Behind PNC Bank’s ‘Brilliantly Boring’ campaign, its first with AOR Arnold

In business for nearly 160 years, PNC Bank recently decided to use its history to its advantage in a new brand campaign. “Brilliantly Boring,” the bank’s first work from new agency of record Arnold, taps into PNC’s reliability over the years by showing that having a trustworthy bank leaves one free to pursue more fun activities. Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, check us out on Spotify and hear us on Amazon Music/Audible. This is our RSS feed. Tell a friend! “We have been this steady, reliable, trustworthy bank for over 160 years, but there is a need to really tell that story in a powerful and breakthrough way,” said Jenn Garbach, PNC’s chief marketing officer, speaking on the latest episode of the Marketer’s Brief podcast, noting that the brand has been trying to compete with other big national players that have larger marketing budgets. “We had to be really smart and say, ‘How do we cut through, how can we do something that’s really authentic to who PNC is but do that in a more creative way that allows us to differentiate?’” Garbach said that the campaign, which stars actor Chris Diamantopoulos of “Silicon Valley,” is able to pass the “thumb test” in which a viewer could cover the logo of an ad for any financial brand and still be able to name the brand. Havas handled media duties for the push, which includes TV. PNC has also been increasing its sponsorships and content series and recently debuted work featuring its partnership with Chip Ganassi Racing. Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs On the podcast, Garbach, who joined the brand last year, also discusses the plethora of financial competition in the marketplace currently and how PNC is trying to win over older and younger customers. “It’s the big nationals, it’s the fintech, it’s the Amazons, the Walmarts where, you know, those rungs are getting wider and wider of where they’re casting their net and playing in the space,” she said. “It creates even more choice in the marketplace for consumers and all the more reason we have to be very focused and ensure that the PNC brand shows up clearly.” Years ago, honing digital chops allowed a bank to differentiate, but now having such digital offerings is simply “table stakes,” she said.

Behind PNC Bank’s ‘Brilliantly Boring’ campaign, its first with AOR Arnold

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