Fintech Fringe Festival: Growth marketing tactics for scaling fintechs – a review
Last week I headed to Fintech Fringe Festival’s session on “Growth Marketing Tactics for Scaling Fintechs” at Thought Machine HQ in London. The event brought together leading marketing minds and fintech innovators to share their wisdom on driving customer acquisition and growth in the fintech sector.
Stand out or die: Building a fintech brand of the future
The session kicked off with an engaging keynote by Jana Straiton, Head of Marketing at Adobe and founder of Renegade. Jana emphasised the necessity of standing out in the crowded fintech landscape (or dying!), asserting: “The only two options in today’s competitive space: get your customers’ attention or fade away.” She highlighted that customers connect with brands, not just products, and that brand loyalty can insulate against competitors with cheaper or better products.
Jana urged fintechs to prioritise customer-centric branding as a growth strategy. She cited that 95% of customers are not actively in the market right now and that brand-building efforts must be continuous to cultivate trust and loyalty. Examples like PayPal’s branded dogs campaign and Monzo’s hot coral cards underscore the impact of memorable and differentiated branding (“Be the purple cow, not the brown one!”). Jana also discussed the dual-edged nature of AI in branding – while it offers unparalleled data insights and consistency, there is a risk of homogenisation and loss of authenticity.
Her use of cute pug photos certainly kept me engaged!
Monzo’s marketing evolution
Tierney Cowap, Growth Campaigns Manager at Monzo, shared an insightful case study on Monzo’s marketing journey since its founding in 2015. Initially relying on a Golden Ticket referral system and word-of-mouth, Monzo has evolved from investing in performance marketing to brand marketing. Their recent “Painting the Town Hot Coral” campaign is a testament to their strategy of minimal tech and product focus in adverts, reinforcing their distinctive brand identity.
Tierney emphasised the importance of integrating brand and performance marketing, ensuring both teams work towards a unified strategy. She reiterated that keeping the customer at the core of marketing efforts is crucial, especially in the fintech industry, where trust and personal connection are paramount (“You’re dealing with people’s money, which is so personal!”).
Branding in the practical fintech industry: Personalities and social media
A panel on building brand identity in fintech highlighted the importance of executive profiling and strategic differentiation. Experts recommended identifying where your audience is active, leveraging SEO insights, and even utilising forums like Reddit. Personal branding on platforms like LinkedIn is a great way to build trust and authority, but nothing beats face-to-face engagements at events!
Navigating the fintech regulatory minefield
Who knew regulation could be so interesting? Speakers including Zhenya Winter and Lucy Heavens stressed the importance of understanding and adapting to regulatory requirements like GDPR and financial promotions regulations (“Make regulation your best friend!”). They advocated for making your organisation’s Data Protection Officer a key ally and staying ahead of upcoming regulations to ensure compliance and build trust with customers.
Final thoughts
Overall, it was an insightful session, providing practical advice and inspiration for scaling fintechs. As the fintech landscape continues to evolve, staying abreast of these cutting-edge tactics will be crucial for marketers aiming to drive growth and innovation in their companies.
At Babel, we have extensive experience helping fintechs meet their growth objectives. To find out how we can support you, get in touch.
