Working with Clydesdale & Yorkshire Bank (CYBG) through a crucial period in the Group’s history.
The Clydesdale was founded in Glasgow in 1838. Like many venerable financial institutions, the Group needed to react and adapt as people gradually changed the way they use banks. CYBG has relied on Equator to develop and launch a brand new digital banking brand, as well as provide ongoing support for existing and traditional services.
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Our work with CYBG has been multi-faceted, inspired and transformational.
Building B
CYBG decided to create a new banking proposition in the form of B, which would be both a new brand and a money-management app. We created the new brand’s website on a standalone domain, we optimised every aspect to allow Google to crawl, assess and index with ease. This meant ensuring URL structure, title tags, sitemap and internal linking worked perfectly with Google’s crawler bots.
“We helped change the way people spend, save and borrow with B, a unique new money-management tool.”
Getting the word out
Although technically a CYBG product, to most potential customers B was a new brand in its own right. We had to build awareness for a single-letter term - B - so SEO concentrated on building high-quality links and getting the site to rank for as many relevant terms as possible. We also needed to convey what B was all about, which we achieved with a blog that established high-value resource links, boosting our ranking for money-management terms.
“Establishing strong links with communities through entertainment & sports sponsorship.”
Social content strategy for two distinct brands
When we reviewed CYBG’s social performance, we established that their audiences liked channel-specific content with a friendly, human feel.
We created jargon-free content around mortgages, loans and credit card products, promoting each at timely periods of the year.
To establish close ties with the banks’ respective communities, we produced hero campaigns for partnerships, including the SSE Hydro venue in Glasgow and the Tour de Yorkshire cycling event.
The VIP experience
CYBG’s longstanding partnership with the SSE Hydro was largely a prize-giving vehicle until we got our hands on it. We re-energised the sponsorship through PR and social media, getting more people involved, interested and talking.
We devised a VIP upgrade feature based around selfies - send us a shot and get in ‘The Vault’ - and launched influencer campaigns with high-profile personalities and media outlets.