The new Nedbank advertising campaign has rolled out across television, newspapers and onto sidewalks with strategically positioned billboards. The bank has undergone a fundamental shift and at the core of it all is its new mantra: Make Things Happen. 
Ad agency Net#work BBDO was tasked with giving creative expression to the financial institution's new brand positioning, which aims to create an emotional connection to a much broader segment of the market. The campaign's new direction is about bridging the gap between what the bank represents and attracting people who associate with its positioning.
Says Net#work's executive creative director Julian Watt: "This campaign is just the beginning for Nedbank. Our long-term goal is to make the bank believable and really meaningful to people by being an enabler to people's dreams and aspirations.
"One of our first questions was - what's good about Nedbank. Two things stood out. One, they have always had a heart as displayed by their track record of corporate social investment. Two, you always get the sense they are clever and that is how our depiction of them - 'Smart with heart' was born."
It is Net#work's intention to help gently change perceptions about the bank with a positioning that has emotional traction and very importantly, has sustainability.
The tv commercial shows a regular, middle income dude caught up in a pedestrian lifestyle with his double acting as his conscience, his inner voice continuously urging him to improve his lot and seize the moment.
Soon to follow are five shorter commercials that will address the relevant sectors of the market with five of Nedbank's products, each one adopting the same theme and tone as the main advert.
