A creative take on the digital banking world

When Digital Banking goes Creative

Centric is BNP Paribas’ digital banking platform. It was designed to simplify the digital banking journey through intuitive features, a wide range of services, and cutting-edge technology. At the heart of Centric lies Noa, a digital assistant powered by AI, dedicated to providing seamless support and enhancing the user experience.

BNP Paribas challenged us to develop a conceptual and personalised approach to Centric’s digital presentation. Our mission was to craft an activation campaign that would showcase Noa’s features and enhance the platform’s overall look and feel.

We thoroughly analysed Centric’s landing page for visual enhancements to meet BNP Paribas’ project vision. Simultaneously, we crafted an activation campaign for Noa, using illustrations, concepts, and compelling copywriting to bring its story to life. By following this approach, we aimed to make Centric’s experience feel more human and personalised.

Our contribution to Centric’s overall look & feel was substantial. We crafted a compelling narrative for BNP Paribas’ B2B corporate solution. This included various visual elements, from copy to illustrations and animations, enabling clients to fully understand Centric’s goals and features. We seamlessly integrated Noa’s storyline into this narrative, resulting in a cohesive and fresh communication approach.

How we helped:

• Storytelling: Core creative concept and brand digital narrative
• Content creation: Illustrations, 3D animations, presentation video
• Communication Strategy: Copywriting
• Landing Page: UI/UX design; user experience analysis

The banking world in the digital era

In today’s digital age, technology is omnipresent, reshaping how businesses operate and interact with their clients. The onset of COVID-19 accelerated digital transformation, prompting swift adaptation to remote work and prioritising seamless banking accessibility. Within the finance industry, navigating ever-evolving regulatory frameworks adds another layer of complexity. In response to these challenges, customers now seek a banking experience that is seamless, swift, and secure.

Enter BNP Paribas, a leading international bank headquartered in Paris. Being one of the world’s largest banks, it offers diverse financial services, including retail, corporate, institutional banking, asset, and investment management.

Furthermore, it recognises the need to revolutionise its digital banking offerings to meet the ever-evolving needs of its clients. Centric, launched in 2013, and Noa, its AI digital assistant launched in 2023, were developed within this context to provide a distinctive digital banking platform with intuitive features and comprehensive services.

Navigating the world of digital banking through creativity

In an era of rapid technological advancements, ever-changing consumer behaviours and highly competitive investment banking, BNP Paribas recognises the pressing need to revamp its B2B corporate solution, Centric, while seamlessly blending innovation, accessibility, and security. 

In this light, BNP Paribas decided to update Centric’s overall look & feel, ensuring a meticulous alignment with the expectations of modern clients. Simultaneously, they wanted to launch a communication campaign focusing on its AI-powered digital assistant, Noa. This proactive approach demonstrates our client’s commitment to staying ahead of industry trends and delivering exceptional value to clients in a competitive market.

Following our initial meetings, our team began brainstorming sessions to draft Noa’s activation campaign, which would also inspire the redesign of Centric’s page. At the same time, we analysed Centric’s platform, objectives, and applications to ensure a comprehensive understanding before delving into the page redesign process.

Navigating the financial world as creatives presented challenges, but it ultimately became an enriching experience and a valuable learning opportunity for the team. Despite the complexities inherent to the project, the final result did make us feel really proud!

Digital banking meets creativity

Developing an activation campaign for Noa and giving Centric a new look was both a challenge and a unique opportunity, as our mission remains steady in delivering meaningful work woven into compelling storytelling and a touch of geekiness!

As an AI-powered digital assistant, Noa is not just a tool but a cute and bubbly friend who interacts with the bank’s system. It provides clients with a quick response concerning daily transactions, payment status, and use of systems wherever they are and whenever they need them.

The question for our team was: how could we make Noa’s universe richer and more playful while effectively showcasing its diverse features as Centric’s AI digital assistant?

