How do you launch a digital payments app of an unknown brand in a rapidly changing digital payments environment? We knew that creating Settle’s communication strategy would be challenging opportunity. On the one hand, Settle was an unknown brand for the Cypriot consumer, entering a market in which cash was still king, without having a real USP and with strong local & international competition. On the other hand, it was backed by one of the largest and most trustworthy organisations in Cyprus, JCC, and there were global signs that the digital payments market was going to experience exponential growth.

Based on the analysis of our target market and the current situation of our competitors, our communication strategy was focused on a key message – Settle could be used by everyone – irrespective of their choice of bank. And that was also our slogan: Settle. Give and take for all.

In order to communicate the message that Settle can indeed be used by anyone, our main key visual featured a powerful title which connects us and projects a culture reference of “Come together! Payments by all to all, instantly”. The campaign had two phases; Phase 1 was about creating awareness and driving interest while Phase 2 was about engaging with consumers through a more tactical approach.

Lastly, the idea was to be present in all touchpoints that our consumer was using daily in order to create a connected brand experience. We launched with an experiential press conference, then aired a TV ad, outdoor campaign, went heavy on digital, radio and PR activations.

During the first 6 months of the campaign we had managed to meet and exceed the initial KPI’s set in terms of the performance of the TV & Digital campaign. Throughout the campaign’s launch Settle’s website saw a 20K visitation as a result of the online campaigns and brand awareness continues to grow. As we are preparing for the app to launch additional features that will truly differentiate the product, consumers will have even more reasons to download and use the app. One thing is for sure; a wallet-less world is just around the corner and Settle is ready to help that happen.