The Co-operative Bank has launched a new national brand campaign aimed at reinforcing its position as the banking partner of choice for organisations that put purpose, ethics and long-term impact at the heart of how they operate.
The campaign, created with creative agency, Dinosaur, encourages organisations to ‘Bank like you do business’ – aligning their financial decisions with the principles that guide their work.
Its launch comes at a time when the role of capital in shaping social and environmental outcomes is under growing scrutiny, themes which dominated the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos.
This is the bank’s first major brand campaign since becoming part of Coventry Building Society, and signals a renewed focus on growth and national awareness among charities, social enterprises and purpose-led businesses.
At the centre of the campaign are real customer voices, including Friends of the Earth and The Social Change Nest, highlighting long-standing relationships with organisations working to deliver positive change.
The campaign is grounded in The Co-operative Bank’s customer-led Ethical Policy, first introduced in 1992 – and still unique among high street banks today. Shaped directly by customer input, the Policy governs who the bank will and will not finance, including a long-standing refusal to bank organisations involved in fossil fuels.
A series of direct statements challenge conventional assumptions about banking and present a values-based alternative:
We have no business in deforestation. Neither does our Bank.
We don’t want our money bankrolling climate change. Neither does our Bank.
We stand up for grassroots groups. So does our Bank.
Asad Rehman, Chief Executive of Friends of the Earth, said:
“We think it’s vital to highlight the importance and challenges of ethical investment.
“Friends of the Earth has banked with The Co-operative Bank for over 30 years because its ethical commitments are built into how it operates.
“Organisations and consumers are becoming increasingly conscious about investment decisions and don’t want their money to be used to harm either people or the planet. Finding ethical providers in the current marketplace can be tricky, which is why The Co-operative Bank is so critical in not only leading the way and building that trust in how they operate, but also in shifting how financial services are provided by the sector.”
Lisa Galley, Head of Business Banking Products at The Co-operative Bank, said:
“Many of the organisations we support are asking a simple but important question: does my bank operate by the same principles as my business?
“For more than three decades, our customers have helped shape how we operate – from who we finance to the impact their money has in the world. This campaign reflects our belief that ethics and commercial success are not at odds, and that banking can support growth while staying true to the values customers expect.”
