Vovia Client Feature – Talking with ATB

Andrea recently shared some of her favourite moments over the past 5 years of working with ATB. In this follow-up post, Heather had a (virtual) sit down with John Pieri, VP Marketing at ATB to discuss the relationship between ATB and Vovia. The past 18 months have brought a lot of change to how we approach many aspects of our life, including how we work with our clients.

Heather: How would you describe the relationship between ATB and Vovia?

• John: Vovia has been a trusted partner for us here at ATB.  Smart, collaborative and expert.  We are a multi-faceted organization serving corporate businesses, small and medium businesses, smaller entrepreneurs, and consumers with a breadth of needs including Wealth Management solutions, and so there is a lot to learn and understand for any partner.  Vovia has taken the time to understand our business, working side by side with us in our segmentation and persona programs, so that they can in turn have a strong contextual foundation in order to provide the most value back to ATB.  By investing in their knowledge of our business and industry, they have been able to ensure our programs in market provide at or above industry returns.

Heather: What is different about working with Vovia?

• John: It would have to be the people and the relationships we’ve formed. They have invested a lot of time and energy in ensuring our collective team members are connected and performing as a team.  From strategic account management, to access to senior leadership, to the number of subject matter experts they make readily available, ATB and Vovia have certainly grown well together over the past five years.

Heather: What has Vovia brought to ATB’s business?

• John: Five years ago ATB’s marketing and advertising approach was fairly traditional with only modest investments in digital advertising.  Looking back today, the evolution we have achieved largely in part to the partnership with Vovia is significant.  With Vovia at our side during this period, we have shifted to become more of a data-driven team.  Our advertising mix is certainly far more digital than traditional, but more importantly it is truly client and audience driven to ensure the right message is delivered to the right target and precisely the right time.  Vovia brought with them their deep expertise and strategic vision which enabled them to operate as a tremendous resource and trusted guide throughout this evolution.

Heather: How has the pandemic changed the way ATB engages with their clients? 

• John: When the pandemic hit, we instantly turned to our listening posts to quickly understand the changing needs of our clients and Albertans.  Early on it was clear our clients needed to understand the situation and apply that understanding to their own business or personal financial standing. In response to this need, we increased the communication frequency with our clients, and significantly increased our focus on targeted and meaningful (i.e. helpful) content.  Leveraging our regular sentiment research, ATB stayed on top of the most pressing client questions and quickly shared our expertise with Albertans and Alberta businesses through a substantial multi-channel Covid content marketing strategy. Not only was it the right thing to do for our clients, but so far over the past year, this strategy has resulted in nearly 1,000,000 unique content engagements and a doubling of our organic search traffic. 

Heather: Is there anything new and exciting happening at ATB that you’d like to share?

• John: If the past year has taught us anything, it’s the importance of coming together as a community, supporting our friends and family, and lifting up our neighbours.  ATB was built to help Albertans – and that commitment holds just as true today as we look to the brighter future we know lies ahead.  For many Albertans, the pandemic and economic challenges have increased the need for support.  In part as a response to these real needs, ATB Financial recently introduced our Greater Good strategy, boldly committing to help tackle some of society’s greatest challenges: access to mental health; access to education; and access to technology—all with the goal of raising the overall wellbeing of Albertans.

Heather: If you could describe Vovia in one word, what would it be?

John: Relationships

Wow! Thanks, John, it sounds like there is a lot on the go and it’s amazing to hear how ATB is supporting Albertans. It has certainly been a tough 18 months and it’s good to know that there are businesses out there committed to listening and providing resources for the community. I’m excited to see what is next on the horizon for ATB.