ALLY BANK
USING EMAIL, DCO, SOCIAL, AND MORE TO BUILD A SUSTAINED, PERSONALIZED CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP
Upon joining R/GA full time, I immediately stepped into the role of Copy Lead across its CRM and DCO efforts for Ally. The resulting work proved to be a prime example of campaign and systematic writing working hand in hand. Armed with a tagline and a handful of general tone guidelines developed by our partner agency, I led a rotating team of 3-4 copywriters as we adapted the Ally voice for new digital channels across multiple lines of business (Deposits, Investments, Home Mortgages, Auto, etc.), crafting targeted messaging throughout the conversion funnel towards a wide demographic. And, along the way building brand love, winning new converts, and reinforcing what it truly means to have a financial “ally.”
AGENCY: R/GA (IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ANOMALY)
ROLE: ACD, COPY (LEAD)
So, what does that look like in practice?
Well, like this:
This may look like a lot to untangle, but trust me, there's a method to it.
To simplify: If you’ve got a couple minutes, let me introduce you to Nikki & Lou. Their individual customer journeys illustrate just how our messaging evolved to meet each of them where they are, by being individually tailored to their unique needs.
Do they look dissatisfied? Well, that's because they are... but not for long!
But let’s get to down to the brass tacks. Where does copywriting fit in to in all this?
CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (EMAIL)
Our team developed multiple-touch Spotlight emails each month for Ally’s Deposits, Invest, and Home (Mortgage) lines of business. Each of these was adapted to a range of target audiences — from customers to prospects to cross-sell, etc. We also developed additional timely and relevant variations triggered by market conditions (e.g., interest rate dips), customer behavior (e.g., high-balance savers), and even seasonal relevance (e.g., Earth Day push to paperless statements, EOY promotions, etc.). Over the course of my two-year involvement, this entailed our team designing and writing dozens upon dozens of engaging, customer-focused emails.
Generating this volume of emails enabled us to refine the brand voice specifically for CRM by not only finding and resolving email-specific edge case scenarios, but also by testing our messaging. Over the course of several months, this led us to begin building a set of copy guidelines specially tailored to email communications.
Style Guide excerpts show how we married Ally’s voice to channel best practices and each LOB’s unique priorities (not to mention regulations).
“The R/GA team has completely transformed our CRM efforts over the last year. ”
DYNAMIC CREATIVE OPTIMIZATION (BANNERS)
We also reached customers through highly targeted personalized ads to reach various demographics at different points throughout the conversion funnel by touting an assortment of relevant RTBs.
Take a few examples below: The first two banners both target Gen X and older millennials who are starting to become more retirement-focused, but they highlight distinct diferentiators (Ally’s award-winning customer service and its straightforward transparency respectively). Meanwhile, the third banner also highlights transparency, but it’s aimed at high-balance savers and affluent millennials.
On the other hand, the examples below are all aimed more at younger millennials and Gen Z prospects, but at varying points in the funnel. For example, higher up, when we’re still driving awareness, prospects are served an ad that touts the simplicity valued by digital natives while serving a more generic “best-in-class” message.
As these prospects move down the funnel into consideration, we can see two variations in messaging geared towards this same audience, who may still be relatively early in their wealth-building journey. To these prospects, we’re messaging more favorable interest rates and simpler online tools offered by Ally’s Online Savings Accounts.
Closer to conversion — or for existing customers who might be primed for a cross-sell — this same demographic may be served an ad that more precisely highlights a specific product (in this case, an 11-month CD).
ALWAYS-RELEVANT SOCIAL
One of the many ways Ally lives the promise of its name is by better educating its customers with engaging content geared towards building financial literacy. So, we executed a social strategy that identified seasonally relevant themes and playfully adapted the Ally truthmark in social to organically promote helpful content on our community hub blogs.
From summer blockbuster season to sweater weather football, we reached social followers all year long, tailoring our message to the moment and reminding customers that we’re a financial ally who’s here to help guide them.
and it JUST KEEPS GOING…
These are just a few of the bigger projects I worked on for Ally at R/GA. I was also heavily involved in a load of ad hoc workstreams that ranged from directing digital copy for Ally + Monopoly, an AR-enhanced game / experiential campaign that brought the beloved board game to life on the streets of six cities across the U.S., to personally authoring customer communications from Ally CEO J.B. Brown during the unprecedented COVID-19 and Black Lives Matter events of 2020.
Over the past few years, the copy framework we helped put in place for Ally’s digital ecosystem proved so successful that they continue to be the foundation for its ongoing collaboration with R/GA today. Thanks to our outstanding Accounts, Marketing Science, Strategy, Design, and Copy teams, the relationship is as strong as ever and the quality of work was recognized with a 2024 Effie Award Finalist for Sustained Success.