Skye Bank’s Anniversary Campaign Captures the Brand’s Evolution

Raheem Akingbolu

Skye Bank has commenced a new brand campaign, where the bank attempts to highlight its achievement and re-state its commitment to invest in an ‘unlimited future possibilities’.

Sources within the Bank disclosed that the new campaign, which is part of the 360 degree communication plan put in place to celebrate the year-long celebration of the 10th anniversary of its merger and the evolution of the Skye Brand, flaunt impact of the Institution on key sectors of the national economy and re-state its future commitment.

The story of the Bank which grew modestly from the 2006 merger, has continued to confound and demystify several positions of scholars and literatures on M & A and has consistently shown resilience throughout its existence, coming through unscathed.

The current campaign, focusses on amongst others, the Bank’s humble beginning when it was an unknown brand with no distinct identity, nor presence, and ranking 23 out of 25 Banks in Nigeria’s Banking industry by various measure criteria, to being classified as one of the Systemically Important Banks (SIB), and ranks among the top 10 lenders in Nigeria and one of the top 50 in Africa.

Other areas of focus of the campaign include the Bank’s significant contribution and impact on the nation’s hospitality industry. In 10 years, the brand supported the highest number of international hotels and hospitality chains in Nigeria, as well as several home-grown brands that have attained international standards.

In impacting the hospitality sector, Skye Bank has contributed greatly to the development of the nation’s tourism industry and by extension, supported job creation for thousands of Nigerians.

In the area of the all-important Agricultural sector, the Bank is known to have rekindled national enthusiasm towards farming and agriculture. In partnership with the Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), through the Growth Enhancement Support Scheme (GESS) implemented one of the most successful agricultural funding models in Nigeria’s history. The process ensured the elimination of the hitherto entrenched corruption that was associated with the distribution of fertilizer in the country.

‘’By 2013, over one million Agro-Allied and Small holder farmers had experienced significant yield in food crops across Nigeria”.

In the area of SME, Skye Bank’s footprint is indeed bold, as the lender has supported and nurtured arguably the highest number of SMEs in all sectors of the economy, and in all the socio-economic zones. The bank has supported many one-man-businesses to large industry players and national corporates and even supported many of them to become publicly quoted at the national Bourse, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

Shedding light on the rationale and underpinning idea behind the new campaign, the Group Managing Director and CEO of the Bank, Mr. Timothy Oguntayo is quoted to have said, “having clocked a decade of our merger, there is the need to remind stakeholders and the general public how our Bank has impacted individual, groups, corporate, government and the society at large through creative and impactful intervention. “You know it is very easy to forget where we are coming from, but through this new campaign, we are reminding the general public and every stakeholder of what the Skye brand has been able to achieve and the critical sectors we have impacted over the years. Every claim made in those campaigns are real, have substance and not superfluous”, the CEO submitted.