Comperemedia’s Chief Insights Officer, Andrew Davidson is well known for sharing the latest insights on financial services products and marketing strategies/innovations on his LinkedIn, as an event speaker and as a host on Mintel’s Little Conversation podcast. In this bi-weekly recap, he will provide you with the latest news and insights happening in the financial services industry.
Here are the 5 things you need to know:
1. Credit card lounge wars heat up
Chase announced a new Sapphire Lounge at LAX and Capital One announced a new lounge at JFK and with dedicated lounge ads from Chase popping up during the opening weekend of Euro 2024 it feels like the airport lounge wars went up a notch in June.
Chase Sapphire Reserve national TV and video ads running for the past few months focus on Sapphire Lounge by the Club (4 locations open currently with more planned) with the provocative statement that “this is what an airport lounge is supposed to be.”
Lounge wars accelerate:
With travel rebounding and younger consumers less loyal to airlines, banks have been focused on the bank-branded travel card opportunity. Airport lounges are seemingly the key to capturing premium customers and, as a result, marketing is shifting to focus on these costly lounges as banks expand their networks. I expect to see an explosion of side-by-side comparisons to support bold claims and unique offerings to create differentiation plus more dedicated lounge ads from banks.
2. OneUnited promotes a regional TV ad via email
In honor of Juneteenth, OneUnited Bank – “the nation’s largest Black-owned bank” – launched a OneLove Card regional TV ad and sent millions of emails to let people know about it. The email subject line was very clear: Tune Into Our New OneLove TV Commercial Now!
The OneLove Card (launched February 2024) is a debit card designed by artist Addonis Parker to symbolize unity.
The Juneteenth ad shows a group of friends having brunch at Pips on La Brea, a Black-owned jazz club/restaurant in LA and discussing the features of the OneLove debit card including:
- Access to pay up to 2 days early
- “AI insights” for personalized advice
An ad for an ad!:
- Finding meaningful moments. OneUnited Bank’s recent campaign highlights the essence of unlocking meaningful moments. By promoting the OneLove Card and emphasizing features like early pay benefits and personalized AI insights, the bank not only provides practical financial solutions but also fosters a sense of community and shared progress, aligning with the core message of Juneteenth. “Juneteenth reminds us of the power of freedom, the importance of financial literacy and that we’re stronger, together, as a community,” said Teri Williams, President & COO of OneUnited.
- Amplifying the message. If you are going to put all of that work (and $$) into a TV commercial then why not do everything you can to make sure that as many people hear about it as possible? It’s a smart move by OneUnited to drop the ad into the inboxes of 2-3 million customers/prospective customers who can click directly to watch in their own time.
3. Book travel! Citibank’s call to action
The first emails to Citi customers regarding the rebranded Citi Strata Premier Card lead with Citi Travel, emphasize the key changes to the card, and encourage cardholders to “make every point count.”
Key changes emphasized:
- Travel Portal: Ongoing 10X ThankYou Points on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked through CitiTravel.com (previously this was limited time only)
- EV Charging: 3X ThankYou Points at gas and EV charging stations (EV charging is new)
- Travel Insurances: Trip Delay Protection, Trip Cancellation and Interruption Protection, Lost or Damaged Luggage, Car Rental Insurance
Leading with travel:
- Citi Travel takes the lead. Citi launched its travel portal with Booking.com in 2023 and this is the first attempt to fully infuse Citi Travel with the value proposition of a Citi credit card (previously all accelerated earn on the site with Premier/other Citi products was for a limited time only). The message is clear that the new Strata Premier and Citi Travel combined will enhance the travel experience for Citi cardholders.
- Risk or reward. By integrating a travel portal into a credit card value prop, there is an element of risk in that both now depend on the success of each other. That means marketing will need to focus on the synergy of combining these two services and continue to reinforce the message of enhanced value.
4. How does the Bilt Rewards Mastercard make money?
There has been a lot of press coverage regarding the Bilt Rewards Mastercard culminating in an episode of The Journal podcast, from the Wall Street Journal, with the title “The Unusual Economics of the Bilt Credit Card.”
I thought it would be a good time to revisit my Mintel Little Conversation interview with Bilt founder Ankur Jain from 2021 (before Wells Fargo became the issuing bank) where I asked him directly about the economics of the card and he outlined its three primary sources of revenue.
- Loyalty program for landlords
- Traditional co-brand model ie., revenue from merchants and banks
- Mortgage acquisition business
Long term play:
There is plenty of miss/missing information swirling around this card. For example, the idea that cardholders immediately paying off rent payments wasn’t part of the strategy is incorrect. As you will hear from the interview, Bilt operates as a “debit card for rent” so revolving on rent was never the plan. For Wells Fargo the long-term opportunity is mortgages. The economics might be challenging but this was always a long-term play.
5. US Bank partners with Simone Biles for an Olympic ad campaign
Congratulations to Simone Biles for securing a spot on Team USA for her third Olympics! AND that means US Bank’s Cash+ Visa Signature Card is also packing its bags for Paris 2024 after the bank launched a new ad campaign called “Everything Everything” featuring both Simone Biles and her sister Adria Biles demonstrating how you can earn up to 5% cash back on “virtually everything.”
The campaign coincides with the debut of a new red, white and blue design for the card which is now more aligned with the style of its Shopper Cash Rewards Card.
Lessons from Team USA:
- Team sport. In top-performing teams, every member contributes their unique strengths towards a shared objective. The same principle holds true for omnichannel marketing success! US Bank has been building its campaign over the past few weeks with direct mail and email initially promoting the new look card followed by digital, social and the first of two national TV spots ramping up through the US Olympic Gymnastics trials and as we approach the opening ceremony on July 26.
- Did you know? Advertising is at a RECORD HIGH for this Olympic games with Paris 2024 the first to allow all spectators since the pandemic and being the first in many years to be in a favorable time zone for a US audience (the last three were in Asia). Stay tuned for more on an upcoming special Mintel Little Conversation podcast episode on the Olympics discussing all this and more!
