Sparks, an industry-first web series, follows a group of young bankers navigating work and their personal lives. Inspired by true client stories, the series depicts how these bankers challenge the status quo and go above and beyond when solving unusual client challenges.
Started in 2016, Sparks has evolved into an ecosystem of content that seeks to attract, entertain, educate and inspire - ranging from long-form drama episodes to companion features that offer audiences fun and engaging ways to learn more about banking, and what we do to uplift lives and livelihoods.
To consistently reinvent content offerings and experiences, we launched Sparks Minis (an adapted series of 60-seconders derived from past Sparks content) in 2024 to extend our stories to new and diverse audiences, reinforcing engagement and trust in DBS.
Inspired by new media consumption behaviour of binge-watching micro dramas, we adapted all Sparks Season 1 episodes into 50 concise, one-minuters by reworking scripts to draw out key brand messaging, and re-editing the episodes from horizontal to vertical format, allowing us to effectively distribute Sparks Minis across multiple platforms - TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram.
Notably, the series was launched on YouTube Shorts in tandem with a pilot test of YouTube’s “First Position on Shorts” ad placement, making DBS the first financial institution in Asia-Pacific to utilise this format to drive brand recall. We are currently collaborating with Google to develop a public case study on this innovative campaign.
The impact of Sparks Minis was substantial, achieving >12.7 million video views across the three channels, which led to significant increases in key brand association metrics among those who saw Sparks Minis content vs those who did not (based on campaign effectiveness surveys).
Respondents who consumed Sparks Minis content demonstrated 23% and 28% higher association of DBS with the perception of trustworthiness and commitment to going the extra mile, underscoring the success of our brand messaging. Additionally, DBS stood out to our surveyees as “a different kind of bank” (30% higher association), highlighting the unique appeal of our Sparks Minis (60 seconders) approach. Sparks Minis also demonstrated DBS’ Impact Beyond Banking which strongly resonated with our audience with 20% higher recognition of DBS as a purpose-driven organisation and 14% higher brand favourability towards the organisation.
