Suresh Balaji: Banking on belief

The launch of ‘Bank on Lloyds’, created by Publicis Groupe’s Power of One team Publicis Go, signals a clear shift in how Lloyds wants to show up and is a mark of intent by the bank’s Group CMO Suresh Balaji.

While the traditional high street banking sector has - as a whole - suffered from disruption from digital and challenger banks when it comes to satisfaction surveys (according to the Which? and the Competition & Markets Authority banking survey), Lloyds’ new campaign positions it as a practical partner in people’s ambitions, from first homes to growing businesses.

It’s deliberately broad, but grounded in research pointing to a continued appetite for personal and financial advancement, despite economic uncertainty.

For Balaji, appointed Group CMO in October 2023, the campaign reflects a wider reset. He has been open about his views that this was needed, telling the trade website Campaign that “the days of just advertising-led brand development are over”.

That belief has shaped some significant decisions. Earlier this year, Lloyds ended its ten-year relationship with adam&eveDDB and rather than appointing a retained replacement, the group has moved to an ad-hoc model, bringing in partners as needed. Publicis Groupe has been handed creative duties for Lloyds Premier and ‘Bank on Lloyds’. Balaji has also called time on Lloyds’ long-running focus on 'By Your Side' ads, featuring black horses galloping along a beach (they were last seen trotting back to the stables).

The rationale behind this change of focus is consistency. Balaji argues that brand coherence now depends less on a single agency relationship and more on how effectively a promise is delivered across all touchpoints - advertising, product, digital and service. In short, it’s as much about systems as storytelling.

This approach is also evident in Lloyds’ mobile app redesign, rolled out last autumn, with a campaign created by adam&eveTBWA, alongside a refreshed visual identity.

"There’s always one brand or app that is synonymous with every category, e.g. I chat on WhatsApp, buy on Amazon, track workouts on Strava. When it comes to my finances, I bank on Lloyds. So do more than 20 million customers," says Balaji.

"As the UK’s largest digital banking group, Britain’s number one direct lender for first time buyers, helping 9 million save and invest, and supporting over 1mn businesses, Lloyds is the trusted enabler of ambitions, hopes and dreams. ‘Bank on Lloyds’ is our bold creative strategy that encompasses this.

"We also celebrate our black horse, Cancara, arguably Britain’s favourite icon, through vibrant, modern, and human storytelling. A big thanks to everyone involved," he concludes.

The app update focused on scalability, usability and personalisation, treating the app as a primary brand experience rather than a utility. For a bank with millions of daily digital interactions, this is where brand is most tangibly felt.

Balaji’s thinking has been shaped by a global career spent navigating complexity at scale. Before Lloyds, Balaji held senior leadership roles at Standard Chartered and HSBC, including CMO for Asia-Pacific, where he learned how culture, technology and customer expectation collide.

Looking ahead, Balaji plans to extend the logic to partners. According to Marketing Week, Lloyds intends to give external agencies access to its internal brand and design platform, Cancara OS - described by Balaji as a “developer kit” for designers and engineers. The aim is to reduce friction, speed up delivery and ensure consistency across teams working inside and outside the organisation.

Seen in that light, ‘Bank on Lloyds’ is less a creative flourish and more a visible output of a broader operational shift. Under Balaji, brand at Lloyds is being treated less as a communications layer and more as an integrated part of how the business is built and experienced.