Top 5 Creative Financial Services Marketing Campaigns That Work

The financial services industry includes various B2B and B2C organisations that manage money, such as credit unions, banks, accountancy companies, wealth management firms, stock brokerages, individual managers, private lending firms and government enterprises.

Every financial service company requires a customised marketing strategy tailored to its target demographic to generate quality leads. Ogilvy & Mather Germany’s Chief Creative Officer, Stephan Vogel, said it best:

“Nothing is more efficient than creative advertising. Creative advertising is more memorable, longer lasting, works with fewer media spending and builds a fan community faster.”

What is creativity?

Creativity is the ability to conceptualise an imaginative idea into reality; it could be either tangible or intangible, providing that the concept delivers unusual and simplified solutions to a problem.

Businesses can use creativity to think outside the box by smoothly linking products featured in a campaign to be associated with different ideas. Creative campaigns can include juxtaposing objects or pictures to form a synthesis aligned with the brand’s message.

The content should include high-quality and aesthetically appealing visuals, clever dialogue or unique sound elements; the aim is for the campaign to leave an impression and be viewed as a piece of art rather than a pushy sales pitch. The key is to keep it simple.

Overall, studies by the Harvard Business Review show that creative campaigns were more effective than others in influencing purchasing behaviour. However, many companies focus on the wrong dimensions in their campaigns. By reflecting each marketing campaign on consumers' cultural preferences and triggers in different geographic markets, companies can dramatically improve their ability to predict the effectiveness of their movement and make more innovative investments.

How can financial service companies implement creativity within their marketing campaign and engage with the right audience? This article highlights a few successful creative marketing campaigns within the financial services industry:

1. Back to school/college campaign by Deloitte

Deloitte is one of the Big Four accounting organisations and financial advisory firms that help high net-worth individuals manage their wealth.

Although they’re not focusing on school supplies, Deloitte understands that back-to-school buying habits concern their target audience. Their annual back-to-school report highlights back-to-school shopping as the year's biggest shopping season.

The information is accumulated from surveying American families about their shopping habits for their children, when and where they plan to shop, items they’re planning on buying and how they’re reaching those decisions.

Deloitte displays empathy towards its target demographic by providing in-depth statistics on American back-to-school shopping habits on an interactive landing page illustrated through animated infographics, including a CTA to a downloadable document on both landing pages.

2. Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl Campaign by BitPay

BitPay is a Fintech Bitcoin-processing startup that decided to sponsor the St. Petersburg Bowl football game sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association through 2016.

They raised awareness by promoting Bitcoin to sports fanatics and tech-savvy men between 18 and 40 years old.

The event was Bitcoin-friendly and changed how payments were made at sports and entertainment venues. The game aired on the US sports television network, ESPN, reaching over 100 million American households.

The campaign hashtag #bitcoinbowl was a significant success, and it continued to trend for several months on social media even after the game was over. The Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl campaign is an excellent example of how partnering up with organisations from different industries with the same demographic can help expand its reach through brand awareness.

3. Customer Resource Center by Kabbage

Kabbage helps small business owners reach their goals by providing businesses with flexible access to capital.

They implemented a straightforward website content marketing strategy where the 'Blog' tab at the top of the site is replaced by a 'Resources' tab, providing helpful information for SME businesses, neatly organised into sub-category tabs including:

The 'Resources Center' tab is where Kabbage regularly publishes relevant tips and helpful information for SME businesses. As a result, readers continue to periodically visit their website to read, research and download the data they genuinely find useful.

Although the 'ROI Calculator' is intended for demonstration purposes and helps determine the return on investment based on external factors, it is an engaging tool SME businesses can regularly use to determine how Kabbage funding can work for their business.

The 'Customer Stories' tab includes success stories of Kabbage clients who have either started a business, applied for a company loan, grown their business or sought help managing their business.

By having a dedicated page with a series of client case studies, Kabbage is positioning itself as an expert in the field, developing trust with SME organisations seeking to invest in Kabbage's products or services.

Although they might not intend to apply for a loan right now, Kabbage would come to mind when they are ready.

4. H&R Block Budget Challenge by H&R Block

H&R Block is an American tax preparation company operating in Canada, the United States, and Australia.

They launched an annual H&R Block Budget Challenge campaign in Kanas by marketing to children, providing free teaching resources to schools looking to promote financial literacy amongst students by investing $3 million in college grants for the best-performing students.

Although it will take several years to determine the campaign's impact, the company is gaining trust through a long-haul content strategy whilst giving back to the community through a great cause.

5. Design Your Logo Campaign by Atom Bank

Atom Bank is an app-only bank that has a consumer-focused business model. They launched a campaign where clients could design their brand logo with many personalisation options.

Nutella has already set a precedent with its name branded on the packaging; this campaign tactic is known as in-product marketing, where the brand product serves a purpose while engaging with clients.

As Fintech challenger banks such as Atom are aiming to target the younger generation, tactics such as in-product marketing will help contribute to their success as they compete against traditional financial institutions.

Do you work in financial services? If so, you’re in good company.