The art of being culturally relevant: Chime’s earned marketing moments of Q1
“Ultimately, our team is constantly trying to achieve brand awareness and affinity for Chime — the way we approach that, specifically, is through earned moments that magnify the work we’re doing,” explains Jackie Murchison, Brand Partnerships Lead at Chime. “When we can further amplify those moments with partnerships with people or brands that resonate with our members and potential members, that’s even better.”
For Kaye Oleo, Social Media Lead at Chime, these moments are about connecting with, mobilizing, and giving back to Chime’s members. “Our members are a huge part of our brand on social media and actively participate in our earned moments,” she says. “Our members are at the center of everything we do, and while earned moments might make a bigger splash, we ultimately want our members — and future members — to see them, share them, and interact with us through them.”
And for Steph Martin, Chime’s Influencer Marketing Lead and another member of the highly cross-functional team, earned moments are made even more impactful by partnering with influencers, thought leaders, and the community. “I believe that partners bring so much power to our marketing campaigns because they create a connection with our audience outside of Chime” she says.
With the first quarter of 2023 (Q1) well behind us, we’d like to look back at three of our favorite marketing moments from the past few months, the work that went into making them a reality, and how they landed.
New year, new mindset: Manifest Money candle collaboration 🕯️
💡 The idea
The team wanted to do something creative and unusual, like the Shoe Surgeon collaboration they launched in 2021. The goal was a campaign that would drive conversation and the more the team talked about physical objects, the more the idea of a candle came up, so they built on it. They landed on a branded, custom-scented candle accompanied by a manifestation guide.
The candle and the story the team drew around it were an opportunity to bring a broader narrative to life about mindsets and money. “The idea that your mindset can have a tangible impact on your life transcends different communities, cultures, and areas of expertise — from science to metaphysics to pop culture,” says Kaye. “When we started seeing phrases like ‘manifest it’ and ‘claim it’ on social, we dug in. Our followers and members were already speaking in the language of manifestation — so we decided to connect with them over it.” The hope was to help Chime members acknowledge any limiting beliefs around money and shift to an abundance mindset — while using the candle and manifestation guide.
To bring their vision to life, the team embraced one of Chime’s core values: Team Up. They partnered with bespoke candle brand, Apotheke, to create the candles, and Maria Concha, a mindset and manifestation coach, to create the manifestation guide.
💕 Feel-good reflections
Manifest Money was one of Chime’s best-performing campaigns. “Overall, people loved the candle and were genuinely aligned with what we created,” says Kaye.
The overwhelming feeling was one of pride when the team stepped back after the Manifest Money launch and absorbed what they’d accomplished. “The entire team hustled and made it happen, with a willingness to be flexible and bend when necessary,” says Jackie. “I was blown away by the creativity, teamwork, and our collective ability to solve new challenges,” adds Steph.
The team constantly joked about making the impossible possible — any time they experienced a setback, they would encourage each other and offer a reminder that they could keep going. “We took our internal drive, power, and belief, and attached ourselves to a message we were hearing loud and clear on social, and the results were beyond anything we could have imagined or manifested,” says Kaye. “This project proves that you can set goals, build habits, and change your mindset to believe anything is possible. We hope our members do the same — with or without the Manifest Money candle.”
🎁 Show, not tell
A match made in heaven: Love and money ❣️
💡 The idea
“On the heels of the Manifest Money campaign, we wanted to take our momentum into Valentine’s season,” says Kaye. “We knew anecdotally that couples often don’t talk about money, so we explored that with a word-of-mouth campaign around Pay Anyone and Valentine’s Day.” Then, Chime partner, the Dallas Mavericks, approached the team about a couple getting married at a game on February 13. “So we decided to ‘marry’ the two into a full Valentine’s earned moment,” says Jackie.
The team got to work brainstorming creative ideas for the halftime wedding and starting a conversation with members about couples discussing money. They landed on giving the couple $7,000 in a Chime account and partnering with influencers to capture the moment. They launched a video pilot of couples answering behavioral questions about how they think about money and put together a “Love Don’t Cost A Thing” playlist.
💕 Feel-good reflections
“It was a sprint to pull everything together for Valentine’s, but seeing the end result was so rewarding, and the Mavs were amazing partners throughout it all,” says Jackie. “Those moments when we saw it picked up by more and more publications — over twenty — and then seeing Chime’s brand on broadcast news made it all worth the effort.”
For Kaye, it was all about teamwork. “Working with people you enjoy collaborating with speaks to the camaraderie you can have with your team,” she says. “The brainstorming process for the halftime wedding really showed our team’s ability to come together and bring out the best in each other — and then deliver amazing ideas.”
And for Steph, it was about the fun surprise they created for local Dallas influencers. “We also invited several local influencers to attend the game — they thought it was just a night out at a basketball game with their significant other for Valentine’s Day,” she says. “They were totally surprised to see a wedding at halftime with a gift from Chime to the couple. They were cheering loudly in the crowd and thrilled to be a part of such a fun and special moment!”
🎟 ️Show, not tell
Fashion plus finance: Ball on a budget 💵
💡 The idea
“We were looking at our sports partnerships and wanted to activate a narrative around confidence when it comes to our members and their money,” says Jackie. “We had tons of ideas, but one that stuck was the idea of whether money equates to style. Knowing that fashion is a top interest for many of our members, we thought it would be a great opportunity to create an earned marketing moment.”
What’s more, sports stars and their ‘tunnel fits’ have been trending for a while. “Tunnel fits have become a big part of sports and fashion culture,” says Jackie. “We wanted to tap into the culture of players being known on and off the court for their fashion sense.”
For the series, Chime partnered with menswear consultant and stylist Courtney Mays and challenged four fashion-forward pro basketball players to create a tunnel-worthy outfit with just $300 and a handful of their own accessories.
💕 Feel-good reflections
“While Chime is often in tech news, Ball on a Budget was a great moment when we hit mainstream news, and that made me feel so proud of our work,” says Kaye. “We also received coverage across several outlets, like Highsnobiety and GQ. This campaign showed Chime as part of mainstream culture and set an example of what we want to create more of in the future.” Overall, the campaign made 9+ headlines, saw over 25 million views, and became one of Chime’s best-earned moments to date.
For Jackie, it was all about the team and partners. “We launched Manifest Money and were working on the halftime wedding while planning for Ball on a Budget,” she says. “I’m so proud of the team for coming together to make it all happen. And our partners, from the players to our media partners, were amazing to work with.”
👀 Show, not tell
Tying it all together 🎀
When Jackie, Kaye, and Steph reflect on the work the entire marketing team did in Q1, they’re filled with a sense of pride for the great campaigns they launched and the impact they made on Chime’s audience. By marrying great ideas with on-point execution, the team was able to get three impressive campaigns out Chime’s doors and into the world while continuing to help educate our members and audiences about financial literacy.
“From sharing the importance of your money mindset to how to look stylish on a budget, or simply starting a conversation about credit scores for couples, we’re continuing to work towards our mission of providing financial peace of mind for everyone,” says Kaye. “These campaigns are such a critical way for us to reach our members and potential members by sharing engaging, culturally relevant, and educational content that helps them on their financial journey.”
While Q1 was a slam dunk 🏀, there are always new skills to learn and apply — even from the most successful campaigns. The team continues to learn what works — and what doesn’t — when it comes to creating culturally relevant, earned marketing moments that reach Chime’s members. With those learnings in hand, they’ll keep helping Chime’s brand scale to new heights. 🏔
Come back soon to see what they learned and how they apply it to their work in Q2 and beyond. ✨
