This article was originally published in the Brand Finance Banking 500 2025 report
TD remains Canada’s most valuable banking brand for the third year running and ranks 16th globally in the latest Brand Finance Banking 500 report.
Tyrrell Schmidt, Chief Marketing Officer at TD Bank Group, shares how the brand is strengthening trust, bringing humanity to innovation, and creating lasting community impact through purpose-led sponsorships.
Interview with Tyrrell Schmidt
Chief Marketing Officer, TD Bank Group
How does TD continue to build and reinforce trust among its stakeholders in an evolving financial landscape?
Understanding that to exceed our customers' expectations and meet them where they are going, we always need to be evolving. We like to say that we’re not just envisioning the future, we're creating it.
Our research has shown that no matter the interaction, customers are looking for the same thing from their financial institution – they want banking to be easy, they want value for money, and they want advice they can trust.
That rings true for every stage of the customer journey. Everything we do is focused on deepening our relationships and providing seamless experiences across all touchpoints while simultaneously making things simpler and easier for both colleagues and customers.
As an example, we recently migrated petabytes of data – in essence the entire digital memory of the Bank – to the cloud and in doing so, unlocked countless opportunities and insights that have improved speed and impact as well as potential for more personalized experiences for our customers. Innovation with purpose is what drives us, all while never losing sight of our superpower which has always been bringing humanity to banking.
Collaboration has become a crucial element in today's interconnected world. How do TD's sponsorships contribute to customer relationships and brand value growth?
We're very proud of our strategic sponsorships and how they align to our brand promise and purpose.
We believe that banking serves a higher purpose and plays a critical role in our society and economy. At the very core of what we do is helping individuals and businesses realize their aspirations. But beyond that, as a corporate citizen we support positive change in our communities. Both sport and music are centred in connection and shared experiences and our sponsorships reflect our commitment to enriching the lives of those in our communities.
An example that showcases the intersection of sponsorship and community impact is our relationships with both the Boston Celtics and the Vancouver Canucks.
To celebrate Women's History Month this year, we worked with both franchises to help facilitate community events centred on girls in sport. Research tells us that more than 1 in 5 girls will leave sports in the teens – the purpose of these events was to dig into some of the 'why' behind that statistic and to give the participants a mentorship moment with professional female athletes both on and off the court/ice. The impact of those moments will stay with these girls long into the future as they become the leaders of tomorrow.
Employee engagement can significantly impact brand perception. How does TD involve employees in contributing to and aligning with the brand's values and goals?
At TD, we believe that people matter the most and our customers and colleagues have always been central to our brand story.
One of my favourite moments every year is our annual #TDThanksYou (#TDTY) campaign. Now in its 11th year, #TDTY demonstrates our commitment to enriching the lives of our customers and colleagues by personally recognizing and thanking them for their community contributions in new and exciting ways. We're known for our culture of care and pride ourselves on our customer relationships.
From front line interactions to behind-the-scenes processes, all 95,000 colleagues play an important role in delivering legendary experiences. We also believe that holding ourselves accountable to our customers with intention and without compromise is our key differentiator. With that in mind, we recently launched our new Customer Experience Standard.
Regardless of where colleagues sit within the Bank, the Customer Experience Standard brings the customer to the forefront of every decision, every time. It applies to all of us and challenges us to always be raising the bar.
