We’re back with more fun marketing, but this week we’re looking at brands across tech and finance. Because increasingly, they’re moving like creator-first brands, borrowing from the little blackbook that fashion, beauty and other consumer brands hold tight to their chest.
And they’ve all stolen one thing.
Don’t advertise the thing you sell and start advertising what it lets people do.
You don’t always need to explain the product. Show us what it changes, unlocks or makes easier for the person using it. We’re seeing this more and more from tech brands in particular, especially as AI-powered products become harder to differentiate on features alone.
Raisin makes saving money look surprisingly easy
Raisin UK, a digital savings platform, launched its first-ever TV campaign, with two films called Forest and Boat promoting its ISA offering. The campaign was created by Ponderosa, with shorter versions running across social and digital too.
But the interesting bit is how they’ve chosen to make a savings platform feel visual and simple, when savings, ISAs and interest rates can often feel like anything but that.
Raisin is selling a fairly functional product, somewhere to find and manage savings accounts, but the advertising doesn’t spend all its time explaining the product. Instead, it’s doing the brand-building job and giving people something to associate with what could otherwise be a pretty dry category.
There’s something in that for other finance brands. You don’t always need to make the product itself exciting, because truly, banking and fintech products are not exhilarating to most. Sometimes, you just need to make the brand around it worth remembering.
Full campaign here.
Block wants Bitcoin to leave the group chat
Block launched its first major consumer Bitcoin campaign on 1 October. Its leading tagline is “Some things don’t make sense. Bitcoin does”, which is cheeky because it absolutely does not... to the general public.
The target is roughly 60 million Americans the company describes as “Bitcoin-curious”. And honestly, that makes sense. We’ve all seen the incredible (and sometimes suspicious) rise in creators and seemingly regular people coming online to tell us how they’ve made $100,000+ from crypto or investing in stocks and shares. It can feel slightly mad because... how is everyone making this much money from something that doesn’t physically exist?? Helloo, have we all seen the economy and ridiculous cost of living?
That confusion is exactly what the campaign is trying to tackle. The ads start with things people are already annoyed about, rising living costs, the financial system and Wall Street bailouts, before positioning Bitcoin as an alternative.
“A better economy is one where nobody can print more money, decide where you can spend yours, or skim your profits with unearned fees. That’s bitcoin. It isn’t perfect, but at least it makes sense.”
More interestingly, this isn’t really a campaign about buying Bitcoin. Block wants people to spend it. The ads are running across YouTube, X, Meta, Instagram and Fox Sports through the end of December, with cinema placements around films including Avengers: Doomsday and Dune 3.
Crypto marketing has spent years selling Bitcoin as an investment: buy it, watch the number move and hopefully become rich. Block is trying to shift that perception and make Bitcoin feel like something that could actually be part of ordinary life.
And when you’re trying to move a product from niche behaviour to mainstream behaviour, changing what people think the product is for, and who they think it’s for, is the most important first step.
“Bitcoin Does” is airing now. The campaign films are available here.
Transport for London remembers nobody actually wants to buy transport
And for my London crew, this is my gift to you.
TfL launched its new “The Stop Is Just The Start” campaign, built around our shared love for the Tube. Not.
Some of us only use it because Uber and taxis in the city are extortionate, and TfL is a cheaper, and sometimes a more convenient, way to get around. But that’s kind of the point of this campaign. The Tube isn’t really only a mode of transport; it’s the window into all the incredible experiences the city has to offer.
“Every stop on TfL’s network promises to be the start of new stories, discovering new places, and reconnecting with the people and things we love”, said Miranda Leedham, Head of Customer Marketing & Behaviour Change at Transport for London.
The hero film follows several seemingly separate journeys, a family reconciliation, musicians travelling to a gig and a couple heading out, which eventually collide at the same event. The transport is there, but it’s basically the supporting character.
There’s behavioural thinking underneath it too. TfL’s research looked at the post-pandemic tendency to stay home because, frankly, home has become very convenient. So rather than saying “please use public transport more”, the campaign reminds Londoners what they’re missing by staying in. Hyper-local outdoor ads suggest things to do nearby, supported by social, CRM and a Secret London partnership.
And there are loads of brands that could steal that thinking. Your product is rarely the thing people ultimately want. It’s the thing that gets them to it.
If you liked this, keep reading
How Yahoo turned a dormant brand into one people actually talk about (again)
How Yahoo found its way back into the conversation, and what brands can learn from a comeback.
WTF Is Experiential Marketing
A playbook for turning experiential marketing from a one-off activation into something people actually care about.
Cool sh*t we saw this week
Five very different campaigns and what they tell us about how brands are showing up right now.