Banking Gets Brave: How Westpac Turned Finance into Fun (and Fear)
Can a bank make you laugh? Or even scare you a little? In this episode of Canned, Westpac NZ’s marketing team shares how they turned financial education into entertainment.
Banking Gets Brave: How Westpac Turned Finance into Fun (and Fear)
When was the last time a bank ad made you feel something?
That’s the question that kicks off Episode 14 of Canned: The Marketing Podcast, hosted by Ben van Rooy from Human Digital and Steph Quantrill from Cue Marketing.
This episode dives deep into the world of Westpac New Zealand, where marketers Allie Buczkowski and Georgia Livingstone are proving that banking doesn’t have to be boring. Together, they unpack two award-worthy campaigns, Avoid a Black Friday Hangover and The House of Credit Card Horrors, that flipped financial marketing on its head.
The result? Campaigns that didn’t just sell, but taught, entertained, and redefined what people expect from a bank.
Why This Episode Matters
Marketing in finance is notoriously tricky.
The products are serious, the regulations are tight, and the audience’s trust... well, shaky. Most campaigns stick to safe ground, focusing on topics such as interest rates, responsible lending, and predictable taglines.
But Westpac’s team decided to do something different: use creativity to change how people feel about money.
By blending financial education with cultural trends (hello TikTok, horror movies, and Gen Z humour), they turned “boring but important” topics, like credit cards and budgeting, into conversations that actually resonated.
This episode explores how they did it, the battles fought behind the scenes, and what every marketer can learn from their fearless approach.
The Campaign That Started It All: Avoid a Black Friday Hangover
Every marketer knows Black Friday as a sales bonanza. Westpac saw it differently, as a teachable moment.
Allie and Georgia identified a growing issue: young Kiwis were spending impulsively but learning little about financial wellness, despite the flood of #FinTok advice online.
“There’s so much financial content out there,” says Allie, “but it hasn’t necessarily made people better off. If anything, it’s made money management more confusing.”
So Westpac decided to join the conversation, not to sell, but to educate.
The Big Idea
Instead of promoting products, they launched Avoid a Black Friday Hangover, a tongue-in-cheek campaign warning against overspending.
Message: Be mindful, not mindless.
Medium: TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and TVNZ OnDemand.
Format: A series of short, relatable videos highlighting “truisms” about spending — like bringing a friend to keep you honest on a shopping spree.
Partnership: Kiwi brain-drink brand Ārepa, which produced a limited-run “spending clarity” can as a real-world extension of the idea.
The campaign struck a chord, earning serious engagement and, more importantly, reappraisal among younger audiences who didn’t see banks as relevant to their lives.
From Hangovers to Haunted Houses: The House of Credit Card Horrors 👻
With momentum from Black Friday, Westpac’s team doubled down on creativity, this time tackling another misunderstood topic: credit cards.
For many, “credit” equals “danger.” Westpac’s goal was to flip that fear on its head and help people understand how credit can work for you, not against you.
The Insight
As Georgia puts it,
“People aren’t avoiding credit cards because they don’t want them, they just don’t understand how they work.”
Enter The House of Credit Card Horrors, a Spookers-inspired haunted experience that made the dangers of debt tangible (and entertaining).
The Experience
Working with Saatchi & Saatchi, Spur, and the legendary scare pros at Spookers, the team built a haunted house where each room represented a different “credit fear.”
Fear of Debt Traps
Fear of Fees
Fear of Fine Print
Fear of Losing Control
Over 1,200 people braved the experience, filmed via CCTV for safety (and social sharing). It wasn’t just theatre, it was education disguised as adrenaline.
The Amplification
The activation went far beyond the walls of the house:
Visitors shared photos and videos across social media.
The campaign linked to Westpac’s online “Fair Free Credit Hub,” a resource hub that simplified financial jargon.
Earned media amplified the stunt, cementing Westpac’s position as a creatively bold, and socially responsible, brand.
Inside the Reality: Selling Creative Courage in a Risk-Averse Industry
Let’s be honest, getting these ideas approved inside a major bank wasn’t easy.
Every creative marketer knows the balancing act: innovation vs. compliance, bravery vs. brand safety.
As Allie shared,
“You have to respect that people are doing their jobs — ensuring the work stays within the bank’s risk appetite. But at the same time, we wanted to show up as a brand that cares about people beyond money.”
The key to getting sign-off? Evidence.
Campaign testing showed strong audience resonance, especially around the relatable language of “hangovers” and “fears.”
Clear success metrics (impressions, engagement, time on educational pages) tied creative ideas to business goals.
A collaborative agency model, where creative, media, and experiential partners worked seamlessly, reduced internal tension and increased trust.
In short: bravery, backed by data.
Key Lessons for Marketers
1. Start with the Audience, Not the Product
Westpac’s success came from empathy, understanding what Gen Z actually cares about and meeting them where they are.
2. Use Culture to Cut Through
Horror films, TikTok humour, even hangover metaphors, these are cultural touchpoints that make abstract topics feel human.
3. Make Education Experiential
Learning is more effective when it’s felt. Whether through a drink, an activation, or an interactive landing page, Westpac made finance tangible.
4. Partnerships Build Credibility
Collaborating with local brands (Ārepa), agencies (Saatchi & Saatchi, Spur), and even Spookers made the campaigns more authentic, and newsworthy.
5. Bravery Inspires the Business
Creative risk-taking isn’t just about marketing, it shifts internal culture. After the success of these campaigns, Westpac’s new CMO has doubled down on bold, customer-first storytelling.
Practical Takeaways
For marketers, especially in highly regulated or conservative industries, this episode offers a roadmap for creative transformation:
Prototype bold ideas through small activations before scaling.
Educate with empathy, people don’t want lectures, they want relevance.
Show proof, not hype. Use metrics that link creativity to measurable outcomes.
Champion collaboration, the best work happens when agencies share the spotlight.
Own your narrative. Financial well-being and social responsibility can coexist with business goals.
The Big Picture
Westpac’s story is about more than marketing. It’s about changing how people think and feel about money, and proving that creativity can live in even the most risk-averse categories.
As Georgia put it best:
“If you start where the customer is, and you can back your idea with real insights, no one in the business can argue with that.”
This episode is a reminder that brave ideas don’t just sell, they stick. They educate, inspire, and build brands people actually care about.
Watch or Listen
Canned Podcast Ep. 14 – Banking Gets Brave: How Westpac Made Finance Fun
Hosted by Ben van Rooy (Human Digital) and Steph Quantrill (Cue Marketing).
Featuring Allie Buczkowski and Georgia Livingstone from Westpac New Zealand.
👉 Watch the full episode on YouTube
👉 Subscribe to Canned on Substack for more stories from marketers pushing boundaries
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