The Big Interview – Nigel Gilbert
Nigel Gilbert, group marketing director for Lloyds TSB, explains the rationale behind the brand getting involved with London 2012 and why he can’t imagine the Games being anything but a huge success…
Profile
Nigel Gilbert, group marketing director, Lloyds TSB
Under Nigel Gilbert’s leadership as group marketing director, a role he took up in October 2006, Lloyds TSB has made significant strides in increasing its public profile.
Since February 2007, the marketing team has launched several major initiatives designed to complement operational improvements targeted at growing bottom line profit.
The first has seen the reinvigoration of the Lloyds TSB brand with a new customer proposition, ‘for the journey…’ With a series of primetime spots on terrestrial and satellite TV as well as executions in print and on the radio, Lloyds TSB is communicating that the bank is there to support them on their journeys through life, wherever they want to go.
Explaining his rationale for this new approach, Nigel commented, “We want to differentiate ourselves from other banks. We sell similar products but we are not all the same. Other banks talk about themselves; Lloyds TSB is talking about our customers and their needs”.
Nigel has also led the Group’s efforts to secure the role for Lloyds TSB of Official Banking Partner for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Nigel continued, “I’m extremely proud that Lloyds TSB is supporting the London Games. We are a great British brand supporting the biggest British event that will happen in our lifetime. The partnership is a perfect match with our theme of ‘for the journey…’ – after all, there aren’t many journeys bigger than this – and shows that the Group has a purpose beyond profit, playing an integral part in the communities in which we operate”.
Before joining Lloyds TSB, Nigel held the role of Chairman and CEO of Lowe Asia Pacific from 2004-2006, managing 40 offices and 2,400 staff. Focussing on advertising and direct marketing, he created a new business model designed to help the company deliver more effectively for its multinational clients and led a comprehensive study that enabled effective segmentation of Asian consumers.
Bringing big ideas to life in order to help Britain’s big banks succeed is not a new challenge for Nigel. As Worldwide Account Director at Lowe from 1998-2003, he headed the team that created the newly unified HSBC global brand proposition ‘the world’s local bank’ in 2002. This much-lauded campaign was based on research that showed that although people appreciate living in an international world, they question a standardised global approach and want to feel that companies understand their individual needs. By 2003 the campaign was credited with vaulting HSBC to 33rd place in Interbrand’s top 100 study of global companies and increasing the brand’s value to US$8.6bn.
Before joining Lowe, Nigel worked at Young and Rubicam where between 1996 and 1998 he held the role of Account Managing Director for Ericsson mobile phones. He ran eight regional and global product launches across 35 markets for Ericsson which met with particular success in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and North and East Africa.
From 1993 to 1996 Nigel headed up Dentsu, Young and Rubicam’s agency in Hong Kong. During this time he managed the largest regional account, Holiday Inn, and brought Shell China and AT&T to the agency.
Prior to this he was a Director of Collett, Dickenson, Pearce and Partners London and later managed their European network. Nigel began his advertising career in 1980 as a media planner, working first at Allen Brady and Marsh before joining CDP in 1983.
Living in southwest London, Nigel is happily married and the proud father of two daughters. His main sporting obsession these days is skiing and he remains as interested as ever in motors, music, cinema and the arts.
