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Despite being a sizable firm, Credit One Bank found itself struggling to amplify its brand awareness. It’s doubling down on those efforts now, having named full-service agency Deutsch LA its agency of record across creative, media and brand work.
The brand team expanded its focus beyond media, inviting integrated agency competitors to the pitch. Dallas-based full-service shop The TRG Agency was the incumbent and had worked with Credit One for about five years.
This collaboration marks a new chapter for Credit One, which is executing a growth strategy to broaden its impact on the competitive financial services industry. For Deutsch LA, it’s a significant win that displays the agency’s propensity for taking on full-service work for a large consumer brand. Historically, the bulk of its revenue came from creative services, but it’s been aggressively growing its media practice in recent years.
This win signals that it’s ready to compete with legacy media agencies for work, something that can be an uphill battle.
“We’re looking to take it to the next level, which dovetails into our ultimate goal,” Amber Greenwalt, svp, brand and advertising at Credit One Bank, told ADWEEK. “That is to become a household credit card issuer for products that range across the whole entire spectrum.”
Inside the review
The brand team eschewed a pitch consultant and ran the review itself, which took tapping employees who knew the industry and creating a list of invitees.
Credit One began by searching for agencies that had strong media and analytics strategies. Those were crucial, given the brand’s aim to optimize its buying.
“At a brand level, we want to reach a pool of people, but then the various different products reach various different audiences and we wanted to create less waste,” Greenwalt said.
Greenwalt invited eight agencies to the review, which she declined to name. Five of them pitched, but in the end it came down to TRG and Deutsch LA.
“Through that process, we got exposed to much more than what we were asking for,” Greenwalt said.
Seeking integrated agencies
Deutsch LA brought its business intelligence team to the pitch, demonstrating its test-and-learn strategy that validates audience insights in real time. It helped Greenwalt understand that the agency is truly integrated.
“We were able to see analytics really being used and leveraged in developing strategies, as well as creative opportunities,” she said.
