The Ad: This follow-up to Mettle’s 2021 video spot ‘The Charge’ continues the challenger bank’s approach of targeting the ‘Passion Economy’. It leverages anarchic music, costume design and direction to emphasise the feeling of vitality, spirit and independence that comes with forging your own way in business. This creative direction mirrors that of music videos in the punk and rock genre from the early to mid-2000s, recalling an era that much of Mettle’s target audience will be familiar with.
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Mettle: ‘Power Up
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The Ad: This 2020 B2B video ad for blockchain-based payments service Ripple stuck out for several reasons. Firstly, it bypasses discussion of business benefits, instead focusing on end-customer benefits, showing a number of daily-life scenarios where the service can be used, such as sending money to a child abroad or seamlessly paying for craft materials.
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TextFX
‘Got it’
Natwest's Drop:
Ripple's Drop:
OCTOBER 05/2023
Focus on
The Trust Conundrum: People and businesses are wary of blockchain and cryptocurrency, despite their potential, so a lot of campaigns anchor around the concept of trust.
But there may be an issue with this. When you tell someone not to picture an elephant, for example, it will be almost impossible for them not to picture one.
This is called ironic process theory, and it’s something for crypto/blockchain services to be aware of in their own campaigns: leaning too heavily on trust as a selling point could act inversely to raise suspicion in audiences.
Final insight: Tech, Trust and Ironic
As one of Hotwire’s specialisms, FinTech – and the way it is advertised – has always been a key focus for our team. In this edition of The Drop, the UK team dive into adverts that caught their eye and discuss how FinTechs
can build momentum with their campaigns.
The Insight ›
Ripple
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The Insight: This is a refreshing, welcome approach, as blockchain marketing campaigns tend to feature dark, tech-heavy imagery and appeal to a young male demographic, often to the exclusion of others. This could be one of the reasons that blockchain is yet to fulfil its early potential. For the industry to take flight, more campaigns should seek to follow Ripple’s example, making real-world applications more salient and adopting a tone that makes the technology accessible and relevant to a wider audience.
The Insight: It's interesting to see the contrast with Mettle’s earlier ad, ‘The Charge’ which takes the form of a collective rallying cry, showing solo business owners leading a charge together towards entrepreneurial success. That shows a thematic evolution from joining a movement to making your own movement – an apt shift for an individualistic entrepreneurial spirit
The Insight ›
Yonder's Drop:
The Ad: Yonder offers shoppers rewards for spending with them, with a consistent brand image that really hones in on those rewards. Their website and social posts feature lots of people, beautiful photography, ‘snackable’ content (like listicles) and a mix of serious and humorous posts that show how seamlessly Yonder fits into life in the city.
Yonder
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Yonder
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The Insight ›
The Insight: Instead of talking about their product, they post lists and guides to eating out and weekend plans – which is ultimately what their product enables customers to enjoy more. There’s a solid rationale behind opting for that type of creative – consumers aren’t going to Instagram to hear about APR percentages and interest rates. They want visually striking, interesting content. However, Instagram is an incredibly crowded market for this content, making it difficult for Yonder to stand out
Key Takeaway ›
Key Takeaway:
Brands and agencies need to be careful when discussing trust in relation to these products. If they do, they need to find creative ways to demonstrate why audiences can trust them – show, not tell, and lean heavily on how the tech can help in real situations.
FinTech
Video Spot
What You Do'
Process Theory
Credit Card
Drop!
Focus on
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