United Overseas Bank focuses on values in ‘Right by you’ brand refresh to mark 80th year
Singapore-headquartered United Overseas Bank is launching a major regional brand campaign to mark 80 years in business.
A new slogan, ‘Right by you’, aims to reflect a bank built on the “timeless values” needed to do the right things for stakeholders, the company explained in a press release today that also unveiled a tweaked logo that has done away with the original’s Chinese characters, which are now part of a new corporate seal.
The campaign breaks on 1 October – UOB’s 80th birthday – in print, outdoor, TV and online, is the fruit of a year-long study of the views of customers, clients and partners across the region, the firm said.
In a short film titled ‘Our values define us’, which was uploaded to UOB’s website today, a young boy wonders what would be different about him if his parents could have chosen his genes.
“Honesty isn’t encoded in our genes,” reflects the boy. “Respect is not written in our DNA. You won’t find perseverance reproducing in your body like cells. Or loyalty hiding in your blood stream. It doesn’t matter how we begin. In the end, our values define us.”
The campaign breaks first in Singapore, before rolling out in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, China and Hong Kong.
On explaining the central thought running through the campaign, Gan Ai Im, head of brand for UOB Group said: “At the heart of it all is that while time changes the environment and circumstances, we will stay true to and uphold our values to do what is right, always.”
The ad agency behind the campaign was BBH, which won the business less than a year ago. Media was by Zenith Optimedia.
UOB hired the London office of brand agency FutureBrand to devise the strategy, and redesign the logo, which sees a minor refinement to the blue lettering and red five-bar image (based on the traditional Chinese ‘five-bar gate’ system of counting in fives, symbolising security and unity) and the removal of the Chinese characters from beneath the UOB letters.
UOB’s new logo, designed by FutureBrand
UOB’s old logo
The Chinese characters will now be used in a corporate seal, appearing on corporate stationary and as a sign off in advertising, the company said.
UOB’s corporate seal
A company spokesperson told Mumbrella that the removal of the Chinese characters from the logo was to be “more universal” across the markets in which the company operates.
In the press release, the corporate seal is described as “a representation of UOB’s identity, its strong Asian heritage and commitment to live up to its brand promise,” and a contemporary interpretation of the traditional Chinese seals.
The two other print ads from the campaign:
Their tagline used to be UNITED BEHIND YOU.
Now theyve moved a little to be RIGHT BY YOU
Terrible effort btw….limp as a flat souffle….yea a bank thats right by me….sure. Lol.
First rule of advertising is be believable
Pretty dull and cliche headline writing too.
Overall a mediocre effort.
ReplyThe strategy is no different from other local banks like DBS or Bank of Singapore.
ReplyThe new tagline is an illogical rejection of Singapore’s most recognizable and longest standing motto: United Behind You.
The print ads are wallpaper with motherhood bank speak.
But the worse offender is the commercial.
The visuals look like reshot vignettes of HK telecom commercials cut to a pretentious script trying to sound worldly wise.
Since when does a child speak like a planner?
There is no authenticity to his words or voice.
Especially as he sounds like he graduated from the Amos Yee school of elocution.
What a waste of marketing money?
Not condoning the fake sentiment of the new tagline, but shouldn’t it read:
RIGHT BESIDE YOU
Right by you is so, like, casual…..it’s, like, way worse than the singtel “everyday” snafu.
BTW the above poster is correct….what were they thinking making a kid talk like a pompous adult (even adults don’t talk like that)…consumers aren’t fools….we can tell when something is fabricated. Made me reject the message straight away.
BBH should stuck to all-visual ads that require no thought, just sexy photography.
Replywhen others zig, we, erm, zig as well
bbh failing to live up to its brand promise with a pile of generic ads
ReplyLost me at ‘honesty’. It’s a bank, ffs. And banks a bankrupt of values.
ReplyThe real crime here is the print! Fist bumping babies? The TV is actually surprisingly emotional. If you can ignore its from a bank.
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