The BMO Travelling Help Desk
BRANDING, CAMPAIGN-THINKING, PROBLEM-SOLVING

FCB Toronto called. Their concept for BMO, one of Canada’s Big Banks, called ‘The BMO Effect’, had run for a few years and they were looking to evolve it somehow to increase BMO branding and recall. So I came in to be part of a larger team to try to solve it. 

Over a few weeks, various creative teams kicked around all kinds of approaches from spokespeople and mascots, to new devices, and even sonic branding. One of the devices I proposed was a ‘Travelling Help Desk’ that would show up in unexpected places where BMO clients needed assistance. A way to showcase any featured service of the bank, not be tied to in-branch situations, and also add some humanity, humour, and branding (the desk and spokesperson are totally and unashamedly branded BMO and it helps the device).

I wrote the first scripts for the research & testing of the concept. The ‘Travelling Help Desk’ device and tone of the spokesperson were a hit. FCB went on to cast Lamorne Morris and the campaign continues to run today.

CONCEPT CREATORS: Andrew Bradley, and below

ECDs: Nancy Crimi-Lamanna, Andrew MacPhee, Jeremiah McNama

AGENCY: FCB TORONTO

BMO Concept Testing Deck Excerpts