Take One Small Step is a campaign from Barclays that is all about helping people to take action when it comes to their money: taking things one small step at a time. That means they have to talk about specific actions they can take. In essence they are delivering an emotional brand message through a series of tightly defined product messages.

Prior to this, Barclays had been off air for two years, deploying a very rational campaign in press and posters. It was rate led, typical bank advertising. Brand consideration and brand liking had slipped and it was time for a change of direction.

In this film Sara Bennison, Marketing Communications Director, UK Retail Banking, Barclays and Phil Georgiadis, CEO, Founding Partner, Walker Media talk us through the thinking behind their campaign and how they turned things around for the better. Here are some of the subjects they look at:

• The insight that underpinned the advertising.
• The need to develop a stand-out campaign amongst financial service advertising.
• Using TV to deliver a permanent, emotional, rational, predisposition for the brand.
• The importance of getting the tone of voice right.
• The need for the advertising to be always on: not to see it with an episodic dalliance with TV but a permanent plank in the way the bank talks to its customers and its potential customers.
• The TV buying strategy and how they managed to maintain consistently large weights on TV and tell the story of the campaign.
• Money comparison sites and the need to be both competitive but also to deliver reassurance, trust and long-term commitment through brand advertising.
• How advertisers can capitalize on the current TV landscape, making the most its great value and also by using the rhythm of the TV calendar.
• The dramatic impact of Barclays return to TV

Here are a few quotes from the film:

"When we broke the campaign, over that first six week period when we were on air, we saw our organic search for any Barclays terms up by 500%: which was an extraordinary impact. And we've seen that repeated every time we go back on air. We see a massive spike that's then sustained for long after the television's finished".

Sara Bennison

"It's good news that we live in a world when consumers can navigate from what engages them through the TV to other channels where they can find more information, particularly at the point where they are motivated to do so … For me, the perfect blend in this world we live in, is a combination of television and on-line."

Phil Georgiadis

"The thing that has been most refreshing for me to re-learn is the power that advertising has. It's very rare to see a brand of this scale and this stature, that has been off air for such a long time, to actually see the impact it has when you're starting from a very low base. And it really is dramatic. Normally, we see small incremental changes from one campaign to the next. But after two years and the world being turned upside down, to be able to achieve what this campaign has, is amazing."

Sara Bennison