How US Bank and Supergood Made an AI-Driven Campaign
Mar 4, 2025
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Michael Lacorazza, CMO of U.S. Bank, and Mike Barrett, co-founder of SuperGood, delve into the groundbreaking 'The Power of Us' campaign that fuses AI with marketing. They discuss how AI optimizes audience analysis, streamlines creative processes, and enhances campaign performance. The duo also addresses the evolving role of consultants in the age of AI while emphasizing the importance of human insight in navigating complex data. Plus, they tackle intriguing topics like AI hallucination and the potential impact of AGI on communication.
The use of AI reduced campaign development time significantly, enhancing creative processes and allowing for quicker audience engagement.
U.S. Bank's brand narrative transformation aimed to broaden its appeal beyond retail banking by leveraging AI-driven insights for targeted messaging.
Deep dives
Accelerating Campaign Development with AI
Utilizing artificial intelligence enabled marketers to significantly reduce the campaign development time from over six months to just three and a half months. This acceleration allowed for more rapid engagement with key audience segments and enhanced creativity through real-time feedback on creative concepts. The integration of AI technologies facilitated smarter and more insightful decision-making, ultimately leading to a faster market entry for campaigns. With this approach, marketers could respond to audience needs more dynamically, leveraging data insights effectively along the creative process.
Transforming Brand Perception
The shifting brand narrative for U.S. Bank aimed to elevate its image from a modest Midwestern bank to a major financial institution with diverse services. This required a reevaluation of brand storytelling to better reflect its extensive reach beyond just retail banking. By leveraging its strong brand name, the marketing team sought to enhance brand recognition and resonance with a broader audience. Through collaborative efforts with an AI-focused agency, they aimed to ensure that their messaging aligned closely with market expectations and consumer insights.
Leveraging AI for Enhanced Marketing Strategy
AI technologies provided critical support in strategic marketing by synthesizing vast amounts of competitive and audience data. This involved analyzing market trends, customer behaviors, and understanding decision-making processes, all at an accelerated pace compared to traditional methods. By creating detailed consumer personas, marketers could tailor their strategies effectively to meet specific audience needs. This data-driven approach to decision-making not only streamlined the briefing process but also set the stage for more targeted and relevant campaign execution.
Successful Campaign Outcomes and Metrics
The measured success of the campaign was demonstrated by a significant return on ad spend, exceeding expectations with a return of about 3.8 times the initial goal. Key elements that contributed to this success included focusing on customer experience innovations that resonated well with the target audience. AI insights validated crucial messaging strategies, steering the creative team toward emphasizing brand strengths and unique service offerings. This careful calibration of creative outputs ensured that the campaign not only stood out but also effectively communicated the bank's commitment to enhancing customer interactions.
Michael Lacorazza, CMO of US Bank, and Mike Barrett, Founder and CSO at Supernatural AI, set out to break the mold: to partner together on an advertising campaign for the large financial institution using innovative AI methods and achieving fast results. If you’re interested in how to partner with AI agencies to take your work to the next level, listen to this case study about “The Power of Us” campaign, and walk away with lessons for your own organization.