How Digital Payment Brands Can Get in Front of the Right Audience

Disruptions, whether technological or economic, trigger long-lasting changes in consumer behaviour. This creates unique challenges and opportunities for brands. Those who are quick to invest in the right moves gain a competitive advantage. For instance, after the 2008-09 financial crisis, we saw early digital-native brands like Uber and Warby Parker?taking advantage of the increasing preference for digital and mobile solutions to provide convenience to the digital-savvy and cash-strapped young generation, the millennials.

The millennials are influencing change this time too, while their successors, Gen Z, are more than just waiting in the wings. They are more adventurous and less settled in their ways. Together, the two generations are defining new trends in everything digital, from work to entertainment and even payments. Both Gen Z and millennials were already huge fans of digital payment methods before the pandemic-led crisis. A 2019 research reveals that only 39% of Gen Z consumers used credit cards. In contrast over 40% used in-app payments and 34% used mobile wallets regularly.

While past crises offer valuable lessons, the pandemic is more than just a financial crisis. It is a health crisis, with a huge impact on society and businesses. Digital payment companies need to consider what their message is, who they are addressing, and where they need to deliver it. Here are some brilliant marketing examples of payment providers doing just that.

Here’s How Amazon Pay is Enticing Millennial Shoppers

“Possible with Pay” – this is the catchphrase of their campaign to showcase how Amazon Pay blends easily into the daily lifestyle of millennials. Talk about doing a case study, sans all the seriousness of one? Go through the “Day in the Life” series, where the brand presents fictitious millennials and how the platform helps them purchase things online faster, without the need to sign-up for a new account each time or remember multiple passwords.

Case studies in such interesting formats act as social proof for young consumers, something that helps buyers with context so that they can decide whether they are making a good choice. Millennials love this aspect. They love brands that are authentic, engage in straight talk, and tell stories they can connect with; rather than indulging in plain marketing speak.

Takeaway: Humanising the brand is key to connecting with young shoppers. Share content that helps them relate to situations, educates them, and engages them. They want the steak, not just the sizzle.

Trustly’s Quirky Instagram Marketing Leverages Humour

Another fantastic example of humanising the brand through customer stories is the Instagram posts by Trustly. Look at how they have given it a twist by funnily naming their customers.

This is a good example of a segmentation strategy. Trustly has found a powerful way to make their case studies “match” the website visitors important for their business. Segmentation gives brands a clear understanding of who their customers are, and what kind of brand voice they would resonate with. These preferences are extremely important to understand when using humour, given that something that is humorous to one person might be offensive to another.

Here, the company has been smart about this complexity, by addressing fictitious customers in a funny way. Thankfully, millennials and Gen Z LOVE humour. They like to laugh and learn, preferably both at the same time. Over 44% of millennials said, in a 2019 survey that funny ads resonate with them, while in another survey, 50% of Gen Z consumers said that they like “fun” ads to kill the boredom of lockdowns in the pandemic, ranking humour as the 6th most desirable quality in ads they like.

Takeaway: Humour done right can be a great way to target the “meme-loving” young generation. Trust me, they don’t mind even laughing at themselves!

American Express’s Mega-Rich Content Strategy for Knowledge-Thirsty Youngsters

A new study indicates that 74% of Gen Z consumers lack confidence in personal finance topics, with 73% expressing a desire to receive more education in this aspect. American Express seized the opportunity by providing a high-quality, information-rich blog that addresses young entrepreneurs and shoppers. They especially address the challenges brought on by the pandemic.

I especially like their collaborative website, Open Forum. While plenty of companies talk about “creating online communities” and the value of “relatable conversation,” few create anything of value. American Express has leveraged the expertise of industry giants on its Open Forum website. It invites guest authors from diverse sectors to share their knowledge. These interviews are then showcased in this space. The result? A content-rich site (with both written and video content) that ranks high on search engines, all created without having to pay anything to the content contributors.

Takeaway: You don’t need in-house content creators to prove expertise. Find experts and ask them to contribute to your blog or social media platform. As long as it adds value for the audience, it will drive traffic. This is an example of drawing on a range of user-generated content to grow online communities cost-effectively.

With or without a crisis, addressing millennials and Gen Zers are crucial for brand success, given their increasing purchasing power and their influence on the older generations. And, with their propensity for ecommerce, digital payment platforms need to focus their marketing investments on digital and social media channels, where the time between advertising exposures to actual purchase is very low. Over 60% of millennials and Gen Z consumers say that social media has shaped their purchase decisions during the pandemic, compared to 25% of the previous generations. It is time to revamp all communication strategies in the context of the present day.

At Contentworks, we specialise in communicating with these digital savvy generations. With a diverse team of content specialists, we excel at bringing content marketing strategies targeted at specific audiences to life. Contact us for a free content marketing audit.