What is Aion Bank?

Aion Bank is the first fully digital European challenger bank that began its expansion on the Old Continent in 2021. It stands out with a unique subscription-based business model in the industry: Aion offers its users transparent and clear terms – unlimited access to all banking services for a fixed monthly fee.

Communication background

The development of the Aion Bank launch concept required consideration of several external factors. The most crucial among them was undoubtedly the launch timing, planned for the beginning of August.

The highly competitive domestic market was also significant. In 2021, Poland had over 30 existing banks, and the number of emerging fintechs and payment institutions was growing exponentially.

Furthermore, a bank that offers the ability to perform every banking operation through a smartphone practically does not need physical bank branches. For many customers, this is an undeniable convenience, for some an interesting detail, and for others, a significant absence. One of our primary tasks was, therefore, to emphasize the benefits provided by a fully digital offering.

Launch strategy

The communication strategy of Aion Bank was built on four pillars:

1. Presence in the digital space – in online and social media, podcasts, blogs, and vlogs – as the natural environment for future bank users;
2. Building anticipation – preparations for the August launch began in December 2020, allowing for an active communication plan over 8 months;
3. Utilizing a strong personal brand of Aion Bank’s director – Karol Sadaj – who is known in the media as an enthusiast of new technologies and an efficient manager;
4. Diversification of activities – complementing the online presence with additional actions to build grassroots interest in the brand and its products.

Results after the first month

The media interest in the launch of the new brand in the market was enormous – in just 30 days, there were exactly 296 articles and publications about Aion Bank, its offerings, products, business model, and subscription plans. The high visibility allowed reaching over 4.3 million recipients within the target audience, with the advertising equivalent of the bank’s media presence reaching nearly 2 million PLN.

The presence in major national press titles such as Gazeta Wyborcza, Rzeczpospolita, and Puls Biznesu was crowned by the August edition of Forbes magazine, where Aion Bank’s entry into the Polish market became the cover story.

After the first month of operational activity, Aion Bank could boast of having opened as many as 10,000 accounts, on which new customers deposited over 500 million PLN. Furthermore, Aion Bank’s launch was hailed as one of the most important events in the financial sector in 2021. Our ambassadorship program also won a double PR Wings award in the categories of Innovation of the Year and PR Product.

The implementation of the multi-month campaign did not incur any operational costs related to media purchases or paid content.