A racing metaphor to drive relevancy

IG is a globally operating financial service provider. While their service portfolio is extensive and their trading platform superior to the competition’s, their brand awareness lingered at 2%. This left IG in the frustrating position of having a stellar product but little reach. 

In addition, they have recently faced harsh pressure from neo-brokers with high media pressure that make trading accessible to everyone. All while traditional banks have always been a trusted player for those interested in trading, leaving IG stuck in the ambiguous middle of the category. 

To activate IG’s in-market target audience of expert traders, DEPT® aimed to drive the brand’s perception away from a rational transaction platform towards an emotionally charged and human partner that traders prefer to grow with. We needed to clearly demonstrate the active role IG takes for traders in a category with notoriously high spends that IG could not match, but had to outsmart to gain fame.

We knew that we had to go all out to capture the spirit, that craftsmanship of passion we found in IG and their traders. Creative had to be intense but not loud. Full of tension and euphoria without losing grip of the trading reality – so we employed a strong metaphor: racing. It’s a perfect fit. Not only does this analogy make trading more tangible, with 82% of traders showing an interest in motorsports, we also drive relevancy.

In taking trading from online to the racing track, IG’s top analysts become the pit crew, the stellar platform a high-performance racecar and the driver the trader calling the shots. Both racer and trader share their persistence under pressure and embrace risk under changing circumstances. The metaphor not only helped build out the full funnel of emotional brand assets in which the racer navigates the market through candlestick projections on the track. It also guides employees in the way they offer support to traders, aided in constructing gamifications and the look and feel of IG’s trade fair presence. Eventually even inspiring IG to sponsor the DTM, one of Germany’s biggest racing events. 

Even the most complex service offerings always have a rich emotional core that becomes a powerful asset if it is rooted in a brand’s truth.

In a crowded category with strong competition, IG stands out by contradicting category trends: while most trading brands hyper-focus on ensuring their services seem simple and therefore accessible, DEPT® helped IG to find their own authentic standing.

The brand shows their obsession with the core audience’s needs by literally putting them in the driver’s seat. This approach not only connects with their customers but also reinforces the brand’s strengths and values. It guides the entire brand experience, making it more engaging for both internal and external stakeholders.

And isn’t that what keeps a brand’s heart beating? Not a lofty framework, not a one-off campaign, but a truly big idea? Team IG is the ultimate capsule to carry the passion into everything the brand does. Not just today, but for years to come. And as IG leaves a trace of that consistent intensity wherever they go, traders feel seen. They understand: IG gets me – here, trading is done with passion.