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 4 things you need to know:
1. Apple Card ramps up its email marketing
Apple Card ramped up its email marketing during the holiday season with a series of TARGETED and non-targeted initiatives rolling out for both new and existing customers.
- All-time high sign-on bonus. Some potential customers are being offered a $300 sign-on bonus for spending $1500 in the first 60 days (through Jan 13)
- Benefits upgrade: Cardholders using Apple Card with Apple Pay can now get 3% cash back at new merchants – Booking.com and ChargePoint (EV charging).
- Cash back boost: Select high-spending cardholders can now get up to 5% cash back on ALL PURCHASES based on spending tier through April 2025😲.
💡Apple Card BOOST!:
- Preparing for the altar. Rumors have been circling that Chase is in negotiations to take over the Apple Card portfolio from Goldman Sachs with credit quality the potential sticking point. It looks like Goldman is doing what it can to improve its portfolio and strengthen its hand, and Apple is fully on board. The holidays are an important time for Apple, but it’s not unusual to see a ramp-up in activity by an incumbent before a potential sale.
- Unique cashback spend accelerator. Emails went to “select Apple Card Account Owners” on November 7 and November 21, according to Comperemedia, promoting a Daily Cash boost of up to 5%. This is a RICH OFFER for those willing to spend $15K – $50K on the card! The goal is to get the heavy spenders spending on Apple Card during the holiday season and beyond. I don’t recall seeing a cash-back spend accelerator like this before and certainly not one this rich. Apple Card continues to surprise and delight despite its critics.
2. Robinhood’s New Year’s Eve surprise
Robinhood rang in the new year by communicating (via email and social) a surprise reward for existing customers who visited the app:
- Customers who visited the app and joined a virtual countdown at 8:30 pm ET on New Year’s Eve got a FREE piece of $2.5M in DOGE cryptocurrency.
- Gold subscribers who joined a virtual countdown in the app at 7 pm on New Year’s Day got a FREE piece of $2.5M in Bitcoin (BTC).
Note: Robinhood had 24 million customers and 2.2 million Gold subscribers as of Q3 2024.
💡Start off the year as you mean to go on:
- Surprise and delight. Reports suggest that around 450K participated in the New Years Eve giveaway earning around $6 each in DOGE with other sources suggesting that Gold subscribers might have received a couple of dollars more on New Years Day. Maybe the low value disappointed some and maybe others felt frustrated if they missed out on the opportunity but what strikes me is the creativity of the approach and the unrelenting pursuit to engage with customers proactively. When Robinhood launched its Gold credit card last year I commented that it was the most creative launch since Apple Card and it looks like the company isn’t compromising on its goal to surprise and delight its customers creatively. Lessons for all as we had into 2025.
- Buckle up. Yahoo recently named Robinhood its “comeback stock of the year” and with the optimism around cryptocurrency and the stockmarket fueled by the pro-deregulation and tax-cutting agenda of the incoming administration, this could be a banner year for Robinhood as retail investors look to seize the moment. That said, with so much uncertainty, it’s no surprise that along with a heartfelt thank you to customers on X there was also the cautionary note to “buckle up for 2025.”
3. Interview with Nick Antonelli: CMO of Bread Financial
Bread Financial, based in Columbus, Ohio, is best known for its private-label and co-branded credit cards but since rebranding from Alliance Data in 2022 it has diversified into credit cards, loans, and savings products marketed under the Bread Financial name. It’s a fascinating story of brand evolution and diversification in a challenging economic environment. For the latest episode of the Mintel Little Conversation podcast, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Bread Financial CMO, Nick Antonelli, who spearheaded the transformation. We went behind the scenes on a fascinating journey that would be a worthy case study at any business school.
💡How Bread Financial aims to win in a competitive market:
- Bold vision. Bread Financial’s transformation has been guided by bold vision, strategic innovation, and a commitment to meeting the evolving needs of both partners and consumers. From the ambitious rebranding effort to the product diversification strategy, Bread Financial is positioning itself as a leader in the financial services space that combines an established institution with a fintech mindset.
- Unlocking synergy. Bread Financial views its direct-to-consumer proprietary products as a value-add to its partner business. Not only is this done through cross-selling (Bread is even testing the promotion of partner products to its Bread savings customers) but in having its own Bread Financial products in the market, Bread can share lessons learned, test new ideas, and make strategic recommendations to its partners based on experience.
4. Top three posts from 2024
🥇Messy break-up. A post about Capital One and Walmart was my most viewed post of the year after Capital One communicated with Walmart customers via direct mail to let them know that the partnership was ENDING and their Walmart card was becoming a Quicksilver Card.
🥈6 down, 34 to go! We captured the first emails promoting the new Delta SkyMiles Amex cards on Comperemedia shortly after Amex announced its 40-product global refresh and began rolling out its playbook of injecting new value with higher fees.
🥉New card alert! The new card launch that garnered the most attention in 2024 was the Autograph Journey Visa Card from Wells Fargo. The bank continued to expand its card portfolio with its second bank-branded travel card.
💡What they say about 2025:
- Watch this space! Walmart’s majority-owned fintech, One, is reportedly receiving a fresh injection of funding and is gearing up to launch the new Walmart co-brand card. Walmart’s e-commerce arm and the Walmart+ membership program have been growing rapidly, making this one for everyone to watch for in 2025. (Pun intended). Capital One, on the other hand, is moving on as it has something else to think about…a little merger with Discover Financial Services.
- The competition strikes back. Amex can’t enhance its products EVERY YEAR, can it? (Maybe it can!) In the meantime, Citi and American Airlines have agreed to a new partnership with enhancements/new cards potentially in the works and we have planned premium card launches from Alaska/Bank of America and JetBlue/Barclays. Can the competition get in some body blows while Amex takes a necessary pause? They will try!
- Travel cards will reach new heights. The bank-branded travel card segment has been transforming in recent years. If you thought we had reached peak-travel-card, then think again, as it will once again be one of the hottest tickets in town. New cards and more innovation will be on the docket for 2025. I can’t wait!
Behind the curtain on the Lightbulb Moments blog
In this post, I went “behind the curtain” on the Lightbulb Moments Blog after publishing 25 volumes since January 2024.
Lightbulb Moments breaks down the latest marketing trends and strategies in financial services. It is based on my LinkedIn posts and each volume covers five unique stories. That’s more than 125 stories in 2024 alone, making it a rich repository for financial services products and marketing professionals.
I often get asked how I come up with my posts so I thought I would address that in this quick video.
💡Uncovering those “aha” moments:
- Connecting the dots. I’m always searching for signs of change and questioning their impact. Whether it’s a new credit card launch, campaign, or industry trend, I’ll only share if I can offer a unique perspective—not just rehash available news.
- Unique insights. People often ask how I uncover trends. Comperemedia is my go-to source, tracking marketing channels from direct mail to digital and social. This helps us spot tests, new value propositions, and messaging you won’t see elsewhere.
- Network effect. With a growing network and following, I often hear about new developments. Sites like Doctor of Credit and View from the Wing are excellent sources too. Then there’s real-life spotting—as my wife knows, few things excite me more than a new out-of-home ad or in-store promo for a credit card.
- New understanding. Knowing if something is truly new or relevant is crucial. My years in the industry help, but I always do my due diligence to contextualize insights—again, Comperemedia plays a big role here.
- Making a difference. My blog is called Lightbulb Moments for a reason. It’s all about those “aha” moments worth noticing because they have the potential to drive real change.
