Just about every bank strives to develop a personal connection with their clients - to prove they’re more than ‘just a number’. But too often, their attempts end up feeling inauthentic, impersonal and well, not very appreciative, think free donuts and coffee. CIBC had long fallen into that trap, until we decided to help them do something about it.

For one special Client Appreciation Day, we helped CIBC demonstrate just how much they value their clients by creating the ultimate show of appreciation; we re-named the bank after one of their clients, Crystal Regehr Westergard.

Crystal single-handedly revived the Cuban Lunch, a western Canadian chocolate bar that went off the market in 1991. Her determination, paired with the business loan and advice she got from her local CIBC branch in Camrose, Alberta, empowered her to transform her kitchen-based operation into a thriving business.

So, on October 25th, in appreciation of Crystal, her local CIBC bank became “Crystal’s CIBC” for one day. The bank’s makeover included everything from the welcome mat to employee name tags, ATM screens to in-branch pens and collateral, even the sign bore Crystal’s name. We even went so far as to update the bank’s business name on Google Maps and Waze. The activation was further promoted on social (LinkedIn, X, Meta, YouTube) with posts and a long-form video that told Crystal’s inspiring story, all adding up to the best-performing single-day activation in CIBC’s history:

• 41% Improvement in Brand Perception.
• +15.2 Increase in NPS score.
• 84% Increase in premium credit card sign-ups.
• 11M Earned Impressions for a single-day activation.
• “Crystal’s CIBC” hit the single-day record for CIBC website traffic with 3M visits (33% increase over previous record). 
• 1.2M Views plus 76% Conversion Rate established a new record for CIBC mobile app.
• 160% Improvement in CIBC’s benchmark Email Open Rate