Track Your Racks

Standard Bank’s Track Your Racks campaign, which was developed in partnership with its integrated creative agency M+C Saatchi Abel, is gathering notable momentum on the global stage. The initiative was most recently awarded a merit in The One Show’s Innovation — Use of Radio & Audio category.

“Standard Bank is passionate about driving financial confidence and inclusion,” says Susan Steward, Executive Head of Marketing at Standard Bank. “By anchoring this campaign to music, which is a major passion for the youth, we’ve been able to deliver vital financial education and speak to young South Africans in an entirely new and resonant way. The success of the campaign is a testament to what happens when purpose, innovation, and partnership come together to drive meaningful financial inclusion from the inside out.”

M+C Saatchi Abel Chief Creative Officer Jake Bester says the campaign started with a simple insight: Young South Africans don’t care about banking, but they care deeply about music.

“To shift this mindset, we needed a deep, collaborative execution that seamlessly blended Standard Bank’s financial expertise and purpose with culturally disruptive ideas,” explains Bester. “The partnership allowed us to transform financial behaviour into something the youth actively want to engage with, positioning the bank at the forefront of creative innovation.”

How Track Your Racks worked:

● Behavioural Analysis: Users answer science-backed questions to analyse and predict their spending habits.
● Dynamic Playlists: Based on the data, specific songs reflected financial health. Songs like She Ain’t Got No Money in the Bank by Swizz Beats signaled trouble, while Ballin’ by Roddy Rich would indicate the user was thriving with their personal finances.
● Tailored Solutions: The platform used this data to retarget users with relevant banking tools and budgeting solutions specific to their current financial situation.

The songs in the playlist would change to match the financial status of the listener in real time as the days passed. In other words, the playlist changed to match each listener's unique financial habits based on data that was captured on their spending habits on the campaign’s website.

The campaign bypassed traditional industry jargon and delivered a first-of-its-kind execution, creatively encouraging young people to be more in touch with their finances