Barclays takes on the nation’s biggest money challenges with the best of their people and tech

Today Barclays UK launches its bold nationwide brand campaign, ‘We’ve Got Your Back’, illustrating how when the stakes are high, Barclays is there to back its customers with smart tech backed by real experts on hand.

The integrated campaign, created with global creative agency of record VCCP, is the latest instalment of the ‘Backing Your Future’ brand platform launched for Barclays globally earlier this year. Debuting at a time when banking often presents a false choice between digital ease and human support, the campaign demonstrates that Barclays delivers the best of both, backing customers to feel safe and confident with their money.

The first film within the campaign tackles the threat of ‘Fraudsters’. Fraud now accounts for around 46% of all crime committed against individuals and households in England and Wales, with fraud incidents up 11% in the latest year. With financial fraud and cybercrime on the rise, the campaign dramatises how Barclays can flag suspicious activity in under a second, backed by a dedicated team working to help protect customers’ money.

The campaign launches with a hero 30” film, ‘Fraudsters’, directed by Ninian Doff through production company Reset UK, in collaboration with VCCP’s content creation studio Girl&Bear. The film opens on a Barclays logo on a bicycle wheel before panning out to reveal ordinary everyday scenes: a man being pulled by his dog through a park, and a woman pushing a pram. These familiar moments are darkened by a mime artist lurking in the background, mirroring their every move. From a lady practising yoga, to a man working in a café, the film heightens the constant threat of fraud. Yet while those around her are being stalked and mimicked by these mime artists, one woman remains unfazed. As she leaves a café, she is seemingly shielded by an invisible wall that the mime artists cannot break through, as the voiceover delivers Barclays’ brand promise: “With Fraud detected in under a second and an expert team on hand. We have the tech and the people to help you and your money feel protected”. The film closes with a montage of the Barclays eagle across a range of tech and people moments. The track used is Somebody’s Watching Me by Rockwell, and the campaign was ideated by VCCP creatives Ana Marques and Tomas Azoubel Lima. 

The integrated campaign spans TV, social, OOH, DOOH, radio, cinema and in-branch executions across the UK from today, rolling out in a series of chapters with the second launching on November 20th. In each story we’re introduced to a world of heightened reality, where a Barclays customer remains calm and in control despite the tension everyone else is feeling – because Barclays is there to back them.

Media strategy, planning and buying is handled by OMD to further bring Barclays’ new brand platform to life through a blend of scale and contextual relevance. High-attention environments across TV, cinema, YouTube and OOH executions will reinforce Barclays’ brand message, enabling the brand to extend beyond traditional reach. This is supported by contextually relevant and audience-led executions across audio, social and targeted OOH, bringing Barclays’ individual capabilities into everyday moments. In collaboration with VCCP and OMD, Born Social have launched a social campaign across TikTok, Meta and YouTube, utilising a popular UGC look and feel as the hook. The campaign also incorporates creators who’ll speak to various key messages around fraud and financial reviews.

Inderjit Bassi, CMO at Barclays said: “When it comes to money, we’re a nation in need of backing. People need support in moments of real consequence from institutions they can trust to have their back, whether that is protecting their money from fraud or building confidence through free one-to-one financial reviews. With ‘We’ve got your back’, we want to show that Barclays is backing your future by offering the ultimate blend of innovative tech and expert people.”

Yan Elliott, Creative Director at VCCP added: “There seems to be a false assumption in banking that you have to choose between digital speed or human support. It’s a myth. Barclays is uniquely placed to do both. By showing customers feeling completely unfazed in high-tension situations – whether witnessing Fraudsters at work or seeing unexpected costs appear when people least expect them – we wanted to dramatise the genuine confidence that comes from knowing you’ve got smart tech and real humans right behind you.”

This campaign is the start of a long-term brand platform for Barclays: it will run from today, with three additional films to follow.

Source: VCCP

  Advertising, Barclays, Brand Platform, Campaign, Marketing, OMD, UK, VCCP