Lloyds saddles up to woo kids for Smart Start account

Lloyds Bank is gunning for the youth market with the launch of a new campaign to raise awareness of its spending and savings account for 11- to 15-year-olds, Smart Start.

Created by Adam & Eve DDB, the integrated campaign is designed to highlight the emotional benefit of young people gaining financial confidence, supported by the rational benefits provided by the Smart Start account.

The ad forms part of a refreshed strategy for Lloyds Bank and is the first time the bank has highlighted one of its products alongside horses on TV since its relaunched the black horse in 2015.

At the heart of the campaign is a 60” TV advert, “Bike” is set to Alicia Keys’ Girl on Fire. It follows a girl from ages 11 to 15 as she masters the art of riding a bike and growing in confidence over time, supported every step of the way by the Lloyds Bank horse.

The campaign will run across TV, cinema, OOH, digital OOH, radio, social media, digital, digital audio and VOD; Zenith is handling media.

Lloyds Banking Group marketing director Richard Warren said: “This is the seventh ad in an eight year campaign featuring our distinctive, iconic branded asset, the black horse. Textbook Sharp and Ritson.”

Adam & Eve DDB group executive creative director Ben Tollett added: “In the latest chapter of the ‘By Your Side’ campaign, we see the black horse supporting a young person as she develops new skills and grows in confidence. The action is set to music that brings to life the effort and determination of the protagonist, with a track from one of the world’s greatest singer-songwriters.”

Last month, Lloyds appointed Ogilvy Experience as its new one-to-one and digital marketing agency, with a brief to build deeply personalised customer communications experiences and further support the group’s aim to “help Britain prosper”.