OREANDA-NEWS. June 05, 2013. At the Central Exhibition Hall Moscow Manege the awards ceremony was held for the laureates of the 2012 Brand of the Year / EFFIE. The Bronze prize was awarded for the bank’s international 200 Years Citi campaign, which was held as part of the celebrations of Citi’s 200th anniversary.

The main objective of the campaign was to raise the awareness of Citi’s brand and inform the target audience that Citi is a reliable bank with a 200-year history. In 2011 as a part of a major marketing research project by Citi more than 20,000 interviews were carried out with clients and employees in 20 countries around the world in order to study brand perception. Having looked at the results of the research, the bank’s leadership decided to use the occasion of the anniversary as an opportunity to revitalize one of the bank’s most valuable assets — the Citi brand — and make it one of the biggest global brands not only among banks but among all world-class companies.

"The campaign was international in scale and, in addition to Russia, was carried out in other key world markets. Its objectives were fully achieved, as in Russia more than 40% of the target audience became familiar with the advertising campaign dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the financial institution and brand awareness for Citi reached 29% in Moscow and 34% in St. Petersburg," said Michael Berner, Board Member, Consumer Business Manager, Citi Russia. "With our 200 Years Citi campaign we wanted to tell about the serious contribution which Citi has made to world progress".

In support of the 200 Years Citi campaign, a creative concept was developed based on important milestones in world history which facilitated Citi’s development into a leading international financial institution. A number of momentous historical events in which Citi played an active and key role were selected to support this narrative. During the course of the marketing campaign all major channels of communication were used: television, internet, business press, billboards, sponsorships and PR efforts. The campaign was also accompanied by numerous initiatives for bank employees as well as internal and client events in more than 70 cities worldwide. Moreover, Citi’s employees demonstrated their commitment to one of the bank’s key principles — Common Purpose — as they took part in the largest yet Global Community Day in June 2012.

Additionally, the historical photography exhibition "Citi: 200 Years of Global Economy and Finance" was organized at the 16th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. The exhibition presented a unique collection of historical photographs related to breakthrough moments in the development of world trade and business over the past 200 years that have provided an important stimulus to world economic growth.

The Brand of the Year / EFFIE competition is an international professional award for brand development and one of the most significant awards in the marketing communications profession in Russia. This is the only marketing competition in the country which is internationally recognized and licensed by the American Marketing Association (AMA).

Citi is now a three-time winner of the Brand of the Year / EFFIE award. In past years the bank was awarded for its marketing of credit cards and consumer loans.