Apple spotlights global fintech ambitions with ‘Pay the Apple Way’ campaign

Dive Brief:

Apple launched a multinational campaign called “Pay the Apple Way” promoting its Apple Pay service, according to details shared with Marketing Dive.
Central to the effort is digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertisements placed in various locations in the U.S. and UK, each meant to convey Apple Pay’s no-hassle nature. The campaign also includes four video ads that use comedy to double down on messaging around convenience.
Apple additionally teamed with a handful of creators on TikTok for content that highlights the Pay feature while encouraging open dialogue. The effort follows the addition of multiple new finance tools by the tech giant unveiled earlier this year.

Dive Insight:

Apple is doubling down on its fintech ambitions with “Pay the Apple Way,” spotlighting the no-hassle framework of its Pay feature via an expansive campaign that could help market additional payment tools from the company that were unveiled earlier this year. Among the new features is a high-yield savings account for Apple Card users, announced in April, which has since reached over $10 billion in deposits. Apple also began rolling out its buy now, pay later program in March.

“Pay the Apple Way” is meant to present a solution to the inconveniences of traditional money-dealing like carrying around a bulky wallet, struggling to find the right card and feeling concerned about privacy. Apple is flexing the ease of its Pay feature, which allows payments to be made directly from an Apple device, with a DOOH experience that’s being billed as both dynamic and immersive, per release details. The ads will appear across prominent street and mall placements in London, Birmingham and Manchester in the UK along with Atlanta and Dallas in the U.S., touting straight-forward messages like “Your watch is your wallet” and “Pay the secure way.”

Additional marketing support will come from partnerships with multiple content creators on TikTok, each who will be handed the question “Can I _____ with Apple Pay?,” in an effort to foster dialogue around the efficiencies of Apple Pay’s no-contact transactions, per release details. An activation on TikTok could help Apple connect with the next generation of digitally native consumers, many who are open-minded to innovative tech, as it looks to grow its user base.

Along with its new campaign, Apple in September plans to officially launch its latest software update, iOS 17, ushering in a slew of personalization-focused updates for apps including Phone, Messages and FaceTime while also introducing new privacy features that could pose a challenge for marketers.

The company in its second fiscal quarter of 2023 reported a 3% year-over-year revenue dip for a total of $94.8 billion, a drop that still managed to beat Wall Street’s expectations, which CEO Tim Cook attributed to stronger-than-anticipated iPhone sales. Apple is expected to report its fiscal Q3 earnings on Aug. 3 after the bell.