From ‘Hakuna Matata’ to ‘Skye is Big Enough’
Raheem Akingbolu writes on how the handlers of Skye Bank have consistently refreshed the brand through exciting campaigns in the last few years
Since the era of consolidation in the banking industry, which gave birth to what is today known as Skye Bank, there hasn’t been any dull moment for the brand. Aside normal banking activities, the promoters of Skye brand have given wide visibility to it through exciting campaigns and commercials. While the banking public was still relishing the impact of ‘Hakuna Matata’ and ‘Say Yes!’ on the brand, the management a few days back unveiled yet another campaign, ‘Skye is Big Enough’. Though the official release from Skye Bank indicated that it was unveiled to promote the bank’s new selling proposition, not a few analysts see the campaign as a creative way of establishing its new status, having acquired Mainstreet Bank.
The two previous campaigns, ‘Hakuna Matata’ and “Say Yes’, were not only instant success, they became anthems in most homes and offices while they lasted. Industry watchers and patrons of the brand were surprised when the bank dropped ‘Hakuna Matata’ which can be translated to mean ‘Don’t worry.’ Conceptualised by Centrespread Advertising Limited, the campaign lasted for a few months but made an indelible mark.
After resting Hakuna Matata, Skye Bank entered with ‘Say Yes’ television commercial, which also turned out to be a very successful campaign and became an anthem in virtually every home and ring-tone of several phones. ‘Say Yes’ enjoyed a wide acceptance until it was interrupted by a pressing circumstance.
Rasheed Bolarinwa of the corporate affairs department of the bank said the unveiling of ‘Skye is Big Enough’ is a natural way of refreshing the brand. “To build an enduring brand, one must always be on top of the game and refresh from time to time for relevance. You can’t use the same campaign forever. Hakuna Matata, Say Yes! and other campaigns adopted by Skye Bank served different purposes. But primarily, they were introduced to entrench the brand in the minds of customers, which they all achieved. We are in another phase in the journey of Skye Bank, hence the ‘Skye is Big Enough’ campaign,” Bolarinwa said.
Speaking on what informed the ‘Skye is Big Enough’ campaign at a press conference to unveil the campaign in Lagos, Executive Director, Corporate Services, Abimbola Izu, admitted that the campaign became necessary to align with evolving market trends as well as draw attention to the bank’s capacity to ensure customers’ convenience and maximum comfort at all times.
“The entire world is under very serious economic stress and pressure, but in the midst of the pressure, we find opportunities to shine. Skye Bank is seizing the moment to reposition itself for the challenges and the opportunities that abound in the market place as we evolve’’, she said.
According to her, the essence of the campaign was to tell the customers that Skye is big enough to handle all forms of business transactions, as well as have smart, intelligent and innovative technologies that support the businesses of its customers.
To further push the campaign, she disclosed that Skye Bank was adopting all its platforms to convey its message, disclosing that the bank would soon commence an advertising campaign that highlights the new realities and capabilities of the bank, using the success stories of individuals just to ‘drive home the point that the Skye is Big Enough for anyone that is determined to succeed’.
Izu highlighted the bank’s acquisition of Mainstreet Bank last year, as proof of Skye bank’s determination to leapfrog into the league of bigger and stronger institutions that are major players in the evolving global economy.
“This year, we are quickly accelerating the concluding process of integration. The merger gives us 469 branches, a quantum leap from the 260 branches that Skye Bank had, more importantly, it has given us very significant footholds in some areas where Skye bank is not well represented.
“For instance in the South-East alone, Skye Bank will have an addition 54 branches right away, and in the North we will be having about 52 branches right away.” she stressed.
It is difficult to establish now what the future holds for the new campaign, until the next few weeks when Nigerians start reacting to it. The success of ‘Skye is Big Enough’ will however depend on how well the banking publics connect with it as it happened in the case of ‘hakuna matata’.