It started with a manifesto

Written to signal both internally and to the world that the effects of the financial crisis needed company-wide - and industry-wide - change. And this cultural shift would be powerfully reflected in the way Citi would do business.

The Citi Manifesto would appear in print and online. Be handed out to every customer after every transaction. And form the basis of the whole of Citi’s new approach.

Citi Lunch and Learn

Walk into a typical bank, and you commonly see empty desks and short lines. As business shifts online, there’s plenty of underused real estate.

Citi employs some pretty smart people. So why not tap into that resource and have the brightest offer regular “Lunch and Learn” sessions in this underused space? Teaching financial skills to help people cope through tough times. It would demonstrate Citi’s commitment to the local community without adding to capital expense.

Citi Change Centers

As the crisis raged, high streets were emptying of shops, as businesses went bust. So for the small-business owner, we took a cue from the NYPD’s famous Broken Windows theory, to reverse the trend. Identifying empty storefronts, arranging short term leases with landlords. Then using them as fast-start incubators for the nation’s next generation of small businesses. Helping new businesses write a business plan, working with vendors, identifying partners and suppliers. etc. We called it the Citi Change Program. We aimed to fill each space we took with a new small business, to rapidly reverse the trend.

Citi Arc Awards

Within each industry, there are usually a handful of companies recognized as the thought leaders. Where careers are made, and standards are established. In financial services, Citi is such a company.

With that in mind, we suggested the concept of an internal award program to recognize employee innovation and excellence – as a way to develop and retain talent, share best practice, set high benchmarks for all employees, and promote Citi’s industry leadership.

The Citi logo has a red arc spanning over the last three letters. It represents the bridge - or arc - from dreams to reality. So we named it the Citi Arc Award.

Imagine Citi

We envisioned another internal recognition program. But this time for employees with less than two years at Citi – as a way to tap into their unique perspectives. The two-year time frame was chosen because that is the window when new employees best notice differences between where they were before and their current position.

Winning essays would be featured on Citi.com. And published in an annual collection – building a new generation of leaders and another aspect of Citi’s thought leadership.

Where Citi’s helping now

One continuing question throughout the financial crisis was what banks were doing with money received through the US Government’s TARP Program. So we proposed displaying the new sense of responsibility and community partnership, promised in the manifesto, through real-time updates, on web, in app and in retail bank windows. Building transparency and community trust.

Citi Speaks your Language

Phone banking already targets products to customers based on a variety of data points. But what if you could go further and create different categories of messaging and voicing for each customer interaction, based on circumstances and history? Using technology to enable us to provide a Citi experience more in tune with the understandings, experiences and presumptions of key demographics? So each phone and cashpoint interaction lowered the traditional barrier between a bank and its customers.

Citi Triangle Funds

Microfinance is often seen as a contributor to economic growth in developing regions. Citi has worked in microfinance in developing countries since 2005. Now we suggested they bring that expertise back home. To signal their commitment to the community.

Weenvisioned a product where banking consumers could invest in microfinancing initiatives in agriculture (à la Farm Aid), their local communities (à la Habitat for Humanity), or even their family’s education and health care (à la Flex Spending). Taking its symbol from the Delta, the mathematical and scientific sign for change, we called it the Citi Triangle Program.

Citi Renewed was one of those big, multilayered projects of real size and scale. Made more complicated - and more exciting - by the fact we were dealing with a political hot potato. At a time of major crisis. Not every idea made it through to the real world. But many did. Including the the launch of the global Citi Arc Awards program, while the core Citi Manifesto idea became the “Promises” campaign, seen here running across New York City.

Want to find out more? Here’s a 90 second overview from a brand perspective – narrated by Mark Kingsley, Global Creative Director, designer extraordinaire and my creative partner on this project.