Fintech Startup Self Financial Selects Creative Agency Odysseus Arms as Agency of Record 

Leading fintech company Self Financial, Inc. selected Odysseus Arms, the San Francisco advertising agency, to promote its credit-building products in a national campaign launching early next year. Woman-owned, WBENC-certified Odysseus Arms, which was founded by Libby Brockhoff, will develop strategic insights and creative work alongside R&R Partners, which will lead media planning, buying, research and analytics.

Self provides consumers across the economic spectrum with tools to build their financial health and help create economic inclusion. The company is growing quickly with new thinking, technology and resources that provide steppingstone financial services to consumers who are often underserved or excluded. Between the high unemployment numbers and the economic downturn caused by the global pandemic, Self is well positioned to provide Americans with a solution to enable them to rebuild their credit when they are going to need it most. 

“Given the year we’ve been through, we’re going to unlock a lot of financial futures that give people access to things like home and car loans, mortgages, apartment rentals — all those critical building blocks of stability,” said Libby, who is CEO at Odysseus Arms, in addition to founder and ECD. “With our proprietary process, Third3ye, we get really close to the consumer so we know how they think and how to reach them.”

Odysseus Arms and R&R Partners are developing a full-funnel marketing program using insights learned through Odysseus Arms’ Third3ye research process, a key factor in the win, which integrates consumer input through each step of campaign development. The campaign is expected to launch in the first week of January 2021 as people make resolutions and important first steps to work on their financial goals. 

“Odysseus Arms gets really close to our consumer with their empathy-driven process. This was an important factor to our team as we build our campaign,” said Brett Billick, CMO at Self. “It’s our goal to uplift Self customers with the tools and confidence to achieve their goals, and we found that Libby and her team were able to capture the spirit of our mission.” 

The Austin-based company specialises in innovative, credit-builder accounts that enable people to build positive payment history with timely payments. Additionally, the Self Visa Credit Card provides responsible access to secured credit without requiring a hard inquiry. 

Joining forces with Odysseus Arms, R&R Partners is developing a media plan that encompasses extensive out-of-home in top urban markets, a robust digital presence, broadcast and OTT, with an emphasis on performance-driven media. 

“Millions of Americans are shut out of financial services due to a blemished or no-credit history, making our media target market widespread and diverse,” said Fletcher Whitwell, partner and chief media & publishing officer at R&R Partners. “We frequently collaborate with Odysseus Arms, so our teams were able to quickly sync to develop a strategy and targeted media plan that is integrated with the creative and will drive business impact for Self.”  

The two agencies also collaborate on the millennial insurance brand, Toggle, by Farmers Insurance. Both Odysseus Arms and R&R Partners are members of the global independent advertising network Worldwide Partners, Inc., which has 70 agencies across some 40 global markets, offering Self a unique way to enjoy the creativity and efficiency of two diverse independent agencies with the combined scale of a larger agency. 

They won the Self Financial account through a robust pitch process managed by Lisa Colantuono, president of AAR Partners.