February 28, 2023
Need a bit of inspiration for your next big campaign? Whether you're on the starters line or running an established fintech, it's important to stay on top of marketing trends.
To help you keep up, we’ve put together our favourite fintech marketing campaigns from 2022 that shocked us with their innovation and creativity. Read on to find out who made the cut…
Hollywood heartthrob Ed Westwick, stepped into a leading role in the latest ad for Shares; Europe’s first social trading app, which is helping first-time investors gain access to investment opportunities.
Launched in October 2022, this cross-platform campaign caught everyone’s eye, and not just because of Ed’s good looks. The ad projects Shares’ key objectives, clearly and creatively, marketing investing as social, accessible, simple and fun, for everyone.
There’s no denying a celebrity endorsement can do wonders for any business however Ed isn’t just the face of Shares. He’s been involved in Shares’ growth journey since Founder and CEO, Benjamin Chemla, founded the company back in 2021. We absolutely loved this collaboration and can’t wait to see what the brand thinks of next.
It’s not often you hear about brands asking users to boycott one of the largest spending events of the year. However, Cleo AI “the money app that doesn’t suck” is on a mission to protect its customers from traditional Black Friday consumer myths.
Cleo asked its customers to do 2 things in order to be in with a chance to win $500:
1. Type “Boycott Black Friday” in the Cleo app
2. Share a screenshot and tag them on Twitter or IG
Cleo’s AI is sharing useful advice to users who engage, such as how brands often use ‘derivatives’ - cheaper versions of their existing products - during the Black Friday period.
We love this honest and original campaign from Cleo, showing their customers that by going against the mainstream narrative, Cleo really is the “money app that’s got your back”.
The winner of Best British Bank 4 years running, does it again with this inspiring UK-based TV commercial. Starling's main objective with this campaign is to compel SME’s to their product ultimately helping them achieve their mission of expanding 7% of its shares into the UK SME market.
Sofie Saietz, part of the creative team that took the lead on this ad told sources: “In our latest campaign for Starling, we wanted small business owners to feel the real sense of freedom you get when you are with or switching to Starling Bank."
This ad feels like a natural evolution for a disrupting alternative to old school banks, and, by reinforcing its key product benefits to new audiences, Starling has opened doors to even more growth.
Cash App is truly one to watch: When it comes to their marketing it seems there’s nothing they won't try whether it’s $50,000 bitcoin giveaways, collaborations with Megan Thee Stallion or this latest ad featuring Kendrick Lamar and Ray Dalio.
This ad shows Kendrick Lamar sitting in as a financial translator as two men discuss the difficulties of becoming “financially free” with advice to “start small and invest in yourself”. This simple, yet well-executed ad speaks to Cash Apps targeted demographic and is a fantastic example of how short-form content can make a huge impact.
Undeniably one of our favourite ads from this year; Acorns managed to score ‘the king of New York’, and all-around movie legend; Christoper Walken, to star as the voice of a tech-savvy squirrel for their latest campaign.
Why a squirrel? Not only to embody their unique branding but as a metaphor to represent future growth opportunities when using investment apps such as theirs. You know; a squirrel buries the nuts for tomorrow, forgets about them, and years later they turn into wonderful trees. Acorns is encouraging their users to do just this; just like the forward thinking squirrels; make investments for their futures.
Much of Revolut’s growth to date has been gained through word-of-mouth marketing, pretty impressive considering the challenger bank now boasts over 5 million customers.
Now Revolut is turning its hand to TV advertising. Their latest groundbreaking campaign is Revolut’s biggest to date. At the forefront of the campaign is their TV ad, ‘Your Way In’ which aims to reach “millions” of UK consumers in their homes, supported by their OOH efforts with eye-catching billboards.
Revolut’s goal is to challenge the stereotypes often found in traditional finance and help the “underdog” gain access to previously gated communities, such as traditional investments and payment platforms.
The TV ad showcases “ordinary people” using the Revolut app allowing them to access anything, anywhere, anytime, even despite obvious physical obstacles such as walls. Metaphoric visuals such as this illustrate that Revolut is here to help viewers to access financial arenas that traditionally would've been closed to them.
Revolut isn’t the first to tackle the issue of democratising finance for underserved communities, but this ad shows that they are one of the few to do it successfully.
