In new campaign, Firstbank reiterates commitment to brand, customer relationship

Recently, FirstBank of Nigeria flagged off a new campaign, tagged, ‘Giants In You’. Launched on Monday, July 15, 2024, it serves as a call to action, inspiring individuals and businesses to embrace their inherent greatness and accomplish extraordinary achievements. The campaign is also aimed at inspiring and encouraging the bank’s customers these trying times.

First unveiled at a private screening on July 12, 2024, at the Ebony Life Place, Victoria Island, Lagos, the campaign has been a regular feature of Nigeria’s media space.

A brainchild of SO&U and the FirstBank team, the essence of the campaign is to tell the public of its efforts at enabling the giants in them, as well as giving utmost priority to the safety and security of their transactions.

These multiple press materials speak to the need of business men/ women using some prodding headlines or questions as the case may be – ‘Ready to Take Giants Strides?’, ‘Stride into the Future’, ‘Think Giant Solutions’ and ‘Stand Tall and Stand out’.

Others are FirstDiaspora – The diaspora community is fairly represented and catered for in the campaign through this material. The commercial speaks to making remittances seamlessly stress-free deploying technology.

Also determined to encourage Nigerian youths to develop a healthy saving culture and build expenditure and an investment profile, the bank has reiterated its commitment to empowering Nigerian youths.

Through its xploreFirst, the bank targets students and speaks to these future leaders on spectacular future. In this campaign, the bank targets the Gen Z generation with its newest packages for youths and youth entrepreneurs, noting that its various channels and platforms are designed to promote various enterprises. The bank hopes to catch them young and retain them for a more profitable future.

The bank, through its FirstMobile and FirstOnline products, also talked to individuals and SMEs as the bedrock of every economy, in a bid to helping this class to scale up and become ‘next African Giants’.

Suffice it to say, the core message of this campaign is empowerment, as it urges everyone to acknowledge the ‘giant’ in him/her and leverage the inner strengths to conquer challenges and reach new heights.

The campaign highlights the bank’s exploits in technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to be tech-compliant and remain relevant in providing the customers with top notch tech enabled financial services, products, solutions and support.

At the media unveiling, Head of Brands and Stakeholder Management, Yinka Ijabiyi, reiterated the bank’s commitment to offering comprehensive business support, financial expertise, growth solutions, channels, and platforms to empower its customers and enterprises.

“With this campaign, FirstBank is not just celebrating its rich heritage but also setting the stage for a future where everyone can realise their giant potential,” he said.

“We believe one of the ways of building this giant in our customers is by providing them a safe, secure, trusted and enduring brand, boasting a heritage of 130 years of continuous business operations and impact.”

He stressed that for 130 years, the bank has been a steadfast partner to its customers, nurturing their aspirations and fostering their development. He highlighted how the ‘Giant In You’ campaign embodies the essence of the bank’s dedication to empowering the community and enabling them to achieve their full potential.

In recent years, the bank has transformed its banking model, embraced a more modern approach, and pioneered many firsts in digital and online banking solutions. The bank has invested resources to advance banking beyond physical walls, offering customers a plethora of options for convenient digital banking. Mobile banking, cards and personal banking, electronic banking, PoS agents, online banking, USSD services, and more have empowered millions of previously unbanked individuals in rural and underserved areas.

With over 800 business locations and over 232,000 agents spread across 99 per cent of the 774 councils in the country, the banking group provides a comprehensive range of retail and corporate financial services to serve its over 42 million customers.

“The essence of this campaign is to tell our customers that in the past 130 years we have been creating and supporting giants and that we are not about to stop doing that anytime soon. The campaign speaks to the art and essence of our business which is making giants of our customers,” Ijabiyi explained.

“We believe that there is a ‘Giant’ in every customer, every employee and every stakeholder – a giant dream, a giant possibility, a giant idea, a giant life, a giant future waiting to be birthed.

“Our commitment is to provide all the necessary business support, financial knowhow, growth solutions, channels and platforms to bring out the giant in every customer.”

Ijabiyi added that with the bank’s rich array of tailored solution for every customer, employee and stakeholder; it is best equipped to provide what those stakeholders needed to turn their dreams and desires into giant successes.

“We have been around for 130 years, over that period we have created and made giants of a lot of our customers and businesses. What we are doing is that we are encapsulating that in this campaign to say, ‘If you are not doing business with us come to us, we’ll make you giant’. If you’re already doing with us, we are saying, ‘we will continue to make giant of you in every area of your life or any area you aspire to be a giant even if what you have is only a dream and a prayer’. This is the essence, turning our customers into the Giants they wish or aspire to be,” he remarked.

Ijabiyi, representing the Group Head, Marketing and Corporate Communications of the bank, Folake Ani-Mumuney, stated that the bank has succeeded in building such confidence by being a national icon, a regional leader and a globally recognised intercontinental player, through its operations in 10 countries across four continents, and over 43 million customer accounts, in 750 business locations.
In line with the UN Sustainable Development Goal 5, which seeks gender equality and empowerment for all women and girls, the bank has demonstrated its commitment to Diversity through policies, partnerships and initiatives, such as its employees’ ratio of female to male (39 per cent: 61 per cent); and 32 per cent women in management), as well as various initiatives aimed at addressing gender gap and increasing participation of women at all levels within the organisation.

In addition, its membership of the UN Women is an affirmation of a deliberate policy that is consistent with UN Women’s Women Empowerment’s Principles – Equal Opportunity, Inclusion, and Non-discrimination.

First Bank has been committed to CSR initiatives for several decades and has consistently demonstrated its support for the community. The bank’s CSR initiatives are centred on five key pillars: environmental sustainability, economic empowerment, health, education, arts, culture, and heritage.

To show that its socially responsible, the bank announced its sponsorship of the Lagos command performance of Eniogun , The Noble Warrior, a theatrical performance in honour of Prof. Wole Soyinka, as part of the lineup of activities celebrating the 90th birthday of the literary giant and national icon.

The Noble Warrior produced by Cash Onadele and directed by Oriade Adefila was performed at the MUSON Centre on July 20 and 21, 2024.

This is another significant stride in the Bank’s First@art Initiative conceived with the key objective of supporting the value chain of Nigerian arts and cultural development for the growth and development of the country’s creative economy.