• by Kristina Lutz , June 9, 2011

Marketing Challenge: In 2008, Bank of America was the country's leading financial services brand. Then seemingly overnight, the financial crisis tore down a reputation that had taken 200 years to build. By 2009, key brand health metrics hit an all-time low.

During its rich history, Bank of America has played a large and influential role in our nation's birth and development. The funding of projects like the Golden Gate Bridge and the Erie Canal inextricably links our country and Bank of America.

We needed to tap this emotional connection to change perception that Bank of America was part of the country's financial problem into belief that it was part of the solution. We had to remind Americans that Bank of America had a history of moving America forward, and reset the dialogue about what kind of company it is.

Bank of America had a great story, and one only it could tell -- creating an ownable space for the company.

Creative Solution: Building on the insight that Bank of America stood for opportunity throughout history, our goal was to tell a story, via content, of how Bank of America history is closely intertwined with America's birth, growth and success. We aimed to forge this emotional connection by bringing to life Bank of America's legacy of enabling opportunity and connecting to its current identity in a way that was positive, energetic, inclusive, authentic and engaging.

Media Solution: We partnered with History Channel on their 12-part "America: The Story of Us" series, delivering bite-sized stories that featured Bank of America as an unsung hero of American progress. Each two-minute, mini-documentary expanded on the story of an episode using a complimentary look and feel to the program, successfully providing additive rather than interruptive content.

Results: After the "America: The Story of Us" airings, Bank of America saw incredible brand perception gains, with trustworthiness up +42%, favorability up +50%, and consideration up +54%.

Bank of America's use of custom content in a contextual environment drove effectiveness and emotional engagement, exceeding norms across all key metrics by +29% to +57%. Media elements were valued at +183% versus cost. Further, we accomplished powerful audience retention, with our mini-documentaries holding 96% of the program audience, a lift of +10% over other ads in the series. The press also praised the campaign, writing 40 stories generating 9.8 MM impressions at no additional cost.

All winners were presented June 7 during the 2011 EFFIE Awards gala in New York.