Marketing Briefing: The year of the ear?

Baaack to fin-marketing: while you were busy watching the games, did you see who was FIFA’s ‘Official Payment Technology Partner’? 

That’s right…Visa!

And you know what else Visa did? It unleashed some marketing magic, getting the ball rolling even further in its fintech game.

Visa’s goal is as clear as Messi’s talent – become a modern, tech-forward brand.

Here’s how Visa made its presence known:

Visa Masters of Movement

During the FIFA Fan Festival, Visa created an experience for fans to participate in what it called…you guessed it…Visa Masters of Movement.

During this experience, fans got to create unique pieces of art, inspired by their own signature moves – which were filmed on a digital LED pitch.

Groovy, right? That’s not all. Some fans even got a chance to get their artwork as an NFT.

So you could say this whole thing was super-duper techy.

Visa Everywhere Initiative

But you know what? Nothing says super-duper techy like awarding other companies for being super-duper techy. 

And that’s exactly what the Visa Everywhere Initiative is all about — Visa started this initiative back in 2015 to increase its presence in fintech and collaborate with promising startups. And this year, it got over 4,000 fintech applicants. 

Visa announced the winners during the World Cup event itself, tying its brand to the biggest sports event in history.

Putting things in perspective

In 2021, Visa released its Meet Visa campaign, which was all about bringing out its more techy colors, including a new logo.

The main goal was to reshape Visa from a backdrop card company to a front-and-center financial innovator.

Visa's FIFA-linked initiatives show the company is very much moving towards this goal.

2023: The year of the ear

This year, over half the US population listened to podcasts on their phones, according to a report by Basis Technologies. And in 2023, the number of overall US podcast listeners is projected to reach over 225 million.

That’s a whole lot of people tuning in to hear other people talk.

So while consumers are tuning into these podcasts, what should marketers be tuning into?

Audio ad spend may be the way to go. In 2023, US digital audio ad spend is expected to reach $7.08 billion – that’s enough to buy around 700 yachts.

Something to think a-boat.

Any specific takeaways for fin-marketers?

As more consumers show interest in personal finance, podcasts could be an ideal place to grab consumers’ attention. 

Like hearing Ira Glass go, “Capital One: What's In Your Wallet?” on This American Life.

But there may be other takeaways: for one, it’s a great way to up your content marketing game.

Square, for example, has three podcasts under its brand name, including:

• Talking Squarely — a podcast about running your own business
• Paying it Forward — a podcast that delves into dealing with difficult financial decisions when managing a business
• Tipped — a podcast that zeroes in specifically on the food & beverage industry.

On that note, this feels like a good time to mention our own podcasts. ;)

• Where Credit’s Due: Iulia Ciutina dives into all things lending, interviewing leaders and innovators in the field.
• Power of Payments: Ismail Umar analyzes what’s new in payments and dives into interesting trend shifts with industry experts.
• The Green Finance Podcast: Iulia Ciutina looks at the intersection between finance and the environment, exploring new innovations and challenges in the sector.
• Acquire Podcast: Rebecca Cohen sits down with marketing execs in the financial industry to hear about new marketing campaigns and initiatives.
• Tearsheet Podcast: In Tearsheet’s longest-running podcast, Zack Miller talks to industry innovators and entrepreneurs across the sector to learn more about their companies and emerging industry trends.

Explore all our podcast episodes.

What we're consuming

The moral of the story is…storytelling

In this article, Noel Tshiani, founder of Congo Business Network, talks about why African entrepreneurs need to focus on storytelling in their 2023 marketing efforts – especially when it comes to appealing to new stakeholders. (TechCabal)

2023 is just around the corner…here’s why banks should be looking at 2026

Slowly but surely, soccer is gaining popularity in the US. And, meanwhile, the 2026 World Cup will be held in the US. Putting two and two together – US banks that choose to focus on marketing during this event could get their brand in front of more eyes. (The Financial Brand)

Adding some big tech to bank marketing tactics

Margaret Franco, CMO of Finastra, dives into some marketing strategies banks can adopt from Big Techs. (Forbes)

Barclays is raising the bar on its marketing activity 

Barclays is collaborating with Team One to meet its marketing goals. (PR Newswire)