Clevercards Industry – FinTech
“CREATING HYPE FOR CLEVERCARDS AHEAD OF INVESTMENT
Overview Clevercards is a global digital payments platform that enables businesses and public sector organisations to issue branded digital Mastercards instantly and send them to anyone, anywhere, anytime. The challenge they set the team at Agile was to raise significant brand awareness and build market traction ahead of and during a crucial £10 million investment round, positioning the company as a leader in the competitive FinTech space where market needs were left unfulfilled by traditional financial institutions.
Solution Agile Comms developed an integrated campaign that leveraged Clevercards’ unique value proposition as a digital platform linked to configurable expense cards to give companies control over how their employees use their corporate payment cards, representing what CEO Kealan Lennon described as “the idea of a configurable payments platform [that] hadn’t been done before”.
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Agile's strategic approach to building our market presence was instrumental in establishing credibility during our funding round. Their ability to position us as thought leaders whilst generating sustained media coverage created the awareness and market validation that investors were looking for during a particularly challenging fundraising environment."
CEO at Clevercards
Our media relations strategy focussed on securing extensive coverage by leveraging strong relationships with national and trade press, positioning Clevercards’ mission to create the world’s most advanced digital payments platform and their ability to compete against payment tech giants Adyen and Stripe. We positioned CEO Kealan Lennon as a thought leader in the FinTech space through strategic opinion pieces and high-profile interviews, showcasing the company’s vision during a period when “nobody’s raising capital” in the current market environment.
A critical component was our analyst relations programme, where we built strong relationships with key FinTech analysts, including IBS Intelligence and M&A Intelligence. This approach secured valuable third-party endorsements that added credibility to Clevercards’ market position during the crucial investment period.
Campaign Results
Over the 12-month campaign period, our integrated approach delivered exceptional outcomes that directly supported Clevercards’ investment objectives:
- 326 pieces of national and trade media coverage secured across major business and FinTech publications
- Oversubscribed €8 million investment round completed successfully in challenging market conditions
- Strong analyst relationships established with IBS Intelligence and M&A Intelligence
- Enhanced competitive positioning against established payment giants
Media Coverage Success: We secured 326 pieces of national and trade media coverage, significantly raising the company’s profile across the industry and establishing strong brand recognition amongst key stakeholders. This extensive media presence helped position Clevercards as an innovative challenger in the digital payments space, with coverage spanning major business publications and specialised FinTech trade media.
Investment Round Achievement: The campaign directly supported Clevercards’ €8 million funding round that brought their total funding to date to €28 million. The investment round was oversubscribed and “stands out in the current capital markets impasse”, demonstrating strong market interest and confidence in the company’s vision. During this period, the company experienced substantial growth, onboarding over 10,000 businesses directly with 350,000 users in 92 countries.
Analyst Relations Impact: We established strong ongoing relationships with key FinTech analysts IBS Intelligence and M&A Intelligence, further solidifying Clevercards’ market position and creating valuable assets for future funding rounds and business development opportunities. These relationships provided third-party validation that enhanced credibility with investors and potential partners.
Competitive Market Position: The sustained media presence and thought leadership positioning helped establish Clevercards as a serious challenger to established players, with CEO Lennon noting “we’ve won business against them” when referring to competitors like Stripe and Adyen.