Ubank unveils savings-focused campaign championing competitive & easy to access bonus rate: 'Cheap Ad, for a Great Rate'

Produced in-house and end-to-end by ubank's Studio team, the tongue-in-cheek creative positioning is about the bank putting their dollars towards a great rate for customers and turning to ‘cheap’ 101 marketing tactics, instead of big advertising spend.

Leveraging ubank’s quirky tone across its brand, content and socials that resonates with its target audience of 18-35 year olds, the campaign storyline follows the ill-fated social media manager as they employ old-school marketing techniques to get the message out by any means necessary. The campaign comes as new research commissioned by ubank revealed the top features that would encourage young Australians to switch banks are more competitive interest rates (51 per cent) and lower fees and charges (49 per cent).

Ubank's Chief Product and Growth Officer, Andrew Morrison, said: “Ubank is fast becoming the bank of choice for customers who are digitally savvy, and want to make their money work harder for them. We’re listening to their preferences and we’re actively responding to what young Aussie customers want most from their banks, which is a competitive savings interest rate, zero account fees, and a simple and easy-to-use app. This customer value proposition has been pivotal in shaping the 'Cheap Ad, for a Great Rate’ campaign.”

Ubank's Creative Director, Callam Hanks, said: “Whilst we would have loved to make a multimillion-dollar short film with an A-list celebrity spokesperson, CGI robots and massive action set pieces, a few crayons and a highlighter was more within our budget. Honestly though, the decidedly silly and ‘unbanky’ approach to the creative is part of ubank's overarching strategy to reach and engage with our audience. The contrast of a market leading rate in poorly scribbled crayon really works to focus on what matters most to our customers.”

Ubank’s Growth team is leveraging social media to build brand awareness and to entertain and engage its growing follower base. The bank currently has around 7.6K followers on Instagram and is the most followed Australian bank on TikTok with 175,400 followers.

“We've really leant into the platform’s style and attitude to continue the campaign narrative across our social media channels. The ‘Cheap Ad, for a Great Rate’ campaign is not just about showcasing a leading interest rate; but about creatively redefining how ubank communicates our value and customer-centric philosophy,” Hanks continued.

To ensure the message reaches its audience, the campaign will be featured across a variety of channels:

• Social Media: Left of centre trend-led content that throws back to ‘cheap’ 101 marketing tools, featuring inflatable dancing tubes, sign spinners, low-fi aerial banners and black and white paper posters and tear-off pole ads. As well as Microsoft Paint style billboards photoshopped into some of the world’s most recognisable out of home locations like Times Square and Piccadilly Lights, amplified across TikTok, Meta, and Reddit.
• OOH Guerrilla & Distressed Transit Opportunities: Childlike simplistic creative is eye-catching for all the wrong ‘right’ reasons, featuring across pDOOH, truck, bike and human billboards at upcoming sports and high-traffic events, and in the spirit of less spent on ads, distressed buys across Sydney trains.
• Digital & Performance Advertising: Strategic display remarketing, Google UAC, search and affiliates assist in prioritising smart spending to ensure maximised reach.
• Audio Streaming: Ads on Spotify, capturing listeners during their favourite podcasts, utilising VOs recorded by the ubank marketing team which lean into a lo-fi ‘voice note’ style, yet another placement that both creatively and in reality, spends less on the method and more on the message.

Credits, ubank:

Head of Growth: Sebastian Paulin
Creative Director: Callam Hanks
Growth Director, Campaigns & Content: Katie Chandler
Growth Director, Everyday Banking: Nic Lloyd
Senior Designer: Matthew Harrington
Copywriters: Jacob Landa & Henry Stafford
Senior Producer: Emily May Gunawan
Social Media Lead: Sophia Berry

About ubank

Ubank is a daily money companion, empowering a new generation of Australians to be more successful with their money, offering proactive product features and insights designed to help Australians get ahead.

‍