Money is the leading cause of stress for Americans under 30, but most young people don’t know where to turn for financial advice.
Cleo’s the world’s first AI assistant that turns the complexity of your financial life into a simple conversation. Cleo’s already helped seven million people avoid overdraft fees, build credit, and budget better, but we wanted to make a statement beyond brand awareness.
Cleo launched the “Money Main Character” campaign as an innovative experiment to not only address financial anxiety among Gen-Z, but also pit human decision-making against AI, sparking a critical conversation about the future of personal finance and whether AI can transform our daily financial habits.
Cleo's Money Main Character challenge was designed with a range of objectives. Primarily, it aimed to address the leading cause of stress for individuals under 30: financial anxiety. Recognizing the inadequacy of existing financial institutions in catering to the needs of young people, Cleo has a unique tone of voice - similar to that of a big sister - to provide a solution and prioritize the financial wellbeing of Gen Z.
The overarching goal was to spark a critical conversation about the future of personal finance by orchestrating a social experiment that pits human decision-making against Cleo's advanced AI. In turn, Cleo aimed to remove the feelings of shame people have historically had around money management, approaching the campaign messaging as a collective “we’re in this together” and helping to address what’s become a stressful and anxiety-ridden topic in our lives.
Cleo's strategy revolved around creating a dynamic and engaging social experiment. The approach involved hiring a Gen Z "Chief Spending Officer" (CSO) through TikTok Duet applications, a platform synonymous with Gen Z culture. Hiring via TikTok underscored Cleo’s commitment to progressive recruitment methods and aligned with Gen Z preferences. It generated media ‘cut through’ when the team briefed media about this unique hiring policy and pitched the successful candidate for first-person pieces about their experience.
Once the CSO was hired, they lived a month guided by either AI-powered personal finance recommendations or free spending, determined by public votes on Cleo's app. This approach not only showcased Cleo's AI chat capabilities but also fostered a conversation on financial habits, leveraging the viral nature of TikTok.
Throughout the month-long campaign, the CSO shared videos on her social media channels encouraging people to join the campaign and vote for which spending decision she should go for on the Cleo app. Once the voting was completed each day, the CSO would film her experience participating in the activity (from DIY-ing a burrito costume on Halloween and visiting Chipotle instead of purchasing a new costume, to trying to ride a Citi Bike instead of hitting up a Barry’s Bootcamp class). The content was posted on both the CSO and Cleo’s owned channels, inciting comments from voters cheering her on and encouraging her to either save or spend the money the next day.
Cleo strategically utilized a multi-channel approach for campaign reach, including out-of-home advertising and influencer collaborations, amplifying visibility and engagement.
The creative for the out-of-home advertising on the billboard and through wild posting in Williamsburg (NYC) reflected the questions being asked in the app. Every day for the first week, posters were swapped out based on the spending question being posed to the public, encouraging people to download Cleo’s app and vote for their choice. The creative was also designed to mimic the look and feel of Cleo’s AI-powered chatbot, with text bubbles indicating how someone would interact and talk to Cleo in the app.
The campaign got impressive results, indicative of its success in addressing financial stress and reshaping perceptions. The notification open rate on the app exceeded benchmarks and the campaign had more than 7,200 votes in the first week alone.
Cleo launched their first creative out-of-home advertising campaign including a billboard and wild posting in Williamsburg (NYC) which achieved over 14 million impressions over the course of a week. Social media channels drew in audiences outside of NYC, with the hashtag #CLEOCSO going viral on TikTok with more than 2.5 million organic views.
Earned media efforts secured a first-person piece with Business Insider where a journalist interviewed the CSO about their experience throughout the campaign, alongside other placements in Charterworks and WorkLife with a cumulative reach of more than 56.4 million.
