BMO Turned Their Bank Booth to an Arcade at a Fan Expo
Client: BMO NXT LVL (Bank of Montreal)
What we made: BMO Bear Blind Box Collectibles
Industry: Banking & Financial Services
Event: Fan Expo Canada, Toronto
The Campaign
BMO customer base was getting older like many big banks, millennials and Gen Z were losing interest in traditional banking and fintech banks were gaining popularity. This campaign was built on three aims- lift BMO's image with the younger crowd, get them to interact and open a bank account.
With almost 80% to 95% millennials and gen z identity as gamers. Gaming is a huge integral part of the younger crowd. BMO noticed the gap of many being confident in what their hobbies are but unsure of where their money needs to go and how to navigate it. So in May 2022, it launched NXT LVL, the first Twitch channel from a financial institution, fronted by a Gaming Relations Specialist who was a gamer and a BMO employee. That mattered because gamers expect a brand to prove it belongs before they listen, and a bank talking at them wouldn't have. The streams filled up with money questions, which showed there was real appetite for straight financial advice that didn't sound like a bank.
And where do gamers show up at large? That’s why BMO NXT LVL took on at Fan Expo Canada, the largest gaming event in the country and the third largest pop culture event in North America. Their answer was not to look like a bank at all. Visitors scanned a QR code on the way in and filled out a short form to take part, then stepped into the Banking Meta: an arcade built around everyday money habits. Sort your needs from your wants. Win points at the claw machines. Drop a ball down the Plinko wall to multiply them. Every game paid out tokens, and tokens bought exclusive merch at the on-site Reward Shop.
Source: Fan Expo Canada’sFacebook
The name does some quiet work too. In gaming, "meta" means the most effective strategy available, so "Banking Meta" is a promise to show gamers the best play with their money. And "NXT LVL" is next level, spelled the way a game menu would spell it. The booth was named in a language the crowd already speaks.
Tokens were spent at the NXT LVL Reward Shop, where the shelves were labelled Common, Rare, Epic and Legendary, at 500, 1000, 2500 and 5000+ tokens. That's the standard loot ladder from video games, and it meant everyone at the booth already knew how it worked. Branch staff were on site daily at the Banking Hub, and opening a new Everyday Banking Chequing Account at the booth earned a $25 Best Buy gift card and a Legendary Loot Box. Debit card clients got their own version, picking a ball for a shot at Sony headphones, a JBL speaker, or the Gold Bear Pin.
Source: BMO Bank’s Instagram
What We Made: Keychains, Vinyl Figurine, & Enamel Pins All Custom Made
Our collectibles stocked the Reward Shop shelves, and each tier was worth more tokens than the last.
The centrepiece was the blind box at the Epic tier: three matte, soft-touch vinyl bears, each sealed in a printed BMO NXT LVL box so nobody knew which one they had until it was opened. There's a Gamer Bear with a headset and controller, a caped Super Bear with a "B" on his belt, and a hooded Stealth Bear. Any gamer can read the three at a glance: the player, the hero, the stealth class. Gamers refer to these as 'skins' of a character.
And that is what gives an extra edge to BMO for getting these right.
If they couldn't win vinyl bear mascots, these came in smaller pieces too! Mystery pins were enamel bears sealed in printed navy foil pouches, so those were a blind pull too. The Secret Drop was a rarer chase pin in black-and-gold foil, where the gold bear tells you it's the one to find. Collectors will recognise the idea from a shiny variant in a Pokémon game: a different colour that says "rare" before you've read a word. Enamel keychains in polished enamel (Super Bear and Gamer Bear) each carried a mini Fan Expo charm on a branded backer card.
Everything shipped at Fan Expo Canada was exclusive packaging, with foil pouches for the pins and printed backer cards for the keychains. The packaging was part of the reveal
Why we think it works
Most bank activations ask people to stop, listen to a pitch, and maybe pick up a freebie on the way out. This one ran the other way around. It's not a coincidence that BMO mascot Bears- including the golden bear pin were all sort of looked similar to the infamous thrilling video game "Five Nights at Freddy's". The game came first, the loot gave people a reason to keep playing, and opening an account was the final level instead of the opening line.
Source: goingawesomeplaces’ Instagram
It also flips what a bank usually sells. Banks sell certainty, and this one handed over surprises: three bears, a mystery pin, a gold one to hunt for. This convention completely changed how, no matter what kinda industry you are, you can always make winning rewards extra fun. BMO NXT LVL just raised the standards and how people viewed them.
Want premium-quality collectibles that people actually want and make it viral? Get in touch with us.
Source: sinistry’s Instagram