Nationwide hires Armadillo as first dedicated CRM shop

Bristol agency Armadillo has proved that regional agencies are equal if not better than big London shops after beating off all-comers in a competitive pitch to land the Nationwide CRM account.

The agency, whose client list also includes McDonald’s, Disney and Carnival UK, becomes Nationwide’s first dedicated CRM agency as it looks to transform its customer communications.

The review was run by Tuffon Hall Consultancy; there was no incumbent.

Armadillo has been briefed to help the financial services firm overhaul its approach to multi-channel personalisation, aiming to deliver the best customer outcomes from personalisation of any bank in the UK.

The agency will work closely with New Commercial Arts, appointed last year to head up its recent advertising rebrand.

Nationwide has also made several key personnel changes in recent months, including appointing Catherine Kehoe and Richard Warren, both from Lloyds Banking Group, to senior marketing roles.

The move comes as Britain’s biggest building society launches the next phase of its “Good Way to Bank” TV ad, devised by New Commercial Arts, designed to show how customers are put first when it comes to getting the most out of their savings.

Aimed at challenging the shareholder-owned banks by demonstrating its difference as a member-owned mutual, the campaign follows the major rebrand that saw Dominic West first appear onscreen as the out-of-touch boss of fictional ANY Bank.

West’s return to the role sees him become quickly bored with speaking to the marketing department over a video call. After hanging up, he is equally disinterested in the customer satisfaction scores presented by his more perceptive assistant, played by comedian Sunil Patel.

Sunil suggests that to improve scores ANY Bank could be more like Nationwide, which offers a SavingsWatch service that notifies customers who are signed up of changes to their savings accounts, annual savings reports and newly launched accounts that might be better suited to their needs.

Nationwide director of brand marketing and experience Richard Warren said, “We’re continuing our campaign to position Nationwide as a modern and confident challenger to the big banks. We don’t have shareholders, so we can focus entirely on our customers and doing what’s right for them.

“Our SavingsWatch service isn’t something new – it’s something we’ve been doing for our customers for years because it’s the right thing to do. We want our customers to get the best out of their money.

“Bringing who we are as a building society to the surface ensures Nationwide continues to be relevant and attractive, not only to existing customers but to future generations of savers and borrowers. We think this makes us ‘A good way to bank’.”