How we helped a nation reimagine their bank by handing over control. Integrated national brand campaign for Bank of Scotland.
How we helped a nation reimagine their bank by handing over control
Integrated national brand campaign for Bank of Scotland, by MadeBrave.
A leader never rests on its laurels.
Bank of Scotland needs little introduction. Founded in 1695, it’s Scotland’s original and biggest bank – serving over half the nation every day. Appointed in 2025 as the brand’s campaign agency, we were tasked with re-launching the transformed Bank of Scotland brand in the marketplace.
Bank of Scotland is a powerhouse. With over 2 million customers they dominate the Scottish banking category, across consumers and business.
However, with Bank of Scotland being a trusted, well-established brand, many viewed it as being a little too traditional and safe. Following a strategy and visual identity refresh, it was then our role to show the people and businesses of Scotland what the bank stands for today – modern, relevant and rooted in Scottish culture.
Scotland doesn’t want a Scottish bank. It wants a world-class bank that just happens to be Scottish.
Relaunching the Bank of Scotland, in Scotland, must start with dialling up Scottishness, right? Through deep audience analysis and creative testing we found that the real issue wasn’t around national identity.
Instead, we found the real opportunity lay in unrealised ambitions – the things Scottish people are building, starting, saving for or hoping to make happen. There’s no shortage of aspiration in Scotland. What’s missing is the confidence to go for it.
Following this thinking, the bank identified a new brand platform: ‘Go On’. A rallying cry to aspiration and action. To trigger reappraisal and grow relevance, we could do something the bank had never done in its 330 years – hand control over to real people and let them share their stories. Not just of aspiration, but of action.
Over 100 real Scots in front of the camera, for the bank’s first-ever user-generated brand campaign.
Authentic customer stories of aspiration, brought to the fore. Scots with ambition bigger than themselves, in motion, making it happen. From first steps to next steps. Always raw and real, not polished or perfect. Unmistakably a portrait of Scotland.
From Tunnock’s, EGG, Finnieston’s Corner Shop and Shrimp Wreck it also told the story of real businesses, each with their own ambitions the bank could help bring to life. To sum up this new attitude and energy, we chose a track from Edinburgh-born, critically acclaimed and up-and-coming producer Barry Can’t Swim.
Everything was framed in a 9:16 hand-held style, emphasising the mobile-first lives our customers now lead. These real stories were brought to life in film and executed across broadcast, VOD and social. Statics of our aspiring customers appeared across the nation in prized outdoor placements, supported by the biggest digital ad drive from the brand in years.
A fully integrated and inspiring national campaign – for a national icon.
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