<div class="gn-article"><div class="gn-hero gn-reveal"> <div class="gn-hero__image"><img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/687a235da6861294eec73166/69089aa47851d2da8c1e5d4b_654d0c421298f1a79d07d31b_bad99038f2ff-LinkedIn_%25E2%2580%2593_Brave_Ideas_Webinar_Announcement__1_.png" alt=""></div> <div class="gn-hero__head"> <span class="gn-kicker"><span class="dot"></span>Event · Expression</span> <h1 class="gn-title">Brave Ideas Webinar - Fintech Innovators</h1> <div class="gn-meta"> <strong>The GO Network</strong> <span class="pip"></span> <span>15 November 2023</span> <span class="pip"></span> <span>1 min read</span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="gn-event-meta gn-reveal"><div class="gn-event-meta__block"> <span class="gn-event-meta__label">When</span> <span class="gn-event-meta__value gn-date">Wed, 15 Nov 2023 · 12:30</span> </div><div class="gn-event-meta__block"> <span class="gn-event-meta__label">Where</span> <span class="gn-event-meta__value">Online</span> </div><div class="gn-event-meta__block"> <span class="gn-event-meta__label">Status</span> <span class="gn-event-status gn-event-status--recording">Past · Recording</span> </div></div> <div class="gn-body"> <p>Fintech brands sit in one of the most competitive and trust-sensitive categories an agency can work in. The combination of regulatory scrutiny, commoditised messaging, and a customer base that has been burned before means the usual playbook rarely lands. So what does genuinely brave creative look like in this space, and how do agencies earn the right to push for it?</p> <p>The GO Network brought together two senior fintech marketers to explore exactly that: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/tao-baker/" target="_blank"><strong>Tao Nadine Baker</strong></a>, Head of Innovation and Partnerships at <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/ptsbireland/" target="_blank"><strong>PTSB</strong></a>, and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/martinkennington/" target="_blank"><strong>Martin Kennington</strong></a>, CMO at <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/365-business-finance/" target="_blank"><strong>365 Business Finance</strong></a>. Both operate at the intersection of innovation and commercial delivery, which makes their perspective particularly relevant for agencies pitching into, or already embedded within, the fintech sector.</p> <p>What follows are the practical lessons agencies can take from their experience, shaped around the recurring tension between bold ideas and the institutional caution that fintech brands carry by default.</p> <h2>Understand the Internal Landscape Before You Pitch the Idea</h2> <p>One of the clearest themes from both speakers is that brave work rarely fails because of a bad idea. It fails because the agency did not understand who needed to approve it and why those people would be nervous. In fintech, that approval chain is longer and more risk-averse than in most categories. Compliance, legal, product, and executive stakeholders all have veto power, and each of them is weighing reputational and regulatory risk alongside creative merit.</p> <p>For agencies, this means the pitch room is not the finish line. It is the beginning of an internal sales process that the client-side champion has to run on your behalf. The more clearly you can help your contact articulate the rationale for the work in non-creative language, the better the idea's chances of surviving intact.</p> <ul> <li>Map the approval chain early, ideally during briefing, and ask your client contact directly who will need to sign off and what their primary concerns are.</li> <li>Build a one-page business case alongside the creative work that frames risk in terms of competitive positioning and commercial outcomes, not aesthetic ambition.</li> <li>Anticipate the compliance questions and address them in the presentation rather than waiting for them to derail the work after the room has warmed to it.</li> </ul> <h2>Trust Is the Product, So the Creative Has to Earn It</h2> <p>Both PTSB and 365 Business Finance operate in parts of the market where customers approach financial products with scepticism. PTSB, as a retail and SME bank in Ireland, serves customers who remember the financial crisis and its consequences for ordinary people. 365 Business Finance provides revenue-based funding to SMEs, a product that many business owners encounter for the first time when they are already under pressure.</p> <p>In both cases, the creative brief is not simply to generate awareness or preference. It is to move people from doubt to confidence, often in a single piece of communication. That is a harder job than most category briefs, and it rewards agencies that understand the emotional starting point of the audience rather than the functional features of the product.</p> <p>Agencies working in fintech should build customer empathy into every stage of the creative process, not just the research phase. That means using real customer language in copy, grounding visual identity in accessibility and clarity rather than aspiration alone, and treating transparency as a creative asset rather than a legal obligation. The brands that communicate most honestly about how their products work consistently outperform those that rely on category-standard reassurance messaging.</p> <h2>Innovation Partnerships Require a Different Agency Posture</h2> <p>Tao Nadine Baker's role at PTSB sits specifically at the intersection of innovation and partnerships, which signals something important about how progressive fintech and banking brands are structuring their marketing function. They are not simply buying creative executions. They are looking for partners who can help them navigate new channels, new technologies, and new customer behaviours at pace.</p> <p>For agencies, this creates both an opportunity and a qualification bar. The opportunity is to move into a more strategic, retained relationship rather than a project-by-project dynamic. The qualification bar is that you need to demonstrate commercial curiosity, not just creative capability. That means bringing informed points of view on emerging platforms, data-driven personalisation, and product communication before the client asks for them.</p> <ul> <li>Invest time before every client meeting in understanding what is changing in their competitive environment, not just their brief.</li> <li>Develop a standing point of view on fintech-relevant topics such as open banking, embedded finance communications, and regulatory change in advertising standards, so you can add value in conversations that go beyond the current campaign.</li> <li>Position your agency as a thinking partner by sharing relevant case studies from adjacent sectors, particularly where a creative or strategic approach solved a trust or complexity problem similar to the one your client faces.</li> </ul> <h2>Brave Work in Regulated Categories Needs a Long Build</h2> <p>Perhaps the most transferable lesson from both speakers is that bravery in fintech is cumulative. It is not a single campaign that breaks the mould. It is a series of incremental pushes that build client confidence, internal alignment, and audience familiarity over time. Agencies that try to land their boldest idea in the first brief rarely succeed. Agencies that demonstrate judgement early, earn trust, and then use that trust to advocate for more ambitious work have a significantly higher conversion rate.</p> <p>If your agency is looking to deepen its presence in fintech, start by auditing the work you have already produced for clients in regulated categories. Identify where you pulled back from an idea and ask honestly whether the hesitation was theirs or yours. The most effective agencies in this space are not the ones with the most daring portfolios. They are the ones that understand how to make daring work feel like the safe choice for the people who have to approve it.</p> <p>The GO Network regularly convenes senior brand-side marketers and agency leaders to surface insights like these. Explore upcoming sessions and past recordings through <a href="https://www.thegonetwork.co.uk" target="_blank">The GO Network</a>.</p> </div></div> <aside class="gn-related gn-reveal" data-auto="related-reading"> <div class="gn-related__label">Related reading</div> <ul class="gn-related__list"> <li class="gn-related__item"> <a href="/articles/improve-ux-boost-conversions-by-up-to-400-with-design-thinking" class="gn-related__link"> <span class="gn-related__category">Expression</span> <span class="gn-related__title">Improve UX &amp; Boost Conversions By Up To 400% With Design Thinking</span> <span class="gn-related__excerpt">Apply design thinking to lift conversions up to 400%. 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