Online Investment Platform Bestinvest Breaks Finance Category Norms with Multichannel Brand Relaunch

Award-winning online investment platform Bestinvest, part of Tilney Smith & Williamson, has today unveiled a major new £4m multichannel brand relaunch campaign, ‘You Work Hard for Your Money, Bestinvest It’. The push was developed in partnership with strategic and creative consultancy Harbour Collective, with media planning and buying by VCCP Media, and is the first work to launch since Bestinvest appointed the two agencies in 2021.

With a brief to relaunch and reposition Bestinvest in order to double its brand awareness within five years, Harbour Collective partnered with the online investment platform to develop a strategy and creative idea to cut through the noise. 

Bestinvest’s new creative platform engages self-directed investors who are seeking reassurance and support in making their investment decisions. They work hard for their money and they have an interest in making it work as hard as they do. Investing with Bestinvest is the way to do this; to escape the daily grind, to maximise their money and achieve their long-term dreams. These investors don’t need a full wealth management solution, but they are looking for a way to make the most of their money with a trusted brand. Bestinvest do just that, by reinventing online investing and providing free tools, insights and guidance to help investors plan for the future and make better financial decisions.

With everyone in the finance world saying the same thing, in the same way, Harbour Collective decided to develop a unique, ownable creative platform to tap into this insight, leveraging Bestinvest’s name in the campaign line, “You Work Hard for Your Money, Bestinvest It.”

To bring the campaign idea to life, Harbour Collective developed a series of witty scenarios reflecting the daily grind of working life, positioning Bestinvest as the way forward to escape it and reach your goals. The hero 30-second film, directed by Jon Barber at MindsEye, shows people in a range of different situations, all working extremely hard for their money. The characters range from a stuntman, who is repeatedly told to smash through a window by the director, until they get that perfect shot, to a salon owner dressed in a pubic hair costume, going the extra mile for new customers.

The 30-second hero spot will debuted on TV during Live at The Apollo and Jamie’s Great Britain. VCCP Media also brokered a cinema campaign with Everyman Cinemas which will see the new Bestinvest spot premier during ‘Top Gun: Maverick.’ 

Supporting TV and cinema is a hero ‘AUDIO’ out-of-home activation at Westfield Hammersmith which will treat passers-by to the smashing sound of the stunt man breaking through the glass. All media spots have been intentionally chosen to complement the creative as well as drive awareness and help navigate people to the right place in their investment journey.

HeadsUp Production is production partner for the campaign.

Simonetta Rigo, chief marketing officer, Tilney Smith & Williamson, said: “To convince people to invest their hard-earned money through Bestinvest, we needed to develop a standout creative platform to cut through the noise.

“Harbour Collective understood this perfectly, and have created something truly unexpected and memorable, which we believe will really resonate with our audience of hardworking investors.”

Grant Parker, creative partner, Harbour Collective, added: “To stand out from the “sea of same” that is the world of financial services marketing, we stayed as far away from the cliches and stereotypes of the sector as possible.

“The scenes in our hero film needed to feel relatable and real, so we chose talent who reflected that and who people will care about. We wanted our audience to be able to empathise with the characters and recognise the pain of the grind, of working hard for your money.

“We’re excited to launch a campaign which feels really fresh, and unlike anything any of Bestinvest’s competitors are doing.”

Tara Marus, joint CEO, VCCP Media, concluded: “Bestinvest are the epitome of the Challenger clients we love to work with, showing a distinct appetite to challenge the category norms. Working with Harbour we have been able to collaborate to devise an interesting and contextual plan to amplify the creative across high impact broadcast and digital media."

Harbour is a collective of independent specialist agencies connected around a central strategic and creative consultancy hub. It was launched in 2017 by Paul Hammersley (managing partner) who was joined by Mick Mahoney (creative partner) and Kev Chesters (strategy partner) in 2019. Its unique structure and client offering are designed as a contemporary alternative to the large legacy agency groups. Clients include McCarthy Stone, Tilney Smith & Williamson, The Athletic, BT, Match.com, Fitbit and John Lewis.