Monzo Launch First Brand Campaign in 5 Years

Navigating the world of established legacy brands is no easy task, especially in the financial services sector, where ads often achieve low Star-Ratings due to low emotion, functional campaigns. In 2015, Monzo, an online challenger bank, disrupted the market with its bold ‘hot coral’ card—a distinctive and effective strategy that set them apart. Years later, Monzo continues to strive for consumer engagement, exceptional consumer experience, and brand distinctiveness.
In 2024, Monzo aimed to launch their first brand campaign in five years, increasing their marketing spend by 167% compared to the previous year. With so much riding on the campaign’s success, the team sought to instil confidence in its effectiveness, ensuring it resonated emotionally with consumers while reinforcing the distinctive ‘hot coral’ asset that sets them apart from the competition.
In 2023, Monzo turned to System1’s Distinctive Assets Module to assess the recognition of their ‘hot coral’ asset, as well as their logo, slogan, brand character, and card, against key online and high street competitors. Monzo aimed to uncover which assets they should leverage consistently across various touchpoints, laying the foundations for long-term brand growth.
When Monzo decided to launch their first brand campaign in five years in 2024, they turned to System1’s Test Your Ad platform to predict the likely long-term and short-term commercial benefits of the campaign and determine if the ‘hot coral’ branding hit the mark. They tested the full 30-second cut and 10-second cutdowns among a custom audience of social media mavens, their key target audience.
“At Monzo, we recognise that a powerful brand identity is crucial for standing out in our industry. Equally important is forging an emotional connection with our audience, ensuring our brand sparks positive experiences at every interaction. As we evolve, we’re committed to preserving what works while continually seeking innovative ways to captivate and engage our community.” AJ Coyne, VP Marketing at Monzo
Among Monzo’s distinctive assets, the ‘hot coral’ colour and card are the most recognisable among online banks, second only to Lloyd’s green in the overall banking sector. The study confirmed that Monzo has consistently leveraged these assets to establish strong brand ownership. Additionally, the Monzo ‘M’ logo emerged as the most distinctive logo in the dataset, reinforcing the stable foundation Monzo has built. This solid base allows Monzo to explore ways to infuse emotional connections into their already distinctive brand and confidently leverage these assets across their communications.
With this confidence, Monzo created one of the most distinctive campaigns in the banking category, achieving 96% brand recognition in their 30-second spot, placing them in the top 10% for the category. Across all variations, the ad successfully drove positive emotions among the target audience, earning a top-ranking score of 4.0 Stars for the 30-second cut and demonstrating exceptional short-term activation potential. As a result, the brand reported a 31% increase in customers compared to 2023, testament to the power of investing in brand-building and distinctive assets.