The Co-operative Bank.
Outpunching the Big Four with Smarter Media, Not Bigger Budgets
The Co-operative Bank
THE BRIEF
A challenger bank competing against the Big Four doesn’t get to outspend anyone. The Co-operative Bank needed a media strategy that proved every brand dollar earned its place — and a measurement framework to back it up.
WHAT WE DID
- Designed a brand-to-performance framework connecting always-on brand activity directly to product campaign efficiency — so every dollar could be traced to downstream results
- Ran ‘go dark’ experiments to quantify what happens when brand activity stops — giving the board hard evidence, not assumptions
- Proprietary data identified high-intent switchers indexed at 140+, with media weighted to mobile where 85%+ of audience consumption occurs
- Layered first home buyer campaigns timed to OCR drops and seasonal purchase windows — meeting the audience when intent was highest
"Brand wasn't a cost - it was making every other dollar work harder."
THE IMPACT
- 32% brand search uplift during campaign periods — direct evidence of brand driving demand
- 171% growth in personal loan applications through structured, always-on campaign architecture
- 20% year-on-year uplift in first home buyer applications attributed to targeted campaign activity and market timing
- Measurably lower acquisition costs when brand activity was live vs. dark — proving brand investment pays for itself
Results
171% Personal loan application growth