Banking is one of the hardest categories in marketing.
Trust is fragile. Customer expectations are shaped by every app on their phone, not just other banks. And every interaction has the potential to redefine the relationship.
In this episode of That’s What I Call Marketing, Conor Byrne sits down with Laura Lynch, CMO of Bank of Ireland, to explore what it actually means to build a modern banking brand in 2026.
Laura takes us inside Bank of Ireland’s recent brand transformation, including the thinking behind the new “Right With You” platform, the role of customer experience in shaping strategy, and why the bank deliberately avoided category clichés in its latest advertising work.
The conversation also explores:
Laura also shares the inside story behind Bank of Ireland’s latest campaigns, including the strategic use of humour, movie references, and why every line, casting decision and creative choice was intentionally designed to create distinction.
For marketers working in financial services, regulated industries, or legacy brands navigating change, this is a fascinating look at how modern brand building actually works inside one of Ireland’s most important organisations.
Timestamps:
00:00 – Why trust in banking has to be earned every day
02:00 – Laura Lynch’s path to becoming CMO of Bank of Ireland
06:30 – Leaving traditional marketing to build customer experience capability
10:00 – Going “all in” to land the CMO role
13:00 – Leadership, intensity and avoiding groupthink
16:30 – The reality of leading marketing inside a major bank
18:00 – Rebuilding customer trust after the banking crisis
20:00 – Why banking competition has fundamentally changed
21:30 – Inside Bank of Ireland’s new brand strategy
24:00 – Building “Right With You” with customers and colleagues
27:00 – Why the strategy had to stretch the organisation
29:00 – The making of the new Bank of Ireland advertising
32:00 – Using humour to talk about fraud and financial confidence
35:00 – Creating distinctive work in a regulated category
37:00 – AI, personalisation and the future of marketing teams
39:00 – Why performance marketing alone is not enough
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