Although Lloyds Banking Group is the UK’s largest digital bank, it is not well known among tech talent, competing with smaller fintech companies and ‘big tech’ employers. A survey of 1000 tech professionals showed that only 21% saw LBG as an exciting tech employer, despite the bank making a £3bn investment in its people, technology and data. LBG needed to dispel misconceptions and get its employer value proposition out to a passive audience in the right channels.

It came up with the campaign concept of ‘No Ordinary Journey’, which would show the unique advantages of developing an intelligent ecosystem for a big finance employer. It reinvigorated all touchpoints of the candidate journey and developed a hero film, podcast and ads that would showcase modern, diverse teams of technologists. The hero film uses pacy and creative transitions, featuring colleagues who break stereotypes in banking. The visual identity and iconography is unmistakably technological, making LBG look more like a big tech brand.

The campaign was designed to be ‘always on’ so passive and active candidates would take notice. LBG and Blackbridge used Appcast programmatic advertising so it could advertise by role area and track data on the most effective channels. Alongside LinkedIn sponsored campaigns, it crafted content for YouTube and Reddit, where digital talent spends time out of work. LBG also recruited a team of internal ‘techfluencers’ who could spread the message more widely, as well as a podcast exploring the complex world of tech. Together, the integrated campaign fuelled a huge rise in candidates year-on-year, almost 900 hires and many thousands of applications to digital roles.