The Challenge
Citizens is the Official Bank of the New York Giants, but many fans didn't know our name, or that we're a bank. We needed to build awareness of the sponsorship.
The Insight
Giants fans had real optimism entering the season, with a high-profile coach and a promising young roster. Every fan knows winning takes the right team and the right game plan. Money works the same way, especially when it comes to financial advice.
We developed a concept connecting Citizens' brand promise, “Make sense of your money,” with our “Made for This” sponsorship platform: The right team. The right game plan. Made for giant moments.
What We Did
We built a season-long campaign that brought the Giants into the Citizens brand world, incorporating Giants blue and player imagery while keeping our visual identity front and center.
The creative appeared across MetLife Stadium, print, digital, social and podcast integrations, giving Citizens a consistent presence from training camp through the regular season.
We also reimagined the fan sweepstakes, introducing a new name and visual identity: Giants Game Day with Eli Manning, courtesy of Citizens. The prize gave 20 lucky fans the chance to watch a game at MetLife Stadium alongside Eli Manning.
I stepped into the ACD role mid-campaign. I led the squad through approvals, kept writing across formats and brought in Copywriter Casey Nealon to carry the work across the goal line.
My Role: Concept, Associate Creative Director, Copywriter
Stadium Signage: Pylon
The video loops on large digital screens situated immediately outside entrances to MetLife Stadium. The copy reads: “The right team. The right game plan. Made for giant moments.”
Stadium Signage: L-Wrap
This subtle animation loops on a large Jumbotron-style screen inside MetLife Stadium during Giants home games.
Stadium Signage: LEDs
A :15 LED ribbon circling MetLife Stadium. In the animation, Citizens takes the field, then draws up the game plan.
Social
We focused the social media content on building excitement around the team, making use of provided player imagery — as well as stills of our spokesperson, Giants legend Eli Manning.
Banner Ads
Animated banners on Giants.com, driving fans to citizensbank.com/giants to learn more.
Podcast Read: Huddle Podcast presented by Citizens
A :20 live read for the Giants Huddle podcast. It ties the game plan on the field to a game plan for your money.
Print: Program Ad
This full-page ad appears in the Giants Game Day Program available in the luxury suites section. As part of our partnership with Giants legend, Eli Manning, we’re able to write from his voice — in this case describing why he banks with Citizens.
Contest: Eli Manning Experience - Digital Signage
We invited fans to enter to win a watch party experience with Giants legend Eli Manning at MetLife Stadium. We couldn’t explicitly call it a “watch party,” opting to refer to it as a “Giants Game Day” experience instead.
Credits
ACD: Andrew Ralston Smith
Concept: Andrew Ralston Smith, Shawn Anderson, Brian Fudge
CW: Andrew Ralston Smith, Casey Nealon
Art Director/Designer: Shawn Anderson
Animator: Katie Covino, Tyler Chauncey
Social Strategy: Kyle Vascovitz, Corrie Traverse
Project Manager: Christina Turano
