Driving Credit Card Sign Ups With Digital Ads

Key Findings

Credit Card Incentives Focus On The Potential For Larger Savings: Competitors are focusing on large initial “cash back” incentives which allow for greater savings in the first few months of using their credit cards.

Competitors Are Focusing On 1 To 2 Credit Card Incentives/Benefits In Ads: Credit card ads by competitors focus on the main card benefits such as “cash-back,” “no annual fee,” or “4 points per $1 spent.” These main value propositions are meant to hook-in the customer and have them click-through to the landing page.

Using “Limited Time Offer” To Invoke A Sense Of Urgency: Competitors are using this phrase in ads and landing pages to try and get customers to act quickly and sign up for their credit cards even if the offer does not expire for a few months.

Social Is Being Used Mainly For Paid Ads With Little To No Organic Social Posts

Landing Pages Are Clear & Simple, With Consumer Focused Tools: Competitors’ credit card landing pages clearly layout the card details with additional tools such as reward calculators & compare buttons meant to help the consumer sign up.

Credit Card Benefits Are Being Bundled Into “Packages” To Help Boost The Overall Value.‍

What Brands Should Be Thinking About

Evaluate Any Opportunities To Highlight The Savings Aspect Of Your Credit Cards: With many consumers tightening their wallets, it may be advantageous to spotlight how much money the consumer can save with your credit card.

Focus Ads On One Or Two Main Value Propositions: When building out your ads, narrow down the copy to the most enticing benefits/incentives to boost the chance of a potential click-through. 

Consider Adding A “Limited Time Offer” To Ad Copy Or Landing Pages To Cultivate A Sense Of Urgency Around The Credit Card Offer: Though, ensure the time frame is short enough so it does not seem deceitful and truly is “limited.”
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Consider Organic Social Posts For Credit Cards: Competitors are mainly using social for paid posts. As such, organic posts may be a whitespace worth exploring.

Clear Card Details On Landing Pages: Ensure that credit card details are laid out in an easy to read manner on landing pages and the effort for the consumer to sign up is minimal. Consider adding in additional tools that provide value to the customer and help them choose a product.
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Consider A/B Testing Which Card Benefits/Perks Are Most Engaging For Customers and Should Be Highlighted in Ads and Landing Pages. Currently, this tactic is being used minimally by competitors and is a whitespace for optimizing offerings.

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In June, TD was the only competitor who ran digital ads for their credit cards. 22% (230K) of TD’s June ad spend was on credit card ads, with the ads accounting for 14% of their creatives. 

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TD’s top credit card ads focused on their Visa cards which accounted for 57% of the credit card ad creatives in June. These ads focused on sign up incentives such as cash back and no annual fee, as well as a visual of the card for reference. All offers currently end in September.

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TD’s landing pages follow the same format for each card, which includes clearly stating the special offer details, card details, eligibility requirements, and including a “special offer” banner above the copy.

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TD also ran ads for their MBNA (a subsidiary of TD) Mastercard in June, which accounted for the remaining 43% of credit card creatives. For their Mastercard ads, TD focused on the “4 points per $1 spent” incentive and included relevant photos for how the points can be redeemed.

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The MBNA Mastercard landing page is not as clean as the Visa landing page. The page is text heavy and lays out the details of the card in a bullet point format. Buttons on the page open up a new window with a pdf document that outlines additional details. 

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Looking at organic social in June, TD was the only competitor who had credit card focused social posts, accounting for 3% of posts.

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TD’s social posts focused on the same credit card announcement, that they were raising the tap limit on their credit cards in response to an increase in contactless payment due to COVID-19. 

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Looking at paid search ads in June, 16% of TD’s 2,300+ ads were for their credit cards, while 34% of Scotiabank’s 1300+ ads were for their credit cards.

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TD’s main focus in June was their cash back Visa Infinite card, which was linked to 22% of their credit-card focused search ads.

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The cash back Visa Infinite card landing page focuses on a simple design which highlights all of the card’s details in a clear manner. It also includes a cash back calculator to give the customer an idea of their potential savings with the card.

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TD’s top search ads* in June highlighted limited time welcome offers as well as the ability to compare different cards and their benefits. 

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Scotiabank’s main focus in June was their Scotiabank Ultimate Package page, which was linked to 34% of their credit-card focused search ads.

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The Scotiabank Ultimate Package is an “all-in-one” bundle which includes 14 “premium perks” including a first year fee waiver on select credit cards which Scotiabank highlights in their ads. The landing page focuses on a $300 opening bonus and provides two different detailed package options for an easy side-by-side comparison.

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Scotiabank’s top search ad* in June highlighted a limited time cash back offers as well as a first year annual fee waiver and online shopping security.