Sustaining Success

Today at a Glance:

• Competitive Compass: The Podcast
• Hitting the peak is hard—holding steady is the ultimate win!
• Flexible payments and perks keep travelers flying!
• Americans are worried about division, but unity is gaining ground
• PayPal: now truly everywhere!
• Pulse of the Week
• Lightbulb Moments

Competitive Compass: The Podcast

New Podcast Alert!?

If you’ve ever thought, “I wish my weekly newsletter could talk,” then guess what? Now it does!?

Introducing my new AI-generated podcast, where I literally have robots reading the best insights on Financial Services, payments, and marketing intel. It’s like having the future in your earbuds.?

Why should you subscribe? Well, because who doesn’t want their competitive edge delivered by AI? It’s smarter and faster. Subscribe now, and let’s get futuristic together!?

Apple | Spotify

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You can listen to today's episode here: Apple | Spotify

Hitting the peak is hard—holding steady is the ultimate win!

Q3 2024 is in the books and as an industry, we're seeing consistency at the peak, proving we're exceptional! As we get into earnings season?(starting this Friday for most with JPM and WFC),?I can help provide a quick sense of how marketing activity can help us understand the vigor/boldness of an FI vs. competitors.

Overall, Q3 2024 saw the same level of marketing activity as YAG.

2024 is tracking at a slightly higher marketing activity than 2023 and with an expectation of Q4 spending higher or at par with 2023, we are most likely to see the same very high level of spend in 2024, as we did in 2023.

The high watermark set in 2022 is yet to be beaten, but that was a result of all the pandemic stimulus churning through the economy and thus was more the exception to the norm.

The fact that we haven't seen lower marketing spend when compared to 2022, speaks volumes to how aggressive FIs are and earnings will likely demonstrate yet again that this aggressive stance is working.

Credit Cards tend to continue to be the giant share of all marketing activity, with Banking gaining share over the past 2 to 3 years.

Diving deeper into Credit Card Marketing Spend, the vigor/boldness of the major issuers is highlighted even further. Q3 2024 saw significantly higher spend vs. YAG and parallels levels seen in Q3 2022?(the aforementioned high water mark).

We're projecting Citi to be the leader, with Cap One right on their heels. Our Direct Mail spend will be available in two weeks, but early reads suggest Q3 is a close race.

Diamond Preferred, Custom Cash, and Rewards+ were the top proprietary cards promoted. AAdvantage Platinum Select and Home Depot (consumer) were the top cobrands promoted.

Rashida Jones' Custom Cash ads were seen all over TV. As discussed in previous newsletters, bringing in some humor for cashback cards is now the norm, and CIti is capitalizing on it.

For Cap One: Quicksilver and Venture X were the top products promoted.

Capital One's marketing mix is a lot more varied, primarily due to Banking being promoted via almost all channels except Direct Mail.

In terms of highest spend marketing campaign for Credit Cards:

Discover clocked in at over $7.7M with their Jennifer Coolidge Discover it TV ad

Flexible payments and perks keep travelers flying!

Marisa's?Travel Card Innovations ?is available for you to check out. Innovations in travel cards tout brands' commitment to adapting to the evolving needs of modern travelers in a rapidly changing travel landscape.

Key Takeaways:

• Lounge access is a standard expectation
• Brands are increasingly catering to solo travelers
• Issuers offer innovative perks to support travel

Americans are worried about division, but unity is gaining ground

Lisa has a new piece which I really enjoyed. The new data and analysis gauge?consumers' attitudes and outlook on recent political occurrences, including President Biden's withdrawal from the election:?

• As of Aug 2024,?59% ?of?consumers feel optimistic?- rather than pessimistic - about the upcoming election, compared to 53% in May 2024
• However,?election stress ?has also increased?between May - Aug 2024, from 51% to 55%?
• And?79% ?of consumers plan to?rely on social media?for election news coverage, as?65% ?agree that?traditional news media?coverage?overemphasizes and over-reports?on certain political issues and events

The piece is titled:?Countdown to the Election ?and I highly recommend you check it out. I went in wanting to satisfy my curiosity but walked away with some brand takeaways that are extremely relevant to everyone.

PayPal: now truly everywhere!

PayPal Everywhere ?is PayPal's largest U.S. campaign, emphasizing its seamless, secure payment solutions across various platforms and channels. The campaign, featuring notable advertising on TV, social media, and streaming services, highlights how PayPal enables easy, secure transactions anytime, anywhere. With strategic partnerships, cashback offers, and growing consumer trust, PayPal is positioning itself as the go-to payment method for users everywhere—from everyday purchases to major transactions.

Pulse of the Week

Emily's?weekly digest ?is available for you to review.

Lightbulb Moments

Andrew's?LinkedIn updates ?are available in one simple digest.

Please reach out with any questions. I am happy to have our analyst join your next team meeting if you are interested in discussing any of the above.

Thank you for reading (and/or listening!).

As ever - Anuj