This paper tells the story of Nationwide Building Society acting on our brand purpose in the trickiest circumstances, in the hardest of years, and when it could have cost us dearly.

We exist to build society, nationwide. And we believe in mutual respect for all.

In 2020, witnessing a disturbing rise in violent and abusive behaviour towards our frontline staff, and realising other brands were seeing the same, the marketing team faced a choice.

Ignore it, and continue to focus efforts solely on portraying a perpetually positive, stylised image of the brand through the coronavirus crisis. Or choose to confront it, taking a collective stand to assert that abusive behaviour towards customer facing staff is never ok.

In the face of a global pandemic many brands were (understandably) sticking to the safe route, and communicating their commitment to being there for their customers.

But we put our efforts into showing our commitment to being there for our own colleagues on the frontline – as without them, the brand is meaningless.

The risks inherent were...