s offering to their young, gaming-savvy audience, providing them a golden ticket to an anonymous way to bank LIVE on Twitch and, critically, to engage with BMO using a broader base of relevant platforms.
This daring, first-of-its-kind campaign was specifically deployed across Twitch and Reddit, where anonymity is prevalent, along with further amplification on TikTok – all highly frequented outlets for their under-35 gamer, but largely ignored by banks. The expansion into these environments along with engagement across organic and owned channels, including Discord and Twitter, captured a wider scope of banking prospects and helped them level up their banking, anonymously.
And, finally, because gaming doesn’t sleep, they created an always-on financial database consisting of hundreds of hours of their live streamed content on Discord – yet another anonymous, innovative resource to help gamers level up in their personal finances.
BMO’s revolutionary Gamer’s Branch “Stealth Mode Banking” campaign led to a remarkable 13% surge in digital account openings among the under 35 community. They successfully bridged the gap between gaming and finance, leading to thousands of hours spent discussing finances, executing banking transactions, and connecting younger adults to often avoided financial resources.
Anonymity within this platform played a crucial role in fostering financial confidence. The campaign breathed new life into the financial engagement landscape for younger audiences, masterfully transforming a social space where gamers were most comfortable into a new financial platform where they could confidently bank.
he campaign drove outstanding business results, surpassing their goals. There was a 13% increase in new Everyday Banking accounts and a 24% increase in Student account openings.
This year, to help transition them from discussion to action, they employed the very anonymity that appealed to gamers on platforms like Twitch and Discord to encourage them to explore banking without fear or apprehension. Their ambitious objective was twofold: to initiate engaging, financial interactions and to ignite a 10% increase in digital account openings.
Many under 35 are uncomfortable talking about their finances, especially with traditional banks, because of a sense of vulnerability and fear of embarrassment. A staggering 37% of Millennials and Gen Z are more anxious discussing personal finances than politics or religion. Apprehension was clearly a barrier to their financial progress and a threat to the health of their financial future. BMO was ready to help.
They knew this group was far more inclined to engage in anonymous financial discussions online. Research showed that 59% of Gen Z and 55% of Millennials preferred this format. Guided by this insight, their plan was to bridge the disparate worlds of gaming and banking, and use media to help establish a new paradigm: “stealth mode” financial management, where their target could navigate their journey anonymously and, therefore, more confidently. To goal was to trigger a behavioural shift, transforming banking from a daunting task into an empowering part of their life. Specifically, to use the power of media to inspire younger consumers to interact with BMO and sign up for an account.
Their approach would address the young adult community’s need for comfort and anonymity, and capitalize on their penchant for open, candid discussions. Specifically, BMO sought to break down barriers by transforming their audience’s comfort zones – specifically, gaming and social platforms – into arenas for open, judgment-free financial discussions. The strategy was to weave together the inherent sense of progression and skill of the gaming world with the practical function of the financial world and transform key social platforms into launchpads for financial confidence.
BMO’s own Sean Frame – an influencer and former BMO personal banker turned “BMO Gaming Relations Specialist” – streamed across multiple gaming and social platforms. They connected their audience to his expert financial advice and to the resources that their target knew they needed but were too embarrassed to ask for in real life. For their time and engagement, in addition to helpful “stealth mode” financial advice, they also got to witness Sean navigate some of the biggest titles in gaming with his weekly solo streams and regular drop-ins from notable gaming influencers, like Juiceboxx, who further amplified experiences to their own communities.
Then, leveraging a B2B-inspired strategy, other BMO lines-of-business got in on the action by sponsoring Sean’s streams to introduce their growing, and newly trusting, audience to incremental services like online investing, small business banking solutions, and student-specific financial products.
The brilliance of their innovative approach lay in leveraging the anonymity afforded by gaming and social platforms, so desired by their audience – realm very rarely explored by the banking sector. Born out of their strategy, they created a media-driven banking innovation, Gamer’s Branch “Stealth Mode Banking”. It was an entirely new banking ecosystem that harnessed the power of media to deliver enhanced anonymity and advice to prospective customers, who would otherwise be unlikely to engage with a traditional bank.
