I led the creative development for M&T Bank’s Banking Built for Business campaign, which was designed to connect with small business owners at different stages of their entrepreneurial journey. The challenge was to craft a conceptually strong and visually engaging campaign that would balance brand credibility with fresh, high-performing creative assets optimized for digital and social platforms.

Creative Approach

From the outset, I focused on a dual creative strategy—leveraging both lifestyle imagery to evoke emotional connection and vector-based illustrations to drive clarity and performance. This approach allowed us to tailor messaging and visuals for two key business owner personas:

• Aspirational Achievers – Young, high-growth entrepreneurs navigating complex financial needs.
• Passionate Providers – Small business owners turning their passions into profitable ventures.

Through extensive concept development and creative testing, I worked to refine the visual identity of the campaign, ensuring it resonated with both audience segments while maintaining a cohesive brand story.

My Role

• Creative Conceptualization & Direction – Shaped the overarching visual strategy and design language, ensuring that the campaign not only adhered to brand standards but also introduced fresh, compelling creative.
• Messaging & Visual Integration – Developed a framework for testing offer-driven imagery vs. brand-focused visuals, optimizing engagement and conversion rates across multiple channels.
• Data-Driven Design Development – Used performance insights to refine ad layouts, typography, and imagery, ensuring a balance of storytelling and conversion optimization.
• Multi-Platform Execution – Designed a suite of responsive digital ads, display banners, and social media creatives, ensuring consistency and impact across Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and programmatic display advertising.

Final Deliverables

• A fully developed suite of digital and social ad creatives
• Optimized web and mobile display banners
• Performance-driven A/B tested creative variations

Results & Impact

The campaign drove significant engagement and conversion uplift, with key performance highlights including:

• 18% increase in click-through rates (CTR) on vector-based ads compared to previous lifestyle-only approaches.
• 23% higher conversion rate for ads that incorporated offer language directly in the visuals.
• 3.5x return on ad spend (ROAS) from targeted placements, exceeding initial performance benchmarks.
• Increased lead quality, with a noticeable uptick in business account inquiries from high-growth entrepreneurs.