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. Top financial services advertisers on YouTube
Q. What financial services company spent the most on YouTube ads last year?
A. Robinhood outspent the rest of the industry by quite some distance in 2024, surging in the 4th quarter with ads for Robinhood Gold, its paid monthly subscription offering.
The top ten accounted for 58% of total YouTube financial services ad spend in 2024 (client-link only).
💡A YouTube call to action:
- Platform of the year. In his latest annual predictions, Scott Galloway (aka Prof G) predicts that YouTube will be the platform of 2025 as it continues to grow its share of eyeballs and ad revenue, amid uncertainty around the future of TikTok. I started using YouTube myself much more last year! Some financial services brands are already investing significantly in YouTube and are poised to take advantage of Scott’s prediction. For those on the sidelines, it’s a call to action to review your YouTube strategy as momentum builds.
- Platform alignment. It’s no surprise that Robinhood leans into YouTube as more consumers move away from traditional ad-supported mediums. While YouTube has more cross-generational appeal than other platforms it is particularly popular with younger males. According to Galloway, many of the “young wealthy males” attracted to the Prof G Markets video podcast on YouTube don’t even own a TV. It’s likely that Robinhood’s customer base overlaps with this demographic, given its focus on younger consumers and the male-skewed investor profile. Financial services companies that embrace this shift in consumer attention can discover new ways to engage with potential customers and stand out in a competitive environment.
2. Top financial services advertisers on podcasts
Q. What financial services company spent the most on podcast ads last year?
A. Capital One!
Here are the top ten spenders for the financial services industry in 2024 who are taking advantage of this growing trend.
💡A podcast call to action:
- Media of the year. Scott Galloway predicted that YouTube would be the “platform of the year.” He also predicted that podcasts would be the “media of the year”, anticipating a “tsunami of revenue” coming into podcast advertising in 2025, as more people listen to podcasts than ever before. Podcasts are increasingly produced as video content for Spotify and YouTube or shared as video clips on platforms like TikTok or LinkedIn. As with YouTube, for those on the sidelines, it’s a call to action to review your podcast advertising strategy as momentum builds.
- Always innovating. Kudos to Capital One for always innovating when it comes to marketing and for leading the charge into podcast advertising as it has with other channels like Instagram. Special mention for the companies/products punching well above their weight on this list such as Apple Card from Goldman Sachs and Atlantic Union Bank (ranked 77th in terms of assets according to the Federal Reserve Board but 6th in terms of podcast advertising). These brands will benefit from lessons learned, testing what works and what doesn’t before other financial services brands flood the channel.
3. Chase reports record marketing spend
DÉJÀ VU. A year ago, I created this chart and posted it with the headline “RECORD YEAR FUELED BY RECORD MARKETING SPEND” referring to Chase in 2023.
I’ve updated the numbers and it’s “rinse and repeat” in 2024 with the bank reporting nearly $5 BILLION in marketing spend for the full year at its Q4 2024 earnings call and again reporting record profits.
The cards business remains the focus of marketing activity:
“Marketing remains a driver of spend as we continue to see attractive opportunities, resulting in strong demand and engagement in our card business” – Jeremy Barnum, Chief Financial Officer, JPMorgan Chase.
Source: JPMorgan Chase & Co Earnings Release Financial Supplement, Q4 2024
💡Marketing acceleration:
- It’s working. Obviously, it’s more complex but with another year of record profits, the marketing investment is clearly paying off, driving two million new checking accounts and 10 million new cards in 2024. Record or near-record levels of marketing continue from Amex, Capital One and Chase with all three targeting spend of around $5 billion each year on marketing (AKA THE $5 BILLION CLUB ) and that cascades throughout the industry. The marketing environment is ultra-competitive, and it doesn’t look like that will be changing anytime soon.
- Going forward. A year ago, Chase CFO Jeremy Barnum had said 2024 marketing spend would increase by 8% over 2023 and that is EXACTLY what happened. This time, it *looks* like Chase will continue to increase its spend in 2025 but maybe by less than 5% (rough estimate based on the expense outlook slide of the Q4 earnings deck). Despite the continued investment, the rate of growth is decelerating, so are we reaching peak marketing spend? I doubt it and wouldn’t be surprised if we see further acceleration in the second half of 2025 as card issuers compete for an increasingly optimistic consumer.
4. Klarna updates its Klarna Card
Coming soon: Pay in 4, ANYWHERE from Klarna.
In 2025, Klarna will be updating its US Klarna Card to offer Pay in 4 wherever Visa is accepted.
The company took the opportunity to leverage the upcoming feature by sending millions of pre-screened acquisition emails for Klarna Card in early January 2025.
💡Iterating for sucess:
- Evolution. Initially launched in April 2022 and then relaunched in April 2024, the Klarna Card value prop has changed and changed again. In 2022, the card was based on Pay-in-4 and had a $4.99 monthly fee. The value prop was completely revamped when the card was relaunched in 2024 as a no-fee credit/charge card with installment loan options. Now the Pay-in-4 feature is coming back and Klarna will join competitor Affirm in adapting the traditional BNPL model into the form of a physical card. Both are looking to expand into the huge opportunity that is brick-and-mortar commerce after their success with online shopping.
- Email ramp-up. Following an initial email push in April to promote the waitlist, the real email ramp-up began last summer, building through December and into the new year. All told, nearly 50 million emails were sent to Klarna customers promoting the new Klarna Card last year according to Comperemedia. With this new feature, and with both Affirm and Klarna now partnering with Apple Pay, I expect this to be an almighty marketing battle in 2025, which we will see play out mainly in email and in-app, as both go after the low-hanging fruit of their existing customers.
5. The Capital One Arena hosts the Inauguration
What’s in your ARENA? It was all eyes on the Capital One Arena as the inauguration of President Trump moved inside due to the cold weather.
The arena was opened for the live viewing of the inauguration, which took place at the US Capitol Rotunda and once sworn in, President Trump went to the Capital One Arena for an abridged version of the Presidential Parade.
With the world watching, that’s what I call a fortuitous marketing opportunity for Capital One that landed in its lap!
💡Unplanned marketing moments:
- High-impact marketing moment. Hosting the live viewing of the presidential inauguration at the Capital One Arena placed the brand front and center during a high-profile, nationally significant event. This amplified Capital One’s visibility while subtly reinforcing its association with pivotal moments.
- Making the most of it. The live viewing event offered Capital One a prime opportunity to showcase targeted advertisements to a captivated audience. I don’t know if Capital One was planning to run ads during the inauguration or, if not, whether it was able to pivot in two days to make it happen. Either way, it was an incredibly fortuitous marketing opportunity and could be an interesting case study in being ready for an unplanned event.