Supporting Self Made Success
Lansons Team Farner
Client: Santander
The campaign exposed an opportunity to engage one million people in the UK who grew up in low-income households but are now considered high earners. This isn’t old money – it’s self-made. Earned, not inherited. It’s the bricklayer who built their own business, or the tech apprentice who skipped university and now develops software for a major bank.
Yet despite their financial success, high earners from working-class backgrounds are half as likely to invest as those from high-income households. This is a missed opportunity. Self Mades have the power to supercharge the UK economy. Santander wanted to bridge the gap and reach the Self-Mades where they are.
The campaign unlocked confidence, agency and long-term economic participation among an underserved audience. Influencers were central to success. Creators who embodied modern working-class wealth, unexpected cultural collaborators and influential policy stakeholders each played a distinct role in shifting perceptions and sparking national conversation.
The campaign delivered Santander’s highest-performing social content to date, reaching over 1.5 million people organically. In-person engagement with influencers translated into real behavioural consideration, with 80% saying the experience made them think differently about investing.
Crucially, Self Made positioned Santander not just as a bank, but as a catalyst for economic participation and systemic change. The campaign engaged more than 300 policymakers and opened formal dialogue with Skills England on embedding financial education into apprenticeships – a tangible step towards long-term social.