Wells Fargo Banks on New Ad Campaign to Regain Customer TrustWells Fargo Banks on New Ad Campaign to Regain Customer Trust

By Tina Bellon

NEW YORK, March 21 (Reuters) - Wells Fargo & Co willlaunch a new multi-channel ad campaign, its chief executive saidon Tuesday, in a further sign of the bank's efforts to regaintrust after a sales scandal last year caused a sharp drop inaccount openings.

The advertising campaign, to begin in mid-April, will bepublished across different media channels and focus on thechanges the bank has implemented since it was rocked byrevelations over illegal sales practices in September last year.

"For our team members and customers, we want to create aculture that's better every day," Chief Executive OfficerTimothy Sloan said in explaining the new campaign to employeesat a town hall meeting in Orlando, Florida on Tuesday.

"Building Better Every Day," the slogan of the new campaign,will run across broadcast and print ads, online and on thebank's mobile app, as well as on its internal channels, Sloansaid.

A spokesman declined to comment on the budget for the newcampaign. But following the fallout, Wells Fargo last year saidit would increase marketing spending and in October 2016launched its first nation-wide campaign to address its salespractices.

Data by Kantar Media, a New York-based ad-tracking firm,showed that Wells Fargo's advertisement expenditure rose byaround 15 percent to $183.8 million in the first 11 months of2016 compared to the year prior.

In October last year, the bank's advertisement expenditureacross TV, internet, radio, outdoor displays, magazines andnewspapers increased by 32 percent on a yearly basis to $27.5million.

A Wells Fargo spokeswoman could not immediately comment onwhether the increase was directly related to the company's 2016campaign.

A spokeswoman for marketing group Omnicom, whichowns media agency OMD that runs the bank's advertisementcampaigns, did not reply to requests seeking comment.

Federal regulators last year had ordered the SanFrancisco-based bank to pay $190 million in fines andrestitution because they said its high pressure salesenvironment pushed employees to open 2 million deposit andcredit card accounts without customers' permission.

The bank has since unveiled a new compensation structure forits branch employees that creates incentives based on customerservice rather than sales goals.

Wells Fargo, the third-largest U.S. bank, saw a sharp dropin account openings, customer interactions at its branches andan increase in account closures since the scandal.

It has since started to report on consumer activity on amonthly basis. Its latest retail business figures on Mondayshowed the bank is still fighting an uphill battle to regaincustomers.

Consumers opened 43 percent fewer checking and 55 percentfewer credit card accounts on a yearly basis in February.

"A pick-up in marketing spend should benefit accountopenings the next few months, but were that not to occur, thenit could force us to reconsider the long-term growth potentialin Wells' retail bank," Brian Kleinhanzl, an analyst with KBWsaid in a research note on Monday.

But other analysts said the bank hardly had a choice when itcame to investing in public outreach campaigns.

"If they do spend, they get accused of wasting money,"Stephen Biggar, an analyst with Argus Research, told Reuters."But if they don't spend, they get accused of not doingeverything they can to regain customers." (Reporting by Tina Bellon; Additional reporting by TimBaysinger; Editing by Bernard Orr)