How Cash App is evolving its scam prevention campaign

Cash App is doubling down on its “Weird for Real” scam awareness campaign, this time plugging product features aimed at stopping scams. The effort from Mischief @ No Fixed Address includes one spot that shows a man getting alerted that he may be paying a scammer trying to sell him puppies in a laundromat. Another depicts a young man receiving an alert when an older, creepier lookalike tries to log into his account to steal his identity. Two more show a woman locking her card and another reporting a fraudulent charge as men try to purchase hibachi and a dirt bike through their accounts. The peer-to-peer payment platform launched “Weird for Real” last December with ads from Mischief making customers aware of online scams by showing how ridiculous they would sound if heard in the real world. “What we want to do here is tell the next part of the story, which is beyond recognizing scams, what steps can be taken with Cash App to keep your money protected,” said Catherine Ferdon, chief marketing officer at Cash App. “We want to make sure that Cash App is regarded as a safe and trusted platform.” “Weird for Real” was initially inspired by 2023 AARP Fraud Watch data that showed 80% of consumers experienced at least one kind of fraud last holiday season and one-third of shoppers aged 18-34 encountered scams on social media. The decision to re-up the campaign this year came from the success of last year’s work, Ferdon said, pointing to strong recall of the “If it’s weird for real, it’s weird, for real” message and a silver Clio award. Cash App today released its puppy spot on social media and the other three on YouTube. All four will continue to run across social, linear TV and streaming channels into Cash App’s first quarter in 2025. NextGen Marketing Summit Join us for a crash course on Gen Z, DTC marketing and the creator economy Register today Cash App does not have an agency of record. Alongside Mischief’s creative support, Monks handled media and Drool worked on production. Cash App also continues to run its financial literacy campaign, “That’s Money,” which debuted in 2022 from Kendrick Lamar’s creative collective, pgLang. In October, the brand freshened the campaign with an ad depicting people in a barbershop discussing how to save money. The launch of “Weird for Real” took precedence last year over releasing new work for “That’s Money.” This year, however, Cash App released new ads for both around the same time. “One thing that was a common thread between both is trying to tell engaging, relatable stories that encourage customers to manage their finances responsibly in one format or another,” Ferdon said. “We’re really beginning to build and leverage recognizable franchises that you’ll see in the coming year.” Hear from Ferdon at Ad Age’s NextGen Marketing Summit in March While Cash App has historically had a strong foothold with Gen Z and young millennial consumers, it’s also building a reputation with baby boomers. The brand ranked 15th in the third-quarter Ad Age-Harris Poll Boomer brand tracker, which shows brands gaining attention from the generation. A recent Motley Fool survey showed that 55% of boomers trust digital payment apps as much as traditional payment methods.

How Cash App is evolving its scam prevention campaign

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