Top Evergreen Advertising Campaigns for Banks in Q3 2023

Purpose of This Research

Track competitor ad spend on an always-on campaign to see what’s performing, and understand what changes have been made over time since July 2020 to June 2023.

• ‍Identify one long standing evergreen campaign per brand.
• Identify changes in spend, platforms and ad formats over time.
• Analyze top tactics that have evolved as brands test and optimize their creatives.

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Key Takeaways

Brands keep evergreen ads running the longest when starting spend in the summer periods, for up to an average of 4 months.

• Recommendations
  Cycle evergreen campaigns in and out throughout the summer months for up to 4 months as opposed to running campaigns throughout the year all the time.

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Video (+78%) and Photo (+1073%) ads on YouTube (+36%) and Instagram (1503%) have seen the most growth since 2020 for always-on campaigns.

• Recommendations
  (i) Shift the budget for evergreen content away from link posts and towards photo and video ads.
  (ii) Prioritize growth on YouTube and Instagram over Display and Facebook. 

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TD Bank, RBC, and Scotiabank use evergreen video campaigns that they run in combination with static evergreen image ads.

• Recommendations
  (i) Create supplementary always-on creative that complements video creatives.
  (ii) Communicate concepts from always-on videos through graphics with similar verbiage and branding.

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TD Bank shifted from a conceptual video that featured contactless payments to a broader video that features many products in one (their app, saving features…)

• Recommendations
  (i) Feature many products and how they work together.
  (ii) Make ad versatile through voice-overs or text on the screen. 

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RBC moved from a video with no context to a story-based creative of a man improving in his bowling game after signing with RBC and getting AirPods 

• Recommendations
  (i) Move toward storytelling.
  (ii) Use unusual settings like bowling to help keep content relevant for longer through lighthearted intentions.

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TD Bank, RBC, Scotiabank, and Neo Financial are embracing simple, easy-to-read graphics. 

• Recommendations
  (i) Less is more. 
  (ii) Use a colour block background with the main element of the ad in the biggest, boldest font.

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Competitors Analyzed

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To identify the most impactful evergreen tactics, the following approaches were taken in the research process:

• Reviewing all evergreen ads run by competitors from July 2020 to June 2023
• Noting messaging, creative and promotions that prevailed over time
• Choosing prominent campaigns to highlight 
• Dissecting how campaign content has changed and evolved overtime

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Start evergreen campaigns in the summer or fall.

Across the competitive set, brands tend to start always-on campaigns around July and October.  

 Includes data from TD Bank, RBC, Scotiabank, and Neo Financial

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Evergreen campaigns are cyclical with peaks in the summer.

The competitive set runs campaigns that start in the summer for an average of 4 months.

 Includes data from TD Bank, RBC, Scotiabank, and Neo Financial

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From July 2020 to June 2023, TD Bank spent the most on evergreen campaigns at $6.7M.

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RBC is the only brand seeing an overall increase in evergreen ad campaign spend.

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Focus on video ad campaigns but experiment with photo ads, they’ve seen the most overall growth since 2020.

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Focus placements on YouTube and Instagram, the two channels with the highest growth amongst competitors.

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TD Bank’s $300 Welcome Campaign

Why this evergreen campaign was chosen…

TD Bank has spent $6.6M from July 2020 to June 2023 on their $300 Welcome Bonus for online banking products. 

TD Bank is…

Adjusting messaging & creative for a $300 welcome campaign for TD Bank products.

• Focusing 100% on video ads.
• Reducing spend on Facebook and increasing spend on YouTube by 1.6x YoY.

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TD Bank cycles their "welcome" evergreen campaign throughout the year with a spike in summer/spring.

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TD Bank’s evergreen campaign spend is reducing on Facebook and increasing spend on YouTube, with a full focus on video ad content.

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From Jul. ‘20 - Jun. ‘21, TD spent $2.6M on ads showing the shift from cash to card. 

The creative ran on Facebook and YouTube, at 15 seconds in length. It did not see ad spend beyond June 2021. 

The ad aims to communicate the potential pain point that many citizens may experience as the world shifts to a cashless environment.

This ad lacks dynamic applications. It features contactless payments then someone looking at their finances online but merges copy about e-Transfers and Unlimited Chequing Accounts with little connection back to the promoted product.

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Be personal. Demonstrate a real experience (wanting to buy something) and the way your product can reach that goal.

The top evergreen campaign offers a $300 Amazon card promo then shows how someone saves to buy something they want.

• Feature general products like apps, bank accounts, and contactless payments in one creative then switch your key selling point for testing.
• Use videos 15 seconds in length if communicating multiple product benefits in one video.

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Use refined, clean and bright animations in combination with text to communicate promotions and products.

TD Bank tested placements of this bold text and ultimately integrated it with graphics as opposed to a slide on its own.

• Try to symbolize value graphically (i.e. warm up to savings → show a cup of hot chocolate or $300 promo → balloons & celebration).
• Keep animated videos with text in the 10 second range.

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RBC’s AirPod Campaign

Why this evergreen campaign was chosen…

RBC has spent $5.4M from July 2020 to June 2023 on the AirPod promotion for online banking products. 

RBC is…

Optimizing and building a 3+ year campaign for AirPods when signing up for RBC services.

• Shifting toward video (9x) & image (11x) ads YoY, and away from link ads.
• Increasing spend on Facebook (4x) and YouTube (1.8x) with new spends on Instagram.

