Rebuilding Brand Awareness at a Global Scale

WEX — Global Financial Technology

BRAND Campaign | integrated marketing | Digital | ooh | Strategy

Overview

Creativity becomes infrastructure, not a bottleneck

WEX launched its first fully integrated global campaign to reposition the brand as simpler, more human, and easier to understand. I led creative direction, defining the core idea and building a system that scaled across EMEA and APAC with agency support. The campaign increased awareness by up to 22 percent and reduced cost per lead by 44 percent.

WEX is a global financial technology organization with 6,000+ employees across 13 countries, supporting three primary lines of business spanning 10 business units.

Creative Director

Global Campaign
(EMEA, APAC)

Digital, CTV, OOH

Creative, Brand, Marketing, Agency

The Challenge

WEX had low brand awareness in key international markets and limited emotional connection with small and mid sized businesses. The category is complex. The brand was being experienced as functional and transactional.

The opportunity was not just visibility. It was to redefine how WEX shows up in the market.

The Shift

Move from performance led marketing to brand led growth.

Build a clear, unified idea that could scale across markets and still feel local.

"Don’t ask why. Ask WEX."

Clarity over complexity

My Role

I led the creative direction for the campaign, shaping the idea, tone, and visual system used across all markets.

The work required close alignment across brand, marketing, and an external agency partner, but my focus was making sure the creative held together as one clear point of view.

I was responsible for:

• Defining the core idea and messaging framework
• Establishing tone of voice and visual direction
• Guiding execution across channels and formats
• Ensuring the work balanced brand storytelling with performance needs
  
  

As the campaign scaled, I maintained creative integrity so localization never diluted the idea.

Creative Approach

The work translated operational complexity into simple, relatable moments.

Tone was direct and human. No jargon. No extra language.

The system was built to scale. Modular, flexible, and consistent across every channel.

• Warm, confident tone
• Real people and real scenarios
• Bold red and white contrast
• Clean composition and strong typography
• Short form motion built for speed and clarity

Placements

Execution

The campaign ran across digital, connected TV, out of home, and search.

An external agency supported production and asset development while internal teams led platform strategy, brand alignment, and rollout.

Everything was built from a shared system so the work could move fast without losing consistency.

Results

+22%

Awareness lift

+14%

Awareness (EMEA)

+30%

Consideration

-44%

Cost per lead

44.6M

Impressions

5.1M

Reach

+300%

Search traffic

+7%

App approvals

EMEA - Netherlands

• 5.1M reach
• 44.6M impressions
• +14% awareness
• +30% consideration

APAC - South Australia

• 4.2M impressions
• +22% awareness lift
• 13K lifted users
  

Creative Leadership Across Teams

Brand and marketing shaped the strategy.
The agency supported production across formats and markets.

My role was to keep the creative vision clear from concept through final delivery.

Every asset had to feel like it came from the same idea, not different teams.

Brand storytelling drove both engagement and conversion, reshaping how WEX approaches marketing.

Simplicity scales

Short form creative drives stronger lift

Integrated systems outperform siloed work

That's a Wrap!

Contact Me

I’m a creative leader focused on clarity, consistency, and scale.

I’ve spent the last several years building systems that turn creative teams into reliable, strategic partners. 

If that’s the kind of work you’re looking for, I’d be glad to connect.

Phone: (630) 640-9337
Email: william.c.wilbanks@gmail.com

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