Already famous for its eye-catching coral pink bank card, beloved challenger bank Monzo launched its limited edition set of neon cards earlier this year. Just when you think its brand couldn’t get brighter, Monzo has made quite a splash with the new neon designs of “disco pink” “sunshine yellow” or “juicy green”.
To add to the hype of limited supply, Monzo decided to offer these cards exclusively to existing account holders, and only after they had successfully managed to refer 2 friends to join Monzo. New users needed to sign up and make a card payment within 30 days for the offer to be valid and existing customers to qualify for a new card.
It’s no surprise that Monzo achieved extremely high levels of engagement on this campaign and we can’t help but commend them on this awesome, innovative referral strategy.
We interviewed Richard Cook, Head of Social at Monzo to find out more about their growth journey. Check out the full episode of The FML Podcast here.
After their groundbreaking ad with Snoop Dogg back in 2021, it’s no secret Klarna takes the lead when it comes to killer campaigns.
The latest comes in the form of this impressive collab between Klarna ambassador and infamous influencer, Bretman Rocks who boasts over 18m followers on Instagram alone. In just 48 hours and spread over three unique episodes, Bretman will travel to Stockholm to ask the locals what they are listening to, visit an iconic Swedish recording studio, learn about fika, and orchestrate a fierce final performance.
We love to see fintechs and influencers working together, especially when it’s done as well as this ad. It’s a funny, innovative and authentic take on influencer x fintech collaborations, that is likely to reach relevant audiences to catalyse growth for Klarna.
Want to kick-start your own fintech influencer marketing campaign? Find out how we can help.
International funny man and Hollywood megastar Will Ferrell took to our screens this year in the form of a completely different character: Will Power. In this comedic, global campaign, Will Power can be seen dropping inspirational quotes and educational content for Lunar’s viewers on how to become rich and powerful. This satirical take on money gurus is totally on brand with Lunar’s challenger mindset.
After Lunar, one of Europe’s fastest-growing fintechs, announced that Will Ferrel joined their investors, it was only a matter of time before fans expected to see him in their ads. And boy did Lunar deliver…
Having Christian Ronaldo in your corner can only open multiple doors for any brand, and Binance. The world’s leading blockchain ecosystem and the largest cryptocurrency exchange platform, has just launched its own NFT collection of Cristiano Ronaldo, to do just that.
According to Binance, Ronaldo’s NFT collection aims to “commemorate the legacy of one of the best ever to grace the game of football” and is just the first of many upcoming limited edition collections.
To celebrate Cristiano Ronaldo’s NFT debut, they have prepared a Mystery Box for the first 1.5 million new Binance users containing one of two mystery box-exclusive Ronaldo NFTs in Stone colour. While we’re yet to see the effects of this newly launched campaign, we can’t help but think Binance has scored with this collaboration…
It seems counterintuitive to lump these wonderful campaigns together, since they are each so unique, but we can identify themes throughout these successful marketing campaigns. Here are the four keys to these campaigns’ success:
Connection: These Fintechs have put in the work getting to know their target audience, and it shows. Understanding and segmenting your ideal customer is vital to any marketing campaign. Once you have this nailed down, you can understand their pain points and reveal that you, your product or your company has the solutions to them. And these campaigns are exceptional examples of just that; taking their customers’ pain points and communicating exactly how they can solve them in real time.
Authenticity: 90% of customers mentioned authenticity as an important factor in deciding which brands they like and support. It’s often true that marketers can get consumed by data, but by focussing on storytelling rather than data, these fintechs have been able to achieve true authenticity. It’s clear to see that by making their customers feel heard, these brands are building real personal connections with their target customers.
Creativity: The global financial sector is expected to be worth US$26.5 trillion in 2022. More and more fintechs are emerging daily, and it’s showing no signs of slowing. That’s why creativity matters. There’s no better way to capture your audience's attention than with high quality creative. Standing out from the competition is vital to these fintechs' success.
Collaboration: Teaming up with influencers and celebrities can improve a fintechs brand awareness tenfold. In fact, 61% of consumers trust influencer recommendations more often than brands. It may seem like a great publicity stunt featuring celebs in these ads, but it’s much more than that;by collaborating with trusted influencers it’s a way for these fintechs to really connect with their audience.
At Growth Gorilla we only do fintech. We create and execute strategies to help well-funded fintechs go to market, grow, and master market entry. Our team of experts has already grown over 30 fintechs. When you come with us, there’s no confusion and no wasted time. You stay flexible, slash acquisition costs, and stop worrying about what to do next.
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