Dan Barker’s Post

Always loved the tone of voice used by Monzo Bank. But I'm still awaiting for someone to start a financial institution called The Tree Bank, which would open the door to some of the following catchphrases: ⬛ Simply visit your local branch ⬛ Where money is the root of happiness ⬛ Money does grow on trees ⬛ Putting yew and your money first ⬛ Banking Fir Everyone Anymore? #moneydoesgrowontrees #banketybank #branchingout

Let's face it; getting a message from the bank isn't the most exciting - even if Monzo Bank's emoji game is pretty strong. Plus, it doesn't help if the messages are boring and full of finance jargon... Or if our online statement fills us with dread (the post-bank holiday scaries hit hard this week). 🥵 Our Banking Communications study shows there's a mismatch between the info consumers receive from banks and what they want to learn more about. Potentially due to the ongoing cost of living crisis, there's a common theme that people want to understand how to get the most out of their savings and the support available to them. Investment was the area people were most interested in learning more about. 🤨📈 We also explored: 🧠 Gaps in consumers' financial know-how 💡 Recall of recent banking communications ⚙️ Features they want to learn more about 🎓 Topics they want to learn about So, banks looking to ✨earn the interest✨ of today's consumer - look no further than this Board for excellent returns 🤑: https://lnkd.in/e7DmjvsF #AppinioUK

Zag It doesn’t take much to look at every ad for financial services and spot the category tropes and cliches. https://lnkd.in/gNVmUMrz To see the handshakes and lose count of the endless mentions of goals. The smiling faces of bankers. Notice the similarity between the different bank branches and those endless close-up shots showing similar functionality of their apps. Financial services ads are all about “them” and very little about “me”. They're pushing products. They're not talking about money "feels." Then we all know that survey after survey tells us how money makes people feel anxious and fearful and that they often worry about it. https://lnkd.in/gzCcPRSd So let's not look anything like the category and then let’s talk about the “M” word, rather, let’s show how it feels - the bad and the good- which is how it feels with us because our business is about making money easy. Then let’s remind ourselves of Byron Sharp's distinctive assets- https://lnkd.in/gbE_9kKU let's use our color- coral red that's not bank blue and our name which almost looks and sounds like money. This is what Uncommon Creative Studio did for Monzo. It makes you wonder why there are so many sheep and so few zaggers? #zag #money #banks #banking #money #fintech #financialservices #advertising #marketing #brand #branding

Props to Monzo Bank! 👏 This is Monzo’s first above-the-line campaign in five years and it delivers. Everyone talks about money, but we never talk about how money makes us feel. Monzo have flipped the switch on traditional Banking adverts (there are no horses galloping on the beach!) and has produced a dramatic, fast-paced film to show all the negative stresses, and the positive rewards, that money brings. I just love it! What do you think? #abovethelinemarketing #marketing #monzobank #innovation #disruptors https://lnkd.in/g35Zd9PS

What does it take to be a leader in #cloudnative banking? 💸 In the newest Giant Conversations episode, Miles Bryant from Monzo Bank shares the secrets behind their impressive Kubernetes-powered operation. From the challenges of being an early adopter to the massive scale they operate at today, Miles paints a fascinating picture of Monzo’s journey.

On June 3, 2024, Monzo unexpectedly closed Tommy's account with $346 in it. After transferring money, they claimed a refund would take until June 17. Unacceptable delay! Watch out for similar issues. We invite you to share your valuable bank experiences, just like them, and become a member of the BankQuality community. Monzo Bank #bankingproblems #monzo #customerservice #accountclosure #refundissues #bankingtroubles #unexpectedclosure #bankingexperience #customercomplaints #monzobank #bankingfrustration #accountissues #delayedrefund #moneyproblems #bankingconcerns

This is a good ad. And here’s why 👇  ⚡️It challenges that a relationship with your bank can be a good one, even a loving one ⚡️By tapping into the human truth of how consumers feel about money and their money in traditional banks ⚡️It challenges standard category cues – it doesn’t feel like an advert for a bank, so the repetition of the word ‘money’ does the heavy lifting and connects us to finances ⚡️Unlike other bank advertising which focus more on the human need for certainty (i.e. your money is safe), Monzo focuses on the need for growth and the development and improvement of one’s financial well-being ⚡️It cuts through with striking colours, emotive music that builds in pace and clever copy ⚡️The clever use of shifting images, tonal changes between the money images and the Monzo images and the music evokes a strongly emotive reaction that is positive and empowering ⚡️The message is simple: finances don’t have to feel so hard It smashes Embark’s 4 communications testing KPIs:  ✅             Be memorable ✅             Illicit emotional reactions ✅            Drive a desire to act ✅             Resonate and be understood Superb work Monzo Bank! Anyone seen any other brilliant ads you can share? https://lnkd.in/dwF7Ma22

🍑 Money never felt so Monzo 🍑 Monzo Bank launched its first above-the-line campaign in five years and I LOVE it. Why?... It shifts a traditionally left-brain, rational thinking sector into the right-brained realm of intangible 'feelings'. It's rare to see a banking brand equate financial decision-making with emotions, but Monzo does it exceptionally well. 💡 INSIGHT: Money management doesn't make people feel good. The campaign highlights the pain points, stress, tedium, and friction commonly associated with money management, positioning Monzo as the solution—effortless, exciting, and positive. The ad features a series of beautifully shot vignettes juxtaposing love and hate, anger to warmth, to the terrifying and enjoyable. (TV ad in the comments)

So I bank with Monzo Bank. And their rise to being a successful bank tells us a lot about disruptive brands. 1️⃣ Be Distinctive Separate yourself from the bunch and stand the f⚠️k out. Monzo manages this in communication, just check out their excellent social media game, and physically, in that you can tell a Monzo card from the other side of the room. 2️⃣ Meeting users where they are rather than where you think they should be Banking was clearly a building, a cash point, a badly made digital experience. Monzo being mobile-first in approach was a winning move, as the established banks were (and in some cases still are) a few years behind. 3️⃣ Solve user problems that are minutes, hours, or days in timeline, not weeks, months or years. I've been pitched a lot of ideas, and while an idea can be good, it is hard to get traction if the problem you are solving only delivers value in the long term. When I went to create a business account with Barclays, they gave me a massive form to fill out; I didn't get around to it. Monzo, on the other hand, in the app, just asked me for my name, my business name, and my company number, and I was up and running.

Monzo and Starling’s annual results are due in the next few weeks or so, so had a dig around in their financials and asked some people about how they’re doing for The Times. Ironically, they’ve had as much of a boost from rising rates as the big banks. Interestingly most of the feedback I got from analysts and investors was largely along the same lines: 1) Can they get more customers using them as their main account (they may need to start paying up for deposits on this) 2) Crucially, can they continue to grow, and manage, the lending side of the balance sheet. That remains a bit of an unanswered question, esp. when someone like Monzo a) Continues to make more money from transaction fees than loan interest and b) When it does lend, posts a pretty high £ of expected credit losses. Anyway, this is a subject I always love reporting on so please do take a read. https://lnkd.in/eRvnwpit