[Watch]: N26 launches its first US marketing campaign

Senior Digital Marketing Analyst Jeannette Ornelas discusses European challenger bank N26’s recent expansion into the US market, and its marketing strategy to reach Gen Z and Millennial audiences.

Three takeaways from N26’s marketing efforts in the US thus far:

• The theme is “love.” The aim is to get Millennial and Gen Z consumers to fall in love with the mobile bank. Each ad highlights a specific feature of N26 that users love, such as transparency, getting paid up to two days early and security.
• A social-first digital approach. N26 is leveraging social media to reach Gen Zs and Millennials. It supported its US expansion with US brand accounts on Facebook and Twitter and has prioritized Instagram for its paid social strategy.
• A grassroots effort. Not only is N26 encouraging customers to “invite friends and earn money,” it is betting on word-of-mouth marketing with a student-brand ambassador program by recruiting students to represent the N26 brand on college campuses.

Can the neobank find success in the US? 

The need for seamless integration into consumers’ mobile wallets is a barrier to entry. Notably, N26 does not currently support integration with mobile wallets such as Apple Pay. Per online consumer sentiment, adding support for these services will be crucial in reaching this target audience.