Spend $1.5M | Imp. 383M | CPM $3.92

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Spend $118K | Imp. 29M | CPM $4.00

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RBC cycles their AirPod evergreen campaign consistently in the spring with a spike over the holidays.

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Evergreen creative content is growing across all channels, with a priority on video and image ads in the past year for RBC.

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From Jul. ‘21 - Jun. ‘22, RBC spent $214K on a humorous ad of someone dancing with AirPods. 

The creative did not see major spends on variations beyond it’s placement on Instagram & Facebook, maintaining the same 6-second visual across platforms.

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Use storytelling to communicate the way your promotion or product improves customer experiences conceptually. 

From Jul. ‘22 - Jun. ‘23, RBC increased spend by 928% to a story-based timeless creative.When the actor puts his new AirPods in, he zones in and improves his bowling performance. 

• Videos 6 seconds in length have highest ad spend, 109% more than videos 15 or 19 seconds in length.
• Use evergreen content to push specific products (RBC Vantage) or broad products (any bank account). 

Spend $1.5M | Imp. 383M | CPM $3.92

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Spend $550K | Imp. 43M | CPM $12.72

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Spend $104K | Imp. 27M | CPM $3.78

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From Jul. ‘20 - Jun. ‘21, RBC spent $1.4M on simple graphic ads about the AirPod promo.

Simple graphics that featured a combination of text and a cut out image of AirPods were invested in the most for these campaigns.

Spend $187K | Imp. 43M | CPM $4.33

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Spend $80K | Imp. 18M | CPM $4.33

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For image ads, create simple graphics and communicate value in about 10 words. 

Graphics with only an image of the AirPods and simple text are the only content that continued running until 2023.

Spend $118K | Imp. 29M | CPM $4.00

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Spend $114K | Imp. 29M | CPM $3.91

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Scotiabank’s Welcome Bonus Campaign

Why this evergreen campaign was chosen…

Scotiabank has spent $4.9M from July 2020 to June 2023 on a cash welcome bonus for online banking products. 

Scotiabank is…

Managing welcome bonus messaging, and incentives with stock imagery and core graphics over 3 years.

• Reducing link post spends (-40%) and introducing video ad spends.
• Shifting away from Facebook and Display and moving toward YouTube ($621K) and Instagram ($37K) new spends.

Spend $404K | Imp. 31M | CPM $13.22

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Spend $667K | Imp. 136M | CPM $4.90

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Scotiabank cycles their welcome bonus evergreen campaign throughout the year with the most focus on summer to fall seasons.

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Scotiabank’s evergreen campaign’s highest spend is on Facebook but is growing YouTube & Instagram with an increase in video ads.

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Maintain a simple template for evergreen product advertising. Scotiabank does this for the welcome bonus.

• Experiment with an evergreen template. 
• Represent prospective personas for your products, like families, or athletes.
• Update your template to show target personas and speak to specific promos.

Experiment with logo sizes, and types. 

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Other Ad Copy Examples

“Unique rewards for unique people.”

“The Scotiabank Preferred Package has unique rewards for unique people, like you.”

“Score points on everyday purchases.* Plus, earn a $300 welcome bonus.”

Spend $667K | Imp. 136M | CPM $4.90

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Move towards static videos and use voice overs to address your target audience.

From July 2022 to June 2023, Scotiabanks top ad spend featuring the evergreen template format is a YouTube video about yoga-practicing home owners.

The ad features a static text block promoting the Scotiabank Ultimate Package. 

The image remains stagnant but zooms out slowly throughout the course of the video. 

Using a voice-over, the video states that “with a preferred mortgage rate, yogi’s can get a new home with space for a studio”.

Spend $404K | Imp. 31M | CPM $13.22

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Keep a simple graphic with no frills running for quantifiable promotions (i.e. earn $300).

Since July 2021, Scotiabank has increased its spend by 613% YoY on a text-based Facebook ad.

• Pair a headline, sub-title and logo on a branded colour block.
• Amplify any quantifiable promotion benefits in the largest bolded font.
• Apply across promotional campaigns and adjust promotion earnings, and products as needed.

Spend $271K | Imp. 63M | CPM $4.27

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Neo Financial’s Cash Back Campaign

Why this evergreen campaign was chosen…

Neo Financial has spent $65K from July 2020 to June 2023 on a cash back campaign. The brand does not focus often on evergreen campaigns and consistently switches creative approaches YoY.

Neo Financial is…

Maintaining similar messaging with changes in creatives for a cash back messaging campaign.

• Increasing spends on link posts and a small bump in image ads.
• Reducing evergreen ad spend across channels.

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Neo Financial cycles their cash back evergreen campaign during the summertime.

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They are reducing evergreen ad spend on Facebook, with a small intro to Instagram ads in 2023. Link & image ads continue to grow.

**Some format data is not available for Neo Financial’s cashback campaign.

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Target Gen Z audiences by referencing popular emojis (💸) in simple and clean graphics.

Neo Financial ran variations of “cashback is queen” and “cashback is king” from Jul. - Jun. ‘22. They prioritized “king”. 

• Catch attention with subtle colours through creating contrast against darker backgrounds. 
• Move away from serif fonts and towards sans serif to keep graphics clean and bold. 

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*Digital Advertising Data Source Caveat