By the side of customers and colleagues for generations, Lloyds Banking Group’s purpose is to ‘Help Britain Prosper’, which celebrates its history while helping to build a sustainable and inclusive future.

As lead sponsor of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, Lloyds was looking deliver on its purpose and demonstrate how it has been by the side of customers throughout the Queen’s reign.

The brand already recognised the need to show full commitment to the sponsorship both inside and outside the organisation, but with hundreds of thousands of people descending on London to join the celebrations and no visible sponsorship assets on the ground, Lloyds had to find a way to grow key brand associations with those who would care most in the crowds. Without visual assets, this was a job for media.

Lloyds partnered with the Evening Standard to create the Jubilee Standard, a special publication entirely dedicated to the Platinum Jubilee celebrations. Crucially, the bank was the only advertising partner, giving it multiple ad insertions in one edition. What is more, the Standard’s unique delivery infrastructure meant the paper could be in the hands of a huge proportion of this valuable audience of spectators.

The campaign was turned around in eight days with 350,000 Jubilee Standard editions being printed and distributed over the four-day Jubilee celebration. This was the first time in its history that the news brand had been published on a bank holiday and the paper helped the spectators make the most of the celebrations and navigate the parade route. Lloyds ads were interspersed throughout, each demonstrating how the bank had supported business and retail customers throughout the Queen’s reign.

Lloyds’ partnership with the Evening Standard delivered fantastic results. A massive 74% exposed to the campaign said it made them feel much more positive about Lloyds and an even bigger 92% thought the campaign was an ‘excellent fit’ for the brand. The bank saw an 8% increase in the sentiment that ‘Lloyds is a brand for people like me’ during the campaign and, importantly, a 12% increase in the feeling ‘the ads make me think Lloyds has the expertise to help me’.

The Jubilee Standard gave us a once in a lifetime contextual media opportunity, positioning Lloyds Banking Group by the side of a nation celebrating its longest reigning monarch.

Sam Hunt, media manager, Lloyds Banking Group

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