Checkout.com launches ‘invisible engine’ advertising campaign

OK, this may take some mental gymnastics. We’ve launched our latest advertising campaign, and it’s all about how easy it is to ignore us. Let us try to explain… 

Our new campaign spans London’s iconic tube and train network, black cabs (which are now Checkout blue), and strategic outdoor locations across the city, including a pretty cool mural in Brick Lane – to celebrate SXSW being in Shoreditch, our home. Of course, being a digital payments business, it’ll also feature on social media, online display advertising, and the digital press.

So, what’s the big idea?

99% of people who use our service don’t know we exist. And honestly, that’s something we’re very proud of. Because we’re the invisible engine powering payments for the world’s favorite brands. Smooth enough that nobody notices, and good enough that nobody needs to.

The irony of making noise about an invisible service isn’t lost on us. But we want to let the world know we’re here to create better experiences for their customers (and better bottom lines for their businesses). Because at the end of the day, when we’re really good, when we really show up, we create payment experiences that just work – and no one stops to think about why.

As the big idea took shape with our (amazing) London-based agency, Thingy & Thingy, we locked in a few principles: 

1. Put our customers first – our work is all about them, and they’re worth celebrating
2. Get recognized, for a change – our payments fly under the radar; our ads can’t
3. Acknowledge the irony – there’s a comical conflict in the task, let’s lean into it

Why London? Why now?

With the digital payments market valued at $2.3T and growing fast, we’re growing along with it. And fuelling that growth means raising awareness among CFOs and CTOs, who sign off more than 65% of payment provider purchase decisions. Getting in front of this audience is part of how we achieve our mission: helping businesses and their communities thrive in the digital economy.

Starting in the city we’re proud to call our home, we’re reaching business leaders in the epicenters of tech and finance. It’s where the businesses we admire live. In fact, businesses we love are at the heart of our campaign in lots of ways.

It’s all about our customer’s performance

What better way to tell our story than through our merchants? Featuring Deliveroo, ASOS, Fever, and FreeNow, our campaign champions businesses shaping the digital economy. We’re obsessed with their performance, wherever their customers check out.

At Checkout.com, the story always starts with performance. 

Without high-performance, payments become very visible to consumers and businesses – in all the wrong ways. Failed transactions, clunky authentications, slow settlements, high chargeback ratios… nobody wants to see this side of payments. By contrast, when digital payments are done right, customers return and businesses grow.  

Digital payments should take a backseat to our merchants’ meticulously crafted customer experience. So we dedicate expertise to make sure payments go through without a hitch. That’s how we achieve high performance, exhibited in better acceptance rates, reduced fraud, and increased conversions – all from behind the scenes. 

Trust is at the heart of our story

The impact of the invisible engine is real. 42% of customers won’t return to an ecommerce shop after one failed payment. It’s a sign of the confidence consumers place in the digital economy in every interaction, but what’s driving that trust? As part of our integrated campaign, we built the Trust Index – a measure of the invisible trust consumers have in the digital economy.

You can explore the Trust Index here. 

And, if you see our ads out in the wild, we’d love to see your pics. Share your shots on social media with the #WhereTheWorldChecksOut and we’ll show them some love!