• by Larissa Faw , June 15, 2015

Atlanta-based SunTrust Banks has named StrawberryFrog as its new national AOR, following an extensive four-month competitive review, which included 14 agencies and four finalists.

StrawberryFrog will lead SunTrust's strategic and creative work for the overall brand and line-of-business marketing.

SunTrust's business segments include Consumer Banking and Private Wealth Management, Wholesale Banking and SunTrust Mortgage.

The agency 22squared will continue to lead media planning, buying, analytics and social media support for the company.

This new partnership coincides with the client’s evolving mission. "Everything we do is driven from the purpose of financial well-being," says Emmet Burns, brand and targeted marketing director, SunTrust. "We are a few years into fulfilling this purpose and are well-integrated internally, but we wanted to amplify this message externally and [sought a] new creative partner. StrawberryFrog [was the one agency with] the insight to understand our power and purpose, which is different than the typical ad agency [relationship]."

The creative will support SunTrust's key business channels, including small business owners, consumer clients, and large commercial clients. "Part of our selection process was to find a partner who can support these targets," says Burns. 

The first work under this new relationship is expected to debut later this year. "We are pleased with our current 'Sunny Day' campaign," says Burns. "But we expect this new work to be different. We want to demonstrate our purpose of well-being. Half of Americans don't have $2,000 in savings for emergencies. Forty percent of business owners don't have retirement savings. We want to help more people [move away] from financial stress to financial confidence."

Still, it is important for the bank to focus on the positive. Executives aren't interested in negative messages or scaring consumers. And the bank has focused on presenting uplifting images.  Last year, for instance, the brand and its agency D7 launched a retirement-planning campaign featuring an autistic actor, which attracted a lot of attention.

"It's an exciting time to begin working with SunTrust, which has substance and authenticity," says Scott Goodson, CEO and Founder of StrawberryFrog. "We look forward to breaking the boring pattern of financial advertising. The approach we presented is future facing and aligned with the compelling purpose and client-focused culture of SunTrust. We are setting out to help build the SunTrust brand while engaging people in a positive conversation about money and what matters to them."  

SunTrust declined to specify its ad budget but said directionally, ad spend will increase year-over year. That would be trend reversal according to Kantar, which estimates the company spent nearly $17 million on ads last year, down from about $24 million in 2013. The bank will also shift more of its focus to digital and social media. 

SunTrust operates in the Southeast and mid-Atlantic states and manages the third biggest retail operation in its markets, as well as the fourth largest mortgage company. 

The account review was handled by JLB+Partners.