Yesterday

An evolving fortress brand

Four years after repositioning the Spuerkeess brand Luxembourg's leading bank is launching in early 2025 a new image campaign: “Thriving Together”. To mark the occasion, we spoke to the marketing managers in charge of the project, Lisa Wells, Vice President and Head of Business Unit, Claude Faber, Team Manager Brand and Product Communication and Raoul Loudvig, Team Manager Creatives.

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Why does an undisputed leader, with a reputation that is already as positive as it can be, need a new brand image campaign?

Lisa Wells: Before we talk about our new image campaign, let's discuss the importance of branding. Many people simply consider branding a marketing tool, but make no mistake, it's much more than that.

A brand doesn't just reflect the personality of a company – in our case Spuerkeess. It encompasses our values and the feelings and emotions that consumers, customers, employees and other stakeholders associate with our brand.

Good branding consequently becomes an organisational tool, a strategic compass that guides Spuerkeess in everything it does, across its strategies and over time.

We are proud to have a strong brand that is the result of generations of hard work, and one that must be preserved. Spuerkeess is constantly evolving, adapting and rising to the challenges of a complex and rapidly changing landscape, to prosper and keep earning everybody's trust.

Going forward, we want to provide all our stakeholders with regular reminders of what Spuerkeess represents. We want to do this by creating emotional links with them through a new “brand story”. In other words, our image campaign.

How did you know it was time for a new campaign?

Claude Faber: The pace at which our world is changing is increasing, and these days, a brand image campaign has a maximum lifespan of two years before it stops being relevant. So it was time to reposition ourselves in relation to the current “Zeitgeist”. The era in which we live, which is characterised by ongoing change and multiple crises, is felt by some to be worrying and destabilising. We felt that consumers needed reassurance, and we wanted to reassure them that there were still benchmarks they could rely on.

This being our third image campaign, we drew on our valuable experience but we wanted to explore other options.
Lisa Wells

What makes this new campaign different from “I Feel Good” and “The Bridge Side of Life” – its predecessors?

Raoul Loudvig: It's simply the product of a new era, a different “Zeitgeist”. So the basic feeling is different. That said, the fundamentals remain the same. This new campaign is based on our brand DNA and reflects our brand's fun, open and proud personality. We wanted to connect with people where they are right now, with their daily challenges and their fears, as well as their dreams. And as always, we want to touch people with positive emotions, even if this time the message is a more thoughtful one.

How did you approach the project?

Lisa Wells: This being our third image campaign, we drew on our valuable experience but we wanted to explore other options. So we launched an invitation to tender and contacted two traditional communications agencies and two production companies. The briefing was very explicit and it was a fruitful exercise that produced a series of very interesting concepts. So, we were spoilt for choice. In the end, it was the IP Productions team and approach that won us over.

Why did you decide to work directly with a production company?

Claude Faber: Our feeling was that the IP Productions team was extremely motivated and put a great deal of effort into understanding what Spuerkeess really is, the challenges we face and the essence of our brand. The strength of the concept lies in the way the “Zeitgeist” has been captured, and in the authenticity and honesty of the message. The creative approach also offers a degree of flexibility so it can be adapted over time to reflect current events. It was these considerations that ultimately made the difference. And the challenge of working directly with a production company and being more involved in all the decisions appealed to us.

It's a 100% Luxembourg production, which means we have the flexibility to adapt to current events as and when we need to.
Claude Faber

From left to right: Claude Faber, Lisa Wells, Raoul Loudvig and Filipe Silva Santos.

What can you tell us about the concept, the artistic approach and the production?

Raoul Loudvig: The ad does not just tell a linear story, based on images, supported by music and a final punch to convey a message. Here, the creative approach involves getting the message across using a voiceover, illustrated by a multitude of short videos that add an emotional touch and music that adds rhythm and atmosphere. This is a 100% Luxembourg production, shot by a small, highly professional and flexible team. Of the 16 scenes that feature in the advert, only two come from an image library. As we weren't able to start production until after the start of the school year in 2024, and since most of the scenes were shot outdoors, many days of filming had to be postponed several times until the weather conditions were right. So, it wasn't an easy production, but we're very happy and proud of the result.

What do you think of the end result?

Claude Faber: The campaign ticks all the boxes from the briefing. It's an honest campaign in line with the brand's DNA and personality. It is a campaign of its time, and it is aimed at our community and our customers in all their diversity. The advert conveys strong positive emotions and incorporates our strategic themes of “transition enabler” and “inclusion”. Our “top topicals” – Housing and Mobility – are covered. It's a 100% Luxembourg production, which means we have the flexibility to adapt to current events as and when we need to. The reassuring message gets through. Viewers are left feeling that Spuerkeess is omnipresent, that it makes their life easier and that it is a reliable partner which provides them with security. And this applies to both small everyday gestures and major life projects. Mission accomplished, I'd say.

You sound like a satisfied customer...?

Lisa Wells: We're very pleased with the result and we're confident that our consumers will love the new campaign, too. We would also like to thank the entire IP Productions team: Frédéric Thill, Lisa Courte, Nico Thielen, Xavier Salomon, Thomas Chanzy, Joël Schaus, Max Nilles, and Michel Sassel. A team that combines experience and young talent, and which was extremely pleasant to work with. Thanks also to the other members of the film crew and our stakeholders, especially the women's national basketball team, pianist Johan Ferreira Perdigao and the entire team at the protected Chocolats du Cœur workshop in Bissen.

Finally, thanks also to Raoul, for whom this has been the last major project before his well-deserved retirement. What a great way to end your career!