Fintech startup Bolt uses memes to connect with Gen Z as part of rebrand

Digital payment startup Bolt announced a brand rehaul today with a meme-led marketing campaign, which includes a TV commercial and social media image generator.

Consumers can use “#Shopperganger,” Bolt's meme machine, to display their own shopping personality with custom text and stickers. “#Shopperganger” personas include “the discount diva,” “the checkout ghoster” and “the multi tabster.” Meme generation company Piñata Farms built the platform. 

Bolt’s commercial will feature “#Shopperganger” personality types in action. The company's first-ever ad will stream on platforms Hulu and Peacock, as well as networks ABC, FX, CNN, ESPN and NBA TV, among others.

“We really wanted to create a way for everyone to connect with how they shop, celebrate it, poke fun at themselves and do it in a way that drives conversation,” said Meg Ciarallo, Bolt’s VP of brand and consumer marketing.

Bolt also revamped their logo, website and brand color, switching from blue to a bright neon yellow.

“We really wanted to stand out against the sea of sameness in our category,” Ciarallo said. “It's by and large green, blue and purple. Everyone's using more or less the same fonts.”

The San Francisco-based startup’s in-house creative team led the rebranding effort, with help from creative studio Koto and digital agency KNI. 

The TV spot also shows Bolt’s one-click checkout technology, which is similar to Amazon’s “Buy Now” feature. Bolt aims to help e-commerce merchants by remembering and automatically applying customer payment data to bypass the guest checkout process.

Although much of Bolt’s business is business-to-business, the “#Shopperganger” campaign signals a shift toward consumers, especially Gen Z and millennials. 

“We want to appeal to a wide range of shoppers that our merchants work with. The merchants themselves are wanting to go after Gen Z and millennials more and more as well,” Ciarallo said. “We also worked with a bunch of different influencers in several different vertical categories like fashion, apparel and home goods.”

The company hopes a marketing push will help increase popularity with both merchants and shoppers. “Shoppers are the end customer, right? We want to be a brand that they recognize, understand and trust,” Ciarallo said. 

In July of 2022, Bolt settled a lawsuit with Authentic Brands Group, which claimed the fintech startup’s software failed to perform as well as it claimed. ABG received an undisclosed stake in the company as part of the settlement. Bolt also laid off 250 employees in May 2022, as part of a wider downturn for the tech industry. The company currently has 400 employees.

 “We're really optimistic about 2023,” Ciarallo said. “This next act is gonna really see us focusing on our core checkout business and accelerating sustainable scale. We want to usher in a whole new era for e-commerce.”