Is it just me or is the sight of an advert for PayPal in a newspaper a bit like some form of colonic irrigation?
I don't know why, but travelling along on the tube this morning, I saw a half-page advert for PayPal in the free Metro newspaper. It jarred for two reasons:
First,
I could not see why PayPal is advertising in dinosaur media - a printed
newspaper - when they're so well-known online. They only operate
online and through mobile and so anyone who hasn't heard of them by now
is obviously a luddite ... or is that the reason for going with
dinosaur print media, to get the luddites paying online?
In
which case, second, why run an advert which shows a typical internet
payments area of a website, with people in silhouette holding
binoculars and looking at the payment area. Underneath is the
headline: "Are you concerned about people seeing your financial details
online?"
It just sits wrong.
If (1) is the objective, then why unsettle the luddite by using headline (2) which makes them feel even more nervous?
If
item (2) is the focus, then it's probably tech users who are already
paying online that is the target, so why advertise in print media (1)?
Either
way, it just didn't work for me. I can't link to a picture of the ad
because it's in print, but sorry PayPal. Turn around and do it again.
Chris M Skinner
Chris Skinner is best known as an independent commentator on the financial markets through his blog, TheFinanser.com, as author of the bestselling book Digital Bank, and Chair of the European networking forum the Financial Services Club. He has been voted one of the most influential people in banking by The Financial Brand (as well as one of the best blogs), a FinTech Titan (Next Bank), one of the Fintech Leaders you need to follow (City AM, Deluxe and Jax Finance), as well as one of the Top 40 most influential people in financial technology by the Wall Street Journal's Financial News. To learn more click here...
