When Banking Became a Craft

Client: UBS

After UBS’s emergency acquisition of Credit Suisse in March 2023, the world’s largest private-wealth manager faced a trust shock. Confidence dipped and familiarity/preference varied by market, just as geopolitics, intensified competition (US, Hong Kong, Singapore) and the “Great Wealth Transfer” raised the stakes. UBS needed to reassure existing clients and rebuild familiarity in former Credit Suisse markets—under strict banking privacy rules.

We reframed wealth management as craftsmanship, not transactions. Research showed HNWIs choose on personalisation, quality and reputation—areas where UBS’s Swiss heritage is a natural advantage. This became “Banking is Our Craft,” activated through a simple full-funnel model: PRIME, PUSH, PROMPT. PRIME turned major partnerships (F1, Art Basel) and premium publisher collaborations into proof of precision. PUSH used privacy-safe clean rooms and AI lookalikes to scale compliant behavioural insight. PROMPT applied machine learning to spot intent, shift budgets and optimise creative in real time. Results: +9% global familiarity, +13% preference, -46% cost per quality visit, -50% cost per form success, stronger sustained search demand, and measurable brand lift within seven weeks—embedding Craft into UBS’s long-term model.