Our team crafted a narrative to bring Noa’s story to life, depicting its journey with a space launch symbolising its mission to empower Centric’s clients to navigate their finances with intelligence and efficiency. We then conceived a series of sci-fi-inspired illustrations depicting Noa in various scenarios, accompanied by written copy aligned with its tone of voice. Additionally, we created visuals where illustration and photography merged to underscore Noa’s real mission in the world.

From planning to execution

As part of the communication plan, we divided the narrative into three phases, each one conveying a different goal:

1. “Who is Noa”: focused on introducing Noa as an AI digital assistant;
2. “What does NOA do?”: focused on what Noa can do to help the client, explaining what types of information it can give;
3. “How does NOA do it?”: focused on how Noa can make the client’s life easier by introducing its features, benefits, and advantages.

Furthermore, we considered adding a tagline for the communication that could be actionable, catchy, and easily adapted, making it more engaging. Our proposal of a dynamic tagline: “Make it _______ . Just ask Noa” was well received by the client. Its adaptability allows it to be customised to different needs, adding that extra layer of cohesion and dynamism.

After crafting the narrative, we explored ways to enhance Centric’s presentation. For this purpose, we needed to integrate not only Noa but also an adaptable tagline and other visual elements that could make the page stand out among its competitors. With the page structure in place, we envisioned Centric visually represented by a conceptual animated cube, symbolising its dynamism and problem-solving mission.

From then on, we developed a series of other visual elements to complement the core message: Centric makes digital banking simpler and smarter by covering every need in one place. From vibrant animations to engaging copy, Centric’s landing page now offers an attractive and interactive experience for potential clients to explore.

When we began designing the landing page for Centric, we knew it had to showcase a series of technical and financial information while engaging the user. This page serves as a crucial meeting point where potential clients could be ‘converted’ and decide to invest in the platform. The responsibility was huge!

In addition, we also developed a presentation video to be included on the landing page, where clients could learn more about Noa. Our team was involved in the video production, from script to graphics.

Thankfully, the BNP Paribas team had faith in our creative instincts, and we delivered a personalised, unique, and playful take on digital banking services communication. This journey was genuinely distinct, from crafting illustrations to developing micro-animations and creating copy that aligned with all the key points the client wanted to highlight.

meaningful collaboration leads to meaningful work

Our collaboration with BNP Paribas for the Centric project and Noa’s activation campaign proved successful despite its challenges. Finding the right tone of voice for Noa required extensive trial and error exercises alongside the client’s team. Eventually, we struck a balance between expressing expertise while revealing Noa’s human and funny side.

Additionally, we delved into creating key visuals for Centric’s landing page, mainly focusing on portraying and animating the platform into a conceptual cube. Collaborating with 3D designer Xochitl Castaño, we navigated through each update until reaching the final result: a dynamic “cube” that visually represents the connectivity of applications and Noa, fueled by internal energy. After some minor adjustments, the project was successfully completed and launched.

The collaboration between KOBU Agency and BNP Paribas on the Centric project has been meaningful. Through the development of the communication campaign for Noa, the AI-powered digital assistant, and the redesign of Centric’s landing page, we’ve successfully achieved several key objectives, ultimately fulfilling the overall mission and goals of the project.

We’ve efficiently met BNP Paribas’ expectations for a communication campaign that showcases Centric’s features and benefits and fosters a sense of trust and reliability among users. Additionally, the seamless narrative of Noa within the Centric platform ensures a cohesive and intuitive user experience, aligning with BNP Paribas’ commitment to delivering excellence in digital banking services.

let imagination be your guide, and enjoy the journey!

This experience has been memorable for the whole team. We know it when we feel like we’re solving a puzzle, like a child, or when we’re having fun by playing with the idea of imagining how an AI-powered digital assistant would be metaphorically represented. It takes a certain amount of child-like perception and a mature, responsible one. 

Our team showed to be insightful, proactive, and imaginative in developing all the concepts, translating them into playful visuals and accurate copy for Centric and Noa communications. And we couldn’t be prouder of the final result!

Note to self: trust your creative instincts, be playful and have fun turning imagination into reality.

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