Comedy Sketches as the Most Powerful Format for Fintech Audience
The State of Fintech
Without a doubt, mobile apps are booming, especially since COVID-19 restrictions forced people to shift business and everyday life to home-based solutions. This also means that the Fintech segments are becoming increasingly competitive: in Q1 2022, the downloads of financial products reached a new high of 1.74 billion. While payment apps seem to be the main drivers in Europe and North America, banking apps experienced explosive growth in Latin America over the past year.
More and more people are looking for apps to fulfil their financial needs. Nevertheless, app marketers must stay on their toes and implement robust strategies to communicate their benefits to users. So, how can Fintech companies creatively redefine their ads and turn them into successful comedy sketches?
Why TikTok is Dedicated to Serious Businesses
There are tons of daily financial transactions via mobile phones today – the industry continues to grow. I consider a strong rise in activities within the vertical, as both new and existing audiences are becoming more engaged than ever before.
Even though the number of users has increased, so has the competition. The older half of Gen Z grows up and enters the labor market. Here it is – the «finest hour» for TikTok advertising! Young people are tired of «dry» and boring information about tedious financial processes. They need new types of content that blur the lines between Fintech, entertainment, and real life. The only thing viewers will remember is the great video and short, funny ad. Today’s audience is clip-minded: it takes literally under one second for them to decide if they are going to enjoy your content. What’s more? Comedy sketches allow you to get around «banner blindness» – the way our eyes are trained to filter and ignore traditional approaches. In the end, they say: «Don’t Make Ads – Make TikToks!» for a reason.
According to TikTok’s commissioned study on finance attitudes and consumption, over 89% of TikTok users believe finance is a catchy topic. It’s a far-reaching social media channel for Fintech apps. First of all, TikTok Ads are quite inexpensive compared to other channels – which allows you to achieve great results with a small budget. Secondly, with this platform, it becomes possible to reach a specific target group in a fresh, organic way. Based on DataReportal, around 59% of the platform consists of users from the Millennial, Gen X, and even Baby Boomer generations (hello, my 55-year-old uncle on the app!).
Fintech is Not Boring
So what’s it going to take to make your next Fintech campaign funny enough to be memorable?
On TikTok, users can find special types of content such as «pranks», parodies, or comedy sketches. Often these short videos don’t provide any new information, but rather comment on everyday life situations through humour. The point is that brands also began to look for creative ways to turn a pretty boring product into something highly satisfying for people to watch with passion. Regardless of whether these are humorous videos with trendy music or well-thought-out creatives with multilayer plots – it’s up to you!
The main thing is that comedy sketches are always based on stories. However, not all of them can be memorable. Personal and emotional stories engage the brain more and thus are better remembered, than just stating a set of facts. So, how can you create a short narrative for your Fintech ad? I recommend following this structure: Hook, Climax, and Twist.
- Let’s begin with a Hook. It’s a great tool to draw your viewer in and not let him go. The Hook is the very first thing that grabs people’s attention and makes them want to watch your video till the end. You can think about the big promise, tell the deepest secret, or suggest a problem and its solution to pull people in.
- The second point is building a Climax. What does that mean? Just use anything from imagery and audio to text to move the plot along. You probably know a lot of simple, everyday life situations that were so compelling and engaging. Then, try to find the main conflict and let that take center stage. Beyond that, laughter is infectious – videos that make people smile are shared with others the most.
- The last element is a Twist. It’s quite a debatable point for TikTok but a lot of very successful TikToks have a sort of twist ending. The audience is given something unexpected – usually in a way that makes them laugh.
A great example of Fintech using such elements in its advertising is this short video with «Problem – Solution» for Sportbank. The engaging creative video showed the advantages of the product in a light-hearted, relatable way. It generated lots of impressions and performed incredibly well for the company’s awareness.
Another ad for Banco Azteca lets us connect with its younger target audience in Mexico and deliver content to the audiences who are more likely to engage with the campaign. As a result, app installs increased by 3x, while clicks were up 9x.
One more case: there was a need to create a sense of authenticity for Albert app – a new type of financial service that integrates powerful technology to automate your finances. Having a strong message in the video further encouraged users to download the app. The campaign was highly successful in stimulating installs, thanks to the powerful approach and catchy structure.
That exactly means «Don’t Make Ads, Make TikToks» – such types of content fits the unique style and tone of the platform. After testing tons of creatives we’ve found that less polished, honest, and authentic content works best for brands. Besides, I do believe in having fun because creating content brings us joy. TikToks are funny, strange, silly, musical, and, above all, highly inspiring.
Besides, try to use App’s features: TikTok has an impressive music library, filters and effects, stitches, and duets. It’s advisable to create your original content but there’s nothing wrong with participating in viral trends. Just keep swimming!
Final Thoughts
All in all, comedy sketches are growing like never before, even for Fintech companies. Brands can produce them for relatively low costs compared to traditional ads created by production houses. The key is not to focus solely on the humour. These ads have to offer a solution to a real-life problem in an unexpected, clever, and sometimes overly emotional manner.
We are constantly looking forwards to what the future holds for mobile advertising. Undoubtedly, TikTok is the perfect platform for customer acquisition. Just accompany your videos with catchy music, authentic results, and funny stories – and that’s it!
