CITI WEALTH ASCEND
CITI WEALTH ASCEND PROGRAMME
Most people don't ignore wealth planning because they don't care.
They ignore it because it feels distant, complex and easy to delay.
What happens when you remove those barriers?
THE CHALLENGE
Citi wanted more of their own senior people to enrol in its employee wealth programme. As one of the world's largest financial institutions, Citi supports clients with significant wealth ambitions and complex financial needs, yet many of its own high-earning employees weren't engaging with the financial strategy and expertise available inside the organisation. Internal research revealed why: even for high-performing professionals, "wealth" often felt complex, distant and unattainable, competing with busy calendars and heavy workloads.
THE APPROACH
We created Citi Wealth Ascend, a brand that elevated employee wealth from a passive benefit into an active expression of ambition. The name itself became the strategy: both an aspiration and a call to action.
We launched with a month-long takeover of Citi's New York headquarters. Nine-metre pillars, oversized canvases and elevators wrapped in action-led messaging turned high-traffic spaces into signals of momentum, while digital touchpoints delivered bold, benefit-led messaging throughout. At the centre was Ascend Labs: part advisory hub, part cultural activation, part gelateria, lowering barriers to engagement by turning wealth conversations into something approachable and social over branded gelato during the city's first heatwave.
THE IMPACT
Citi Wealth Ascend proved that when you raise the standard of employee communications to the level of a world-class wealth brand, you shift behaviour, not just perception. Thousands of employees engaged directly, stepping into real conversations about their financial future. Engagement quickly converted into meaningful advisory conversations and pipeline. Expert-led sessions filled within hours, creating waitlists, and senior leader adoption accelerated credibility across the organisation. Now proven in New York, the model is built to scale across wider US markets, with a clear path to global rollout.
2.4K+
platform visits, including 1K+ senior engagements
1K+
employees requested a wealth advisor
5K+
visited Ascend Labs across six days
100%
of expert-led sessions filled within hours