Venmo Strives to Maintain Market Share by Putting Ponies in New Ads
“This is our opportunity to drive awareness and to showcase our personality,” said Kasia Leyden, who joined Venmo a year ago as marketing director. “It came together in a really clear way as a rallying cry against those awkward moments of having to ask someone to pay you back.”
She noted that the campaign is primarily aimed at millennials, the demographic that already is Venmo’s primary user. Previously, Venmo ran a 2014 viral campaign that included some subway placements, but the majority of its marketing has been through word-of-mouth.
The company, which processes more than $1 billion in monthly payments, is boosting its marketing at a time when the competition is catching up. Though Venmo has the distinction of being one of the first of its kind to market, and recognizable enough to be used as a verb, its popularity has attracted the attention of larger rivals. Next month, a group of banks including JP Morgan Chase are rolling out their own person-to-person payment service, which will be called Zelle, according to reports.
