Branding the bank that’s fashioned around its customers

In the late 2000s the monumental financial meltdown happened and suddenly no-one knew where to keep their money anymore. In stepped M&S Bank – as a new and trusted alternative. And they trusted us with launching their new brand.

The challenge

Create a credible and differentiated brand for M&S Bank – to avoid it being lumped in with other mistrusted and maligned banks.

Our solution

We wanted to show that people could now get all that’s good about M&S the shop in a bank. So we came up with a look, language and positioning that no other bank could claim: NEW FASHIONED BANKING.

The new branding was rolled out across in-store point of sale, customer communications, advertising and PR.

The result

The loyal M&S customer base switched their banking to them in droves.

Since then, our strategies have underpinned multiple successful marketing campaigns and product launches.

• Our Cash ISA campaign broke the record for sign-ups
• Our credit card campaigns generated the highest ever number of card transactions – 55 million of them – and over £1 billion in spend
• We helped them launch their first ever mortgage range
• We created the first TV campaign for M&S Pet Insurance, micro-targeting pet owners through Sky AdSmart

“Story has worked with us for a number of years and the team really understand our brand, our products, values and strategy, which they continue to combine with great creativity.”

Amanda Newman, Former Marketing Director, M&S Bank