Launching simultaneously across OOH, social, display, search, PR, branch, and influencer activity – and marked by the most significant internal launch in the last decade – Project International spoke to the unique frictions faced by internationalists (expats, overseas students and international investors), joined together by a single, unifying insight: “What you gain in movement, you sacrifice in belonging” and a creative platform.

The key international markets for this campaign were: UK; Australia; Singapore; Hong Kong; mainland China; UAE; India; Channel Islands & Isle of Man; and the USA. Across these markets, there are 90 million potential customers.

Every year, 281 million people move abroad. Yet the same financial barriers remain - unable to access credit cards due to having no credit history in their new country, unable to find an apartment without long-term proof of address, unable to get paid as they don’t have a bank account when they arrive.

To address these financial frictions, we redesigned our international proposition for personal banking customers to make moving and investing overseas easier; from setting up an account in your destination before you arrive, to taking your credit history with you from one country to the next.

As one of the world’s most recognised international banks with over 200,000 employees in the places people are moving to, we are uniquely placed to go further than financial support alone. Through our 360 campaign, the aim was to create customer awareness and consideration, and double customer growth by 2026.

While financial frictions vary from market to market, from our multi market research, we uncovered a universal truth: what you gain from movement, you sacrifice in belonging. We discovered it takes on average eight months for a new international location to feel like home. However, when you feel connected and supported with the right support and advice, the challenges you encounter can be overcome – turning your new adventure into a success.

When a parent sends their child abroad to study, their child gives up on the little things that make home, home. There is often unfamiliarity with neighbourhoods, cultural differences, home comforts. We therefore have considered ways to connect potential customers both financially and emotionally through local knowledge and beyond banking services such as relocation support, helping potential customers settle in faster.

We also differentiated between markets where there are high volumes of departure (e.g. India and mainland China) and arrival (e.g. UK or US), allowing us to explore the mindsets of customers pre-departure, travelling, arriving and settling. This emotional territory allowed us to inject a powerful emotional backdrop to the frictions faced.

Finally, with so many cross-border considerations, it often slows down the process of transitioning between each country. Through services such as Global Money, we’ve made it easier to make fee-fee transfers and with the credit-portability services, the customers’ credit history is recognised in another country. We’ve demystified the process of moving abroad, allowing them to feel more at home wherever they are.

We set out to change the way people bank beyond borders – speaking to specific pain points and barriers faced by people who move: What you gain from movement you sacrifice in belonging. We asked pointed questions about the status quo e.g.

“Why should it be harder to send money abroad than across the road?”

“Why should opening an account abroad be harder than opening one at home?”

Connected by the unifying experience of making new countries a home, we turned our employees, brand ambassadors and influencers into the bank’s most valuable currency. We used their local knowledge to help people moving to feel like they belong. Creating: ‘The Unforeign Exchange’ – a digital community featuring local insights and tips on moving.

This 360 campaign highlighted the experiences faced by those moving – speaking directly to financial barriers and starting a global conversation about belonging, no matter where you are.

Our target audiences included expats, overseas students, investors, and colleagues. These audience segments are unified by their international financial needs, but these needs vary across their journey stage and therefore required a targeted approach in media planning.

A multi-market study of over 7,000 international citizens in nine markets uncovered practical, financial, and emotional frictions faced by those moving abroad that would underpin our campaign.

Recognising that expat’s needs change across their journey, we further segmented these audiences into pre-departure and post-departure groups. This allowed us to build behavioural and contextual audiences across display, social, and search, reaching Internationalists with precision. Speaking to people through a consistent creative voice, on either side of our key international corridors.

We launched in March 2023 with ‘Internationalists Day’, comprised of live events spanning 10 markets and 19 time zones where we premiered our launch film produced by Oscar-nominated director Matthias Lebeer. We explored the meaning of ‘home’, inviting attendees to share their experiences of moving abroad.

To highlight our network and expertise, our earned and social execution featured brand ambassadors, including Emma Raducanu, offering their unique perspectives on moving abroad. We also partnered international colleagues with global influencers sparking conversations around the importance of belonging; enriched by commentary and advice from Stanford Professor Geoffrey Cohen, an expert in the psychology of belonging.

Paid activity included OOH, digital and retail using targeted placements in sites such as Singapore’s Changi Airport to drive awareness, consideration and sign ups. Joined by an influencer campaign showcasing real-life relocation stories. We also utilised sites such as expat.com and InterNations for expats and investors.

• 275,000 new customers in the first three months of the campaign. 9% YOY acquisition growth

• ‘Internationalists Day’ attended by 15,000 colleagues across 10 markets and 19 time zones, making it the most significant internal event in 10 years

• 513 pieces of earned coverage in online, print and broadcast media including pieces in Vogue China, Forbes, Economic Times, Asia One, Psychology Today, CNBC, and AdWeek

- Total Reach 1.5 billion. Exceeded KPIs by 180%

• Global social channels content received 75m+ impressions, 40m+ reach, 17m+ views and 800k engagements

• Paid channels generated: 1.2 billion+ impressions, 5.1 million clicks and 0.4% CTR (33% higher than industry benchmarks).

• HK: Brought instant pre-arrival and post-arrival account opening - opening time shortened from 2 weeks to 10 minutes.

• UK: Credit portability offered brought a 79% YOY increase in credit-card approval rates for newcomers with a credit.