Audience-Based Content Strategy Reached New Customers
Audience research, grounded in real life experiences, shaped banking content that mattered to people.
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3
new target audience segmentations
At a Glance
- Client
- WesBanco
- Engagement
- Research, Content Strategy
- Audiences
- Gen Z & Millenials
- Focus
- Reaching younger adults at the moments that matter most
Overview
We studied Gen Z and millennial banking behavior, identified the life stages and events that mattered most, and used search behavior to set content priorities.
WesBanco wanted a smarter way to speak to people entering new stages of adulthood and making high-stakes money moves. We built the content strategy around real research, not assumptions.
That connected view shaped communications planning, targeting, channel choices, flighting, sequencing, and brand messaging.
The work gave WesBanco a practical system for showing up when its audience needed financial guidance most with content rooted in the truth of what people were already looking for.
The Proof
The content and brand marketing framework informed communications planning, targeting recommendations, and channel recommendations. It also identified three target audience segmentations based on research and opportunity, a life event content production calendar for the year, and videos, social posts, blog posts, and landing pages.
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1
Year lift event content calendar
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38
Content topics developed
The Goal
WesBanco wanted to prioritize its marketing around people in early adulthood who needed guidance for major life events, while building a clearer content and brand strategy for the bank. They needed a platform they could build from that would support their goals and their customers’ goals over time.
The Challenge
The bank’s customer base was getting older and they wanted to expand and stay relevant. Gen Z and Millennial audiences had different life experiences and banking needs than the bank’s existing Gen X and Baby Boomer customers.
WesBanco needed to understand which life moments to prioritize, how they may differ for these new generations, and how to turn that into a content plan informed by search behavior and business priorities.
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New Audience
WesBanco wanted to expand to a younger audience, but they needed to know what mattered to them first.
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Endurance
The content needed to be relevant and evergreen ― not a flash in the pan, but something that would drive continued growth.
The Solution
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Third-party Research
Conducted third-party research on Gen Z and millennials in banking to understand what their goals and pain points were, and what banking features they looked for.
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Life Stages
Defined and ranked the life stages and events most relevant to these audiences and where and how they overlapped with WesBanco products and business priorities.
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Search Behavior
Used online search behavior to shape content priorities and inform campaign messaging, channel selection, flighting, sequencing, and planning.
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Audience Segmentations
Developed a structured set of audience segmentations and a yearlong content calendar the team could build from, which included the initial 38 content topics brought to life across multiple formats.
