Wachovia Securities Goes With 'With' In New Campaign

Wachovia Securities has launched a new national advertising campaign touting its acquisition of fellow St. Louis brokerage, 120-year old A.G. Edwards. The campaign, using the tagline--or word--"With," includes television, newspaper, magazine, and online advertising.

The effort, via Mullen, will run on cable news, and during the NCAA basketball tournament on CBS. Print is slated for USA Today, The New York Times and Smithsonian.

The effort includes four TV spots that show everyday scenes and ask the question: "Who are you with?" The ads associate Wachovia's acquisition of A.G. Edwards with important relationships people have, including with their financial advisors.

As the voiceover says: "'With,' an unassuming word that holds so much meaning: 'I'm with child,' 'I'm with him,' 'I'm with the band'," the ads cut to different shots of domestic and social interactions. "We all strive to be ... 'with'. Our financial advisers champion 'with' because we are fully invested in your success. Search for those who value 'with'. We did." The ads end with an A.G. Edwards logo dissolving into the Wachovia wave logo.

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The firm says creative was based on extensive national research that included interviews with clients, prospective clients, and financial advisers from both firms.

David Monday, executive director of Marketing, Innovation and Growth at St. Louis-based Wachovia Securities, says: "'With' conveys that A.G. Edwards is with Wachovia Securities and that our financial advisers are with their clients every step of the way."

The company will also run an eight-week push in the St. Louis market with television, radio, out-of-home and online ads that focus on some of the reasons why Wachovia Securities found St. Louis to be an attractive environment for its headquarters location.

Wachovia acquired the competitive firm for $6.8 billion cash and stock, making Wachovia the second-largest retail broker in the U.S. after Merrill Lynch. The deal, completed last October, makes Wachovia a firm with $1.1 trillion in client assets and 15,000 advisers and 3,350 locations.

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