CMO Corner: “People always say that between speed, quality, and price, you can’t have all three, you can only pick two. My goal is to break that idea,” ft. Public’s Zach Dioneda

Investing platforms in the past have used gamification as a way to lower the friction in adoption, but Public is setting a different tone with its brand and new marketing campaign. 

In this edition, we are joined by Zach Dioneda, Public’s VP of Marketing, to discuss how the firm is combining podcasts, brand assets, and celebrity appearances to engender trust and an educated, measured approach to investing. 

Upmarket and modern

Earlier in the year, Public took a major step toward evolving its positioning with a full-funnel campaign centered on the idea of ‘Investing for those who take it seriously.’. The move entailed a major website update, a refreshed design language, the new tagline, as well as an array of testimonial-style ads featuring Public’s consumers, telling their own personal stories with the platform.

Serving as a cornerstone of this campaign was a brand manifesto spot featuring celebrity Timothy Olyphant of Santa Clarita Diet, Scream, and Hitman fame. 

“It was meant to stop viewers in their tracks, highlighting our contrast from the laid-back, casual, or even gambling-like behavior we see elsewhere, as a way to promote intentional, long-term investing and further set our brand apart,” said Dioneda. 

The vibe is black tie: The dark, clean, and highbrow narrative of the brand manifesto carries over to other marketing communications like testimonials, photography used in OOH billboards, and ads on national cable networks. 

“Every single element worked in concert to position Public as a more sophisticated and premium brand, built for investors who are serious about building and managing their wealth,” added Dioneda. 

Consumers are changing, and Public wants to be three steps ahead

Gen Z is the investor of tomorrow, and Public wants to position itself as an investing platform fit for a more mature and sophisticated Gen Z early. 

“People have been talking about impending ‘The Great Wealth Transfer’ for a while now, but really, it’s something that is already upon us. There are 100T+ in assets being passed down from older generations to Millennials and Gen Z, two generations who are truly digitally native and want a more modern brokerage. We see an opportunity to really be viewed as the next generation Charles Schwab or Fidelity,” shared Dioneda.

For Public, this means engendering trust throughout the brand. “If Public is viewed as the platform for people who take investing seriously, then we’ll be well-positioned to be the primary investing destination for the next generation,” he said. 

Rather than promoting a path to easy money, Public is changing its aesthetics and communication style to nudge consumers along a path of research through podcasts as well as products like its Gen AI co-pilot Alpha. 

The firm’s editorial podcast, The Rundown, comes out every day of the week to discuss major market movements and news. The podcast is then clipped and optimized to reach audiences across multiple social media channels. 

“The way that we’ll leverage a channel like TikTok might vary from the way we use Instagram or LinkedIn. So, while we’re always optimizing for various channels — whether TV, OOH billboards, digital acquisition ads, or even organic social — we’re still ensuring that we’re creating value and driving trust,” added Dioneda. 

Vying for speed, quality, and price at once

Like most fintechs, Public competes on speed of innovation, but it also means that its branding and marketing teams have to work in tandem with product development teams and their cycles.

For Dioneda, being in lockstep with product development has meant emphasizing experience and leadership in the firm’s internal creative team, encouraging in-person collaboration, as well as blending in-house capabilities with outsourced talent to move campaigns from ideation to launch. 

“People always say that between speed, quality, and price, you can’t have all three; you can only pick two. My goal is to break that idea. We will always set the bar high, but we will work faster and more efficiently than many think is possible,” he said.