Barclays offers “progress” in new brand campaign

Barclays has launched a major brand campaign, built around the idea of helping people make “progress” in their lives.

The two videos dramatise key moments in life where people make decisions to improve their lives, such as buying a house or educating oneself about financial matters.

One film focuses on a man who is still living with his parents who decides to use Barclays’ Mortgage Boost product to help get a mortgage. Another shows skateboarders watching spurious finance gurus on social media, who uses Barclays LifeSkills to build money confidence.

The campaign will also be activated across radio and out-of-home. There is also a separate B2B campaign, which repurposes the message for corporate settings, across various channels and in the Financial Times and the Times.

Barclays partnered with agency VCCP on creating the campaign, while media planning was handled by OMD.

The basis for the creative platform was insight from research agency Acacia Avenue, which stated that while progress is an innate desire in everyone, nobody can achieve it alone.

Simon Groves, Group MD of Brand, Creative and Media at Barclays, said: “We set out to redefine the role Barclays plays in modern British life. Not just as a financial institution but as a genuine enabler of progress. This campaign is about recognising the real, often messy, moments when people decide to take action, and showing how Barclays can be there at those pivotal points.”