Bank of Ireland

The challenge:

Since the onset of the Covid pandemic, the students of Ireland have been through the ringer. Life just hasn’t been what it was. Everything that students loved and looked forward to as part of student life just couldn’t happen. Where some banks will offer students cash to switch or open accounts, Bank of Ireland wanted to think differently. They wanted to create something meaningful; something we knew was important to the students of Ireland and be useful throughout the college year.

The solution:

Bank of Ireland is focused on improving the financial wellbeing of all their customers. This is particularly relevant for students as this will be the first time they will have lived away from home.

Sure, they’re often not the best neighbours, and they have no understanding of the meaning of closing time but at their heart students take social responsibility seriously. They care about issues that shape how we live in the world; issues like sustainability and the environment – and they expect the brands that they encounter to care too.

So we created The F Word Playbook; a unique custom-designed pack, available only to new student customers of Bank of Ireland. A project almost a year in the making we partnered with Jill & Gill, an independent Irish creative design house renowned for creating fine art prints and wearable art for people who want to own limited editions. Our collaboration with Jill & Gill saw us creating a unique design inspired by Bank of Ireland’s brand, that ran across all elements of the student pack. Along with a host of student inspired gifts like a Gill & Jill T Shirt and Tote Bag, was The F Word Playbook; a beautifully Jill & Gill illustrated work notebook designed to help students to not only plan classes and schedule day-to-day life, but it’s also packed with tips on how to include Financial Wellbeing and sustainability into everyday decisions.

The F Word Pack was made using recycled materials and low-tech processes such as risograph printing and all on certified FSC papers. On top of this we created a series of short videos featuring cooking, upcycling and sustainability content which was housed on a special hub on the Bank of Ireland website.