Lloyds Bank has launched a multi-media consumer campaign promoting bank accounts for 11 to 15 year olds.
Promotional activity for Smart Start, an account for young people to begin budgeting and managing their own finances, began on 11 March and will run across TV, cinema, out-of- home (OOH), on radio, social media, digital and video on demand.
The campaign was put together by advertising agency adam&eveDDB, with video production firm Smuggler responsible for the direction. YouGov conducted the market research for the audience profiling a year earlier, among more than 500 UK adults who had children in the target age range.
Richard Warren, marketing director at Lloyds Banking Group, explained that the campaign is the seventh advertisement in an eight-year-long campaign.
The advertisement, called simply “Bike” is about a young girl learning to ride a bike. The ad follows her progress between the ages of 11 to 15 as she grows in confidence, supported by the Lloyds Bank “distinctive, iconic, branded asset, the black horse”. The ad is set to the well-known pop song ‘Girl on Fire’ by Alicia Keys.
The bank’s research, conducted by YouGov, found that 85% of parents said they had a degree of influence on where their kids spend their money. The majority – more than 9 in 10 – said they wanted to know where their children were spending their money.
The Smart Start accounts have no monthly fees or charges and allow parents to keep watch of transactions on a parental mobile app. No overdrafts are available and there is the facility to freeze or cancel debit cards issued on the account. Attempted transactions at outlets for adults only will automatically be declined.
In a statement, Emma Abrahams, head of savings at Lloyds Bank, said the account would “give children the ability to manage their money and prioritise how they spend and what they save for, while giving parents visibility and oversight to help them if needed.”