Shaping a FinTech Startup’s Visual Experience
The advent of COVID-19 made 2020 an exciting year for retail investors. We’re only three months into 2021, but the year has already showcased the fascinating influence individual investors have on our financial markets today. In this spirit, AQUMON has launched a branding campaign that highlights the continuing democratisation of investing alongside our mission to make personal finance affordable, transparent, and accessible to all. With AQUMON, the power of investing is in people’s hands.
This project culminated from the need to create a visual experience that reflects the diversity of our clients and our goal of creating a financial tool that fits every lifestyle. Our first out-of-home campaign in July of last year focused on the technical and algorithmic advantages of our robo-advisory platform. This year however, we wanted to capture the stories of the users who trusts AQUMON to put their money to work for them. Through portrait photography and a cinematic approach to visual storytelling, we wanted to give our brand and the domain of asset management a human and approachable touch.
Insights From Data and Research
As a first step, we conducted user research to understand the behaviours and needs of our investors. One of our key findings was that the representative AQUMON user is in their early 30s and is a white-collar professional. We used these findings to inform the types of characters and stories we wanted to showcase in our campaign. After all, our campaign had to serve a dual purpose: depict our existing clientele, but also touch upon different types of people who, at first glance, might not look like an AQUMON user but would definitely stand to benefit from our platform.
While it is visually engaging to photograph real people for this campaign, it was critical that the overall look of our advertisements were in harmony with the AQUMON brand aesthetic. By aligning our in-house Brand Design team with our campaign’s creative director, Michele Salati (michelesalati.it), we nailed down an elevated version of our AQUMON Pink — a gradient that gradually flowed from our hallmark Pantone to a bright vermillion hue. In this way, we were able to integrate our brand colour, one that has become well-recognised in Hong Kong’s FinTech space, with an exciting new red to our branding assets.
Expert Art Direction
As we steered towards elevating our visual identity, it was important that our art direction reflected the trajectory that our brand aspired towards. With a team of experts — Michele Salati (Creative Director) and Mikyung Kim (Executive Producer, mkimand.co) — we sourced seven models, each of which represented different facets of our brand in a personable, modern, and approachable style.
Impact
As a digital wealth management platform, we take our responsibility of delivering quality investment solutions in an easy-to-use interface very seriously. That is why the design of this campaign was kept simple and straightforward, putting forth the personable and customisable touch that comes with using AQUMON. The pictures in this campaign are not mere nice-to-haves; they set a precedent for our brand’s maturation into one that resonates with Hong Kongers and fits their diverse financial needs. Also, the colours, layouts, and imagery of our campaign makes AQUMON highly distinguishable within Hong Kong’s competitive wealth management marketplace.
What’s Next?
As this branding campaign comes to a close, it’s important to recognise that the effect of these advertisements will span beyond our sales metrics; they will also shape our brand personality. That’s why developing our image is so integral for future successes; we’re creating a brand that collectively addresses the needs of Hong Kong investors whilst redefining the investing experience of today.
