By Bonnie Moss, Founder and President of Moss Networks
Brand differentiation in a crowded, dynamic space isn’t easy, and the fintech space is definitely crowded and dynamic. There are now more than 9,900 fintech companies listed in Crunchbase, new fintech startups are still launching around the globe, and some are running out of funding before they can realize their goals.
The number of players — and the fact that even innovative fintech technology can seem invisible or interchangeable to end users — means that now even established fintechs like PayPal and Klarna are feeling the need to work on their brand recognition. While these big fintech brands can hire Will Ferrell and Shaquille O’Neal to capture their customers’ attention, emerging and midmarket fintechs must be strategic with fewer brand-building resources to establish the credibility and recognition that will help them grow and mature.
New Markets Require New Brand-Building Strategies
Many fintechs are also seeking to expand into new markets to drive growth and outflank competitors. International expansion requires a major investment in licensing, compliance, and other in-market setup costs. Those investments can only pay off if the brand builds enough recognition and trust in its new markets to thrive.
Creating brand recognition into a new market isn’t as simple as replicating what’s working in a fintech’s home market. Brand-building teams need to adapt to the new market’s media landscape, identify the most influential outlets in the new market, establish connections with those outlets, and offer the stories and expertise that those outlets want for their audiences.
This is challenging enough in a company’s primary market. Building another media network in a new country and perhaps also adapting messaging for another language may require more resources than a small fintech communications team can spare. Doing these activities from scratch can also take too long to generate results that support the fintech’s expansion goals.
Changes in the Media Ecosystem Make Brand Building Harder
Meanwhile, the media landscape in every market is always evolving, and not always in ways that favor brands. For example, in the US market, we’re seeing a reduction in outlets that are open to contributed media. Globally, the media industry is in a period of ongoing layoffs and closures, so there’s more competition for space in remaining outlets across many markets.
Keeping up with these changes and delivering high-quality pitches and content to the most valuable outlets is the key to gaining traction in each market as efficiently and effectively as possible.
How ClearSale Grew a Global Fintech Brand with Moss Networks
Card-not-present fraud prevention startup ClearSale faced these brand-building obstacles as it planned its US expansion. A recognized ecommerce fraud prevention leader in Brazil, ClearSale set its sights on a crowded market with established players. Success would depend on connecting with the most influential media outlets for its new target audience and offering relevant thought leadership with an on-brand tone and voice in American English.
ClearSale’s expansion team knew they would need local guidance and expertise to develop that thought leadership and connect with impactful outlets to demonstrate the brand’s expertise and its innovative approach, which differentiated it from its US-based competitors.
Partnering with Moss Networks, ClearSale benefitted from our team’s commitment to listen, research, and collaborate to develop a customized strategy for brand building that encompassed PR, thought leadership development, independent research, and content marketing.
Moss Networks used an integrated media approach to cross-leverage and amplify the value of ClearSale’s paid, earned, owned, and shared media across our meticulously cultivated and curated network of high-quality media contacts.
Moss Network’s approach to brand building allowed ClearSale to earn an average of more than 20 media mentions per month, including visibility in some of the most influential industry and business media outlets in the US market, such as TechCrunch, NBC, Business Insider, and Fast Company.
The Moss Networks team also worked with ClearSale’s leadership team and subject matter experts to develop a thought leadership program that resulted in the publication of more than 160 bylined articles over a five-year period.
From 2016 through 2022, ClearSale’s fast-growing brand recognition in the US contributed to strong year-over-year growth in website traffic, qualified lead generation, and yearly revenue.
Because of our extensive connections in global markets, Moss Networks was also able to help ClearSale with brand building initiatives in the UK, Australia, Mexico, and other Latin American markets.
After record-setting revenue growth in 2020, ClearSale made a successful IPO in 2021 as a certified B Corporation, and is now a global leader in ecommerce fraud management, combining artificial intelligence with the world’s largest in-house fraud analyst team.
It’s Time To Grow Your FinTech Brand’s Authority And Reach
This is a critical time in the fintech industry for brand building, especially to compete in global markets. The team at Moss Networks is ready to leverage our strategic expertise and customized approach to help you set your brand apart to attract your ideal customers, investors, and partners.
Get in touch with us to set up an initial discovery call so we can discuss your company, your goals, and how we can help you build a brand that gives you room to succeed in a crowded space.