I’ve noticed a good few ads in my Snapchat lately!
N26 have started to bid on Monzo as a keyword on Google. Somebody should tell them so that they can protect their space
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I’ve seen a lot of N26 adverts on the tube this week.
Haven’t noticed an my monzo though.
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The top bidder was previously some spammy website offering “Monzo credit cards” for many months until n26 came along and offered more £ per click.
Monzo are not interested in paying for their own keyword. I told them about the spam site before and they didn’t do anything about it.
If you don’t like competitors paying for other peoples’ keywords do what I do, click on them for fun and they have to pay for nothing 
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I asked Simon about this the other day.
I always think keyword targeting is particularly pointless, especially if it’s another brand’s name. There’s a reason that the person searching typed in ‘Monzo’ and not ‘N26’ - it means there’s already a level of brand awareness.
It is concerning that when searching ‘mobile banks’ and ‘challenger banks’ that Monzo is mentioned much less than the competitors, however, I do feel like this word of mouth marketing message is going well for them. But if they’re to smash the 10mil target, it’s not going to come without targeted marketing (or is unlikely to).
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Interesting, they have enough confidence in the strength of the brand / word of mouth
i see loads of monzo adverts on my 4chan app
Discreet Monzo sighting on a Google Pay Snapchat advert!
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It’s a bit of a money sink to do this and only really benefits Google. 
We tried but again, it’s Google’s game and they decide the rules such that the only effective way to tackle it was to bid more or let the other side run out of money first. 
Counterpoint: What even is a “mobile bank” or “challenger bank”? Is this really something the general public is searching? I personally don’t think we need any qualifiers on the word bank nowadays. 
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)Hi Ben, I work in the pay per click industry and to you it may seem pointless but it can be an effective way of acquiring new users.
Looking on Google trends it is quite concerning to see the impact of monzo’s lack of advertising and protecting their own space.
If you add “monzo” - Search term (instead of Monzo - Bank), it tells a different story.
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Very true, in terms of the comparison between the two banks. However if you look at the growth in the index of N26 throughout the year, it is clear that the advertising strategy is somewhat effective. From to 2 in May to 18 in the new year (800% increase indexed against monzo terms), seems a bit worrying. Just a thought, and it is not only paid search I see N26 advertising on, I see them heavily on social.
There are numerous strategies monzo could employ, (excluding existing customers from their targeting to control cost.). Relying heavily on word of mouth is a risky strategy.
I see them very heavily on social media.
Though a google search is not the same as a someone signing up it is worth noting
A personal example.
Those tiktok adverts I have seen everywhere I googled them to see what exactly they were but have no intention of signing up. Mainly because it is the most annoying ad campaign since go comapre
However, it is important to have your official information readily available from a Google search so that people can make an informed decision about whether or not to sign up.
I agree it is important but do you feel Monzo don’t?
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I’ve seen Monzo advertised at my uni in the Student’s Union when they had the £5 for signing up offer on (monzo.com/students). Seemed quite effective, lots of people I’ve met have hot coral cards now when I assume they previously wouldn’t!
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I haven’t been to London in a while. Went for the first time this weekend.
Was shocked the number of Starling ads I saw. On the sides of buses, in the underground both a big one on the tracks and when you are walking and even one at picadilly circus.
Does anyone else think it is time for Monzo to look into advertising?
I just looked and one interesting thing to note is that over the last 30 days Starling has had more people join that Monzo.
(I know Monzo has more memebers but still)
Just because you are the first or the biggest shouldn’t mean you don’t need to advertise (we all see adverts for tescos and coca cola)
Word of mouth has worked well and would continue with or without advertising - the people that look at a Starling ad and join are the same people that would join Monzo and then hopefully spread the message
Where did you get this from? As far as I know Starling are fairly hush hush about customer signups