Transforming anti-phishing education into snackable social content.

Phishing scams have become a billion dollar problem for banks across America — especially when it comes to their Millennials and Generation Z customers. Banks want to help their customers avoid getting duped. But there’s one problem: learning about fraudulent emails, calls, and texts… is boring. The American Banker's Association, the united voice of America's banks—small, regional and large—that together employ more than 2 million and serve many million more, came to Big Monocle to create a campaign educating their audiences about phishing scams. So where does the younger generation go to find quick tips, DIY tricks, and life-changing life hacks? Social media. We built a whitelabel campaign-in-a-box with delightfully bold anti-phishing content that could compete with cute puppies, sandy beaches, and sourdough loaves that dominate younger audiences’ news feeds: #BanksNeverAskThat. Full of snack-size videos, GIFs, printable posters and social-ready tips, it had the power to stop the scroll and teach about phishing — something social media teams for ABA member banks across the country from Wells Fargo to Vermont’s Passumpsic Bank could get excited to deploy under one united banner.

2019

Starting in October, National Cyber Security Awareness Month, more than 1,000+ ABA member banks shared punchy, bold, and decidedly fresh anti-phishing advice, helping their customers become expert scam spotters. The snack-size tips led to a campaign landing page with deeper anti-phishing education. Daring customers could even prove their mettle by with an interactive phishing quiz and compete for a $1000 cash prize.

We supplied the American Banker’s Association with a ready-to-use media kit, including social media posts with tips and tricks, GIFs, and printables to deploy through their partner’s channels.

A total of 1,675 ABA member banks registered to get the #BanksNeverAskThat campaign kit, making it the largest consumer protection campaign in ABA history. Titans like Wells Fargo, Chase Bank, American Express, and HSCB joined countless regional banks to share the snackable anti-phishing education, while thousands of their social media audiences embraced, and re-shared the education to help their friends take on scammers.

But it wasn’t just banks that locked arms in the crusade: the House Financial Services Committee, state governments, and media like Politico, CBS, and PC Mag were eager to join the ranks.

2021

Because of the major success and feedback received by the general public and their member banks, the American Bankers Association came back for a 2021 extension and refresh of the campaign. To add more interactivity with the campaign, we designed and developed an interactive online quiz-style game to test your scam-spotting skills using real-world text, emails and phone transcripts. We also deployed a refreshed member kit and landing page as well.