Royal Bank of Canada Advertisement in Kamloops, B.C.

This advertisement is for the Royal Bank of Canada’s (RBC) financial services. The ad is a poster on the side of a RBC branch. It features a couple that appears to be financially successful, with a message that the secret to wealth is finding the right partner.

The placement of the couple is in the right third of the poster. This arrangement follows the rule of threes to draw the eye to the couple first. In the top left-hand corner, the ad asks a question then answers in bold font for emphasis. All the colours used represent the colours of RBC’s logo, yellow, blue and white. The couple wears light and dark shades to show that they are complementary to each other and are the “right partners”. The man wears white to indicate elevated status and wealth and non-threatening nature. In contrast, the woman wears darker colours to add sex appeal. The man is standing face front, becoming the focal point. He looks confident while in a casual stance. While the woman is leaning on her “right financial partner”.

The message of the poster is that finding the right partner will create financial prosperity. All the elements in the photo are used to reinforce that message of affluence. The couple is attractive and displays youthful energy that reveals success. The RBC coloured lines move the eyes towards the couple’s displays of wealth in the hands. In their hands are items to show off that they can afford home renovations. The man wears an expensive large, oversized watch. The woman leans on the man, reinforcing a negative idea that a woman needs a man as a partner for financial success. She prominently displays her large ring to showcase her wealth.

The poster is located on the side of the bank on the way towards upper Sahali and Aberdeen neighbourhoods, which are affluent areas in Kamloops. The sign visually uses elements of wealth, which narrows the target audience too much. There are not many people in Canada that fit within the white upper-middle-class demographic. In my opinion, the poster sends a message that the financial services are out of reach of most people, resulting in ineffective messaging of the bank’s services. The ad leaves me not interested in learning more about RBC’s services until I am financially successful. I am also disinterested in the false and damaging stereotype that a woman needs to lean on a man for financial security.

In their paper about how bank marketing can create customer loyalty, Zephaniah et al. describe that “to create the desired positive response in the target audiences, advertising need(s) to be unique and credible or believable to the target audiences.” (Zephaniah et al. 3). The narrow focus of this poster does not make it believable enough for most people can take advantage of RBC’s financial services. I also find it is a poor message to find a financial partner with RBC considering that RBC was recently fined for their traders sharing confidential customer information to gain a financial advantage (Shecter). Sharing personal customer information is not a good practice for a financial partner.

Works Cited

Shecter, Barbara. “Canada’s Two Biggest Banks to Pay Almost $23 Million in Total to Settle Probe into FX Trading Chat Rooms.” Financial Post, Financial Post, 3 Sept. 2019, financialpost.com/news/fp-street/td-bank-agrees-to-pay-9-3-million-to-settle-osc-allegations-that-traders-used-confidential-customer-information-to-gain-fx-advantage.

Zephaniah, Chinedu Ogbonnaya, et al. “Examining the Effect of Customers’ Perception of Bank Marketing Communication on Customer Loyalty.” Scientific African, vol. 8, July 2020. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1016/j.sciaf.2020.e00383.