Young people have a huge knowledge gap when it comes to finances and wealth. It’s like there’s some secret to saving and no one is telling them. They’re not going in-branch or speaking to a bank manager, they’re looking to peers for guidance. Armed with a brief to tackle this problem, Royal Bank of Scotland came to us looking for a solution.

Targeting the under 35s, this generation has grown up on the internet. True digital natives, their relationship with big brands is much different to generations previous – they aren’t being won over by a freebie or experience, and care little for celebrity influence. Champions of transparency and super discerning, they seek authentic endorsement from peers – real-life stories they can relate to. So if the bank wanted to talk to them about financial topics and products, we’d need to find compelling stories from people with lived experiences – stories that explored key financial milestones in a young person’s life, with a clear link to the bank’s role in them.

Establishing key themes from ‘The Homeowner’ to the ‘The Freelancer’, we recruited young Scots to share their stories – like Eva, who bought a home at 21, and Kristina, a seasoned contractor successfully navigating the gig economy. Other themes included ‘The Young Mum’ and the ‘The Expert’ – we’d speak to real young people, but also real young professionals at the bank, who could translate bank jargon (I mean, WTF is an ISA?) and debunk financial myths. We now had a concept and contributors for a content series, we just needed a platform.

Among the dance routines and memes, TikTok is famed for its fast-paced, easy-to-follow ‘how-to’s’. A constant stream of young creators sharing their top tips on home decor, cooking, fitness, and finance, we’d sit comfortably here. Content that looked like it was delivered directly from the bank wouldn’t fly though, and standard adverts would become wallpaper. So rather than set up a polished production, we gave production power to our creators. This way the content would compliment the dynamic, raw content seen on the scroller’s feed and build on the authenticity our audience want to see.

Each contributor recorded five episodes based on their area of expertise and explained how they got to where they are, giving tips on how to replicate their experiences.

We heard from Greg the Student, on how to have ‘All the fun with zero funds’ and Nicole, a single mum with her own business, navigating her finances and prioritising wants vs needs. Comedian Paul Black hosted ‘Funny Money’ – a week revealing the normality of financial faux pas, sharing the most calamitous submitted by his followers, as a warning to us all.

The campaign is still active, with new episodes planned over the coming months.

Over a 2 month period, the series received over 9 million views.

Ad recall went up 8%

Preference showed a positive uplift of 7.8%