Summary
Small business banking app Amaiz, launched in early March 2020.
The Brief
Onyx was engaged to raise awareness from a standing start as a way to drive downloads of the app.
The Idea
Onyx started by mapping out the target audience, their needs and what would engage them. The priority target was identified as tradespeople. It was noted that they tend not to read blogs, but they will listen to podcasts, when on the move. They also watch videos as a way of picking up tips and new skills. Podcasts and short videos were therefore seen as key in reaching the audience.
The careful plans for content and message were thrown into disarray as Covid-19 forced the country into lockdown. Content was difficult to produce and journalists started to work from home, away from office telephone numbers that are used to reach them. Many journalists were furloughed, and some target titles stopped publishing.
Onyx, working with their production supplier, shifted the focus of the campaign to how businesses were managing in the pandemic. What were the key issues and how was it changing business?
Two key themes started to emerge – the decline of cash, as small businesses decided that card payment was safer, and the rise of Covid-related fraud. Using a team of four exceptional spokespeople at Amaiz, and original independent research, Onyx worked with the media to provide them with relevant business stories. We also introduced Amaiz to two key partners; WeFightFraud, to establish Amaiz’s credentials on fraud and LikeMinds, an influential network of entrepreneurs.
Impact
In the first 3 months of the campaign, the following results were delivered for Amaiz:
- Interviews on 10 radio stations, including key BBC stations
- Featured in key target nationals, including Mail group, numerous times, Express, Daily Star and Closer magazine
- All the target FinTech publications referenced Amaiz at least once
- 15 videos and 15 podcasts were produced, whilst adhering to the lockdown and social distancing
- All coverage was positive
- Overall, 214 pieces of coverage reaching an estimated audience in excess of 155 million people
Amaiz is now well-established as an effective and authoritative commentator. The Mail Group newspapers, for example, now use the Amaiz spokesperson as a regular for commenting on fraud and will come to Onyx directly for business statistics.
However, the key metric was the rise of awareness from nothing, to a local shop keeper knowing that Amaiz was a small business banking app.