St Luke’s has kicked off its first work for credit app, TotallyMoney with a TV & Online campaign that demonstrates how with the right guidance and support, people can climb higher and reach their goals.
Recent TotallyMoney research found that 20 million adults are financially under-served, a figure which has grown by 50% in just six years. And this is who they’re building an app for.
With a belief that customers' data should work for them, not against them, the fintech provides almost five million customers with a free, live credit report, personalised alerts to highlight what might be holding them back, and tailored tips to help improve their score.
The new 30-second spot titled ‘You’ll totally get there’ highlights TotallyMoney’s free credit report and personalised plans, with a narrative that sees people on a journey towards their financial goals — something that will resonate with many who are uncertain about where to start.
The campaign will appear on TV, VOD and YouTube from December 28th and will run for three months, with media planning and buying by Electric Glue.
The brightly coloured painterly animation shows a variety of people, with different ambitions, embarking on their journey via metaphorical rope ladders and climbing up to their targets that rest in clouds.
The soft pastel animation style is designed to be inviting and include all sorts of aspirations, encouraging people with the tag line ‘You’ll totally get there’.
We spoke directly with St Luke's and animation studio Lobo to discuss the intricacies of the project.
What was the brief?
With 20 million UK adults now overlooked and under-served by the financial services industry, TotallyMoney was founded to help those who suffer at the hand of an unfair credit system to access better credit.
The company wanted to tilt the scales back in favour of the underserved audience by harnessing the power of their own data to improve their finances and reach their goals.
Whilst the brand’s previous campaigns had generated some success in raising awareness and usage, now TotallyMoney wanted to further boost its growth with a campaign that communicated the purpose and values which were baked into the brand’s DNA.
How did the initial pitch/brainstorming phase go?
We arrived at this concept & idea in the competitive pitch for TotallyMoney last year. TotallyMoney already had a clear, differentiated mission and purpose, and we used our Agenda Setting Idea framework to turn that brand purpose into a creative platform that tells the brand’s story in a way that was more emotive and relatable than other advertisers in the sector.
What was the process behind ideating the concept?
Whilst the social context made the category more relevant and necessary than ever, competitors were prioritising gimmicks in their ads at the sacrifice of showing compassion or building trust.
We realised that in order to cut through the noise in the category, we had to do something different. We needed to strike the right balance between acknowledging our audience’s hardships whilst giving them a sense of hope and motivation to make a change.
The result was a campaign idea that was sincere in tone, but full of optimism by positioning TotallyMoney as a trusted partner that will help those willing to put in the effort and commitment to reach their goals.
What was the production process like?
The production process was a lot of fun! We worked with the wonderful Lobo and Ground Control through the different stages of animation (previs to blocking, to animation, to the final online phase) from around the globe on Zoom calls.
Lobo created the beautiful painterly illustrations and animations that reflect the struggle of improving your credit score, with both a sensitivity and a sense of undimmed optimism. This even included hand painting the backgrounds!
What was the biggest challenge during production? How did you overcome it?
As is often the case with animation production, the production phase as a whole was a constantly moving jigsaw of parts, comprising an untold number of evolving 2D and 3D elements.
It took great partnership from our clients and the production company to ensure a rigorous, but highly collaborative process – over many months.
What kit/tools/software were used to create the project?
To achieve a true hand-painted feel, we needed each frame of the film to look like an individual painting, with its own texture, configuration of brush strokes etc., so when played in sequence we’d have a “jittering” effect that’s indicative of artisanal frame-by-frame animation. That was achieved by using a combination of various tools, and by mixing 2D and 3D animation.
The backgrounds were created in Adobe Photoshop, with various sets of brush strokes painted over the original artwork that, when looped, produced an effect that gives the impression of each frame being an individual painting.
The characters were animated in 3D using Maya, with additional cloth simulation for the bride’s dress achieved in Houdini. To give them the same “living painting” treatment, the Photoshop artists picked up the renders and painted over about 4 frames for each second of animation.
The 3D renders and corresponding paint overs were then taken to Nuke, where an AIR Machine Learning toolset was used to interpolate between the hand-painted frames, creating a different set of textures for every frame in the animation.
What is one funny or notable thing that happened during production?
Through much of the creative development and production, we had identified a particularly wonderful, and seemingly fairly unknown cover of a well-known track to use – which will go un-named.
This was suddenly whipped from us by another brand using it. But such things can often lead to finding an even better way forward.
What’s the main message of this project and why does it matter?
This campaign demonstrates to an underserved audience that with a little time, commitment and a helping hand from TotallyMoney, they too can reach their financial goals – whatever they may be.
With this underserved audience having grown by 50% in the last 6 years, and set to increase further in the face of the cost-of-living crisis, this message is more relevant than ever before.
How long did it take from inception to delivery?
Seven months in total. We won the competitive pitch with this film script, more or less as delivered.
What do you hope it achieves for the brand?
We know that in order to grow the business amongst a sea of bigger, better-known competitors it would be crucial to drive awareness and saliency. H
owever, as we’d established, the key to winning this category wasn’t just winning over customers; but succeeding in keeping them, by positioning TotallyMoney as trusted partners in helping them to achieve their goals.
Credit list for the work?
Advertiser/Brand: TotallyMoney
Client Credits: Alastair Douglas – CEO
Rebecca Shears – CMO
Janice Tong Davies – Head of Product Marketing
Harshil Varsani – Head of Creative
Henry Keegan – Head of Customer Acquisition
