Case study · Banking

Breathing new life into a university alumni credit card brand

How Trellist audited a stale affinity credit card brand for a national bank and its university alumni partner, then built a new tagline, energetic creative, and a multichannel campaign to improve acquisition.

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Client: Leading national bank
Industry: Banking
Services: Revenue & Marketing Operations Campaign Operations

The challenge

Our client, a leading national bank, issues a cash rewards credit card for the alumni of a major university. Acquisition metrics for the card had room to grow, and the bank wanted a new brand strategy to get them moving.

Affinity cards live or die on emotional connection. Alumni feel strongly about their school, but the way the card was being promoted gave them little reason to feel anything at all.

What we did

Trellist started with a hard look at the existing brand, then rebuilt the story and the campaign around it.

A candid brand audit. The audit revealed a stale, passive approach to promoting the card, with messaging that did little to reflect the pride alumni feel for their university.
The school experience, tied to the product. We aligned the alumni experience with the card's base value proposition, so the rewards and the school connection told one story.
A new tagline and fresh creative. Trellist established a tagline and designed energetic new creative meant to earn both an emotional reaction and a direct response.
A multichannel campaign on a revised plan. We developed and deployed campaign assets across channels against a revised marketing plan built around the new brand strategy.