The Campaign

In an age of e-books, apps and podcasts, we considered many story telling methods. But when our brief spoke of the cultural importance of family legacy in our key markets, one clear vision came to mind. That of a child sitting on a parent's knee being read a storybook. It was from this simple vision that King Kenny was born. Ask LFC fans to name the person who has provided the greatest legacy to the club and one name rises above. Kenny Dalglish. No person better personifies “The Liverpool Way”. As a player, a manager and citizen of Liverpool, Kenny is the ideal protagonist for our story of legacy. We engaged Kenny as both storyteller and lead character in the story. Partnered with award winning children’s author Gavin McCormack and illustrator Evan Raditya, Kenny was given free rein to tell his story of the importance of legacy...in his words.

Creative Execution

We told the story of King Kenny in three formats. A hardcover children's book: We produced a limited number of hardback storybooks that Standard Chartered distributed. In the back of the storybook, there are empty pages where parents can write and illustrate their personal legacy for their kids. ‘King Kenny’ will directly engage young readers, whilst the activity of reading the book together enables the parent to discuss the importance of creating a legacy in life. E-book: To enable free public access to the story, we also created an animated digital book that fans can interact with and download. Short Film: We combined the making of the book with snippets from Kenny’s everyday life in this entertaining and educational short film. This film shows how the sharing of knowledge and passing down of legacy takes place in every day scenarios – through different settings, with different fans and families.

We produced a limited edition run of hardback King Kenny books, which were distributed globally via SCB Private and Priority Banking units. Demand for the book was so great, that an e-book version was soon after created and has since been downloaded over 74,000 times. Our documentary film with Kenny explaining his journey to create the book has generated over 85 million impressions and reached 24 million people. Our influencer content has generated an additional 16 million video views promoting the book. More than 1,600 media outlets picked up the story delivering the bank more then USD$420,000 in media value. And it was not long after the book was published that Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth knighted Kenny......not that we can claim any role in that result! Arise Sir Kenny!

Stories are at their most powerful when told in the first person. Nothing has greater impact or resonance than a story told in the words of its main character. Standard Chartered (SCB) wanted to demonstrate to high value banking customers that they understood and valued the importance of legacy. So, we looked to the world of sport (football specifically) to uncover one man’s story of legacy and the ongoing impact he has had – and continues to have – on a small city in northern England. We delivered this beautiful story in the most beautiful way possible. A children’s book.

SCB’s key growth markets are in Asia. Markets where respect, heritage and family legacy are highly valued personal attributes. Understanding the cultural importance of legacy – especially to high net worth individuals, a key SCB target audience – we set out to create a tool that would demonstrate the bank’s commitment to helping customers create a family legacy. But our high net worth target market are extremely time poor, so how do we earn their attention in a unique way? Through their duel passions: Family and Football. We would leverage our decade long partnership with Liverpool FC to tell a story of respect, heritage and legacy that would engage across generations and earn attention for the bank with this heard to reach audience.