Afterpay appoints Initiative to national media account
IPG’s media agency Initiative has been appointed to handle the national media account for BNPL (buy now pay later) company Afterpay.
Following a review of multiple media agencies, Afterpay handed its national media portfolio to Initiative, with the appointment effective 1 August.
Initiative CEO Melissa Fein
The account was previously held by WPP’s AKQA, but Afterpay was required to find a new media agency after its merger with Ikon led to a direct conflict due to its biggest client Commonwealth Bank. Prior to that, the account was with Dentsu’s Vizeum.
Initiative Australia CEO Melissa Fein said: “Afterpay is the definition of a brand with cultural velocity. The business has revolutionised the financial technology and the buy now, pay later sectors. We couldn’t be more excited to partner with them as they continue to expand and accelerate their already rapid growth.”
The latest account win follows Initiative being awarded IAG’s media account, which includes brands such as NRMA Insurance and CGU.
Afterpay’s customer base in Australia has already grown past the three million user mark, with the company continuing its growth with new products and business platforms.
The platform recently released its new Pay Better brand campaign, created in-house and featuring Australian actress Rebel Wilson.
The campaign, which sees Wilson compare Afterpay to “if credit cards and cash had a baby”, was based on insights from 2020 research from Accenture (which owns the creative agency The Monkeys).
Accenture found that, compared to making the same payment on credit cards, Afterpay users saved $110 million. Further, spending across buy now, pay later platforms was up 106% in 2020, with debit card spending up 38%, particularly amongst Millennials and Gen Z.
Afterpay was founded in Australia in 2015. The company has since expanded to United States, Canada, New Zealand, the UK, France, Italy, and Spain (where it is known as Clearpay).
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Zanda Wilson was a reporter and podcast producer at Mumbrella, specialising in radio reporting. He left Mumbrella in September 2021.
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