The brand launched “Stealth Mode Banking” to expand on their base of gaming enthusiasts and to deepen their engagement with their under-35 audience beyond a simple introduction to BMO, breaking new ground to form a deeper relationship. They expanded BMO’s offering to their young, gaming-savvy audience, providing them a golden ticket to an anonymous way to bank LIVE on Twitch and, critically, to engage with BMO using a broader base of relevant platforms.
This daring, first-of-its-kind campaign was specifically deployed across Twitch and Reddit, where anonymity is prevalent, along with further amplification on TikTok – all highly frequented outlets for their under-35 gamer, but largely ignored by banks. The expansion into these environments along with engagement across organic and owned channels, including Discord and Twitter, captured a wider scope of banking prospects and helped them level up their banking, anonymously.
And, finally, because gaming doesn’t sleep, they created an always-on financial database consisting of hundreds of hours of their live streamed content on Discord – yet another anonymous, innovative resource to help gamers level up in their personal finances.
BMO’s revolutionary Gamer’s Branch “Stealth Mode Banking” campaign led to a remarkable 13% surge in digital account openings among the under 35 community. They successfully bridged the gap between gaming and finance, leading to thousands of hours spent discussing finances, executing banking transactions, and connecting younger adults to often avoided financial resources.
Anonymity within this platform played a crucial role in fostering financial confidence. The campaign breathed new life into the financial engagement landscape for younger audiences, masterfully transforming a social space where gamers were most comfortable into a new financial platform where they could confidently bank.
he campaign drove outstanding business results, surpassing their goals. There was a 13% increase in new Everyday Banking accounts and a 24% increase in Student account openings.
Credits
BMOChief Marketing Officer: Maja Neable
Managing Director, Personal Banking: Mike Stean
Senior Manager, Segments Marketing: Alexis Chen
Gaming Relations Specialist: Sean Frame
Social Media Coordinator: Kenya Marcelline
Senior Manager, Media Communications: Kate Simandl
UM
EVP, Client Business Partner: Kate Mateer
VP, Client Business Partner: Ryan Hunter
Sr. Director, Connection Planning: Sarah Fraser
Social Associate Director: Arturo Valenzuela
Social Account Manager: Cristian Garrido
FCB
Chief Creative Officer: Nancy Crimi-Lamanna
EVP, Global Creative Director: Danilo Boer
Executive Creative Director: Andrew MacPhee, Jeremiah McNama
VP, Creative Innovation: Eli Ferrara
Creative Director: Mike Kotevich
Sr. Copywriter: Caleb McMullen
Sr. Art Director: Hussein Rumaithi
Copywriter: Patrick Gravel, Jacqueline Lee
EVP, General Manager: Tracy Little
VP, Group Account Director: Jessica Lax
Group Account Director: Hailey Scott
Director, Integrated Production: Maia Spetter
VP, Managing Director: Tim Welsh
Accoount Executive: Daniella Okezie
Chief Strategy Officer: Shelley Brown
Strategy Director: Stephanie Gyles
Strategy Director: Amanda Soares
VP, Strategy 1:1 Practice Lead: John Fung
Sr. Social Content Strategist: Daisy Qin
UX/UI Tech Specialist: Lara Goldsmith
Full Stack Developer: Lily Han
Jr. Quality Assurance Analyst: Natasha Phillip
Augmented Reality Room: FlyAR
Broadcast Producer: Tania Overholt
Casting: Jesse Griffiths Casting Inc.
Production Company 1: Unified Content
Production Company Credits:
Executive Producer: Laurie Jones
Executive Producer: Michi Lepik-Stahl
Director: Tom Feiler
Line Producer: Caitlin Cucco
Director of Photography: TJ Derry
Director of Photography: Adam Madrzyk
Editor: Peter Miller
Assistant Editor: Luke Ionico
VFX: Jay Ryan
Colourist: Kristina Mileska
Online: Rebecca Burtnik
Producer: Rebecca Burtnik