• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, October 12, 2022

As it drops “.com” from its name, financial automation software provider Bill is launching its first advertising campaign. 

Created by Odysseus Arms, which recently won the account after a competitive pitch, commercials feature actual customers with the message that their shift from paper-based systems has freed up energy and resources that can used to achieve new goals.

The campaign repositions Bill as a growth engine for SMBs and not just a back-office tool. By putting a company’s financial details – payables, receivables, and spend & expense management – online in one transparent system, Bill, the campaign messaging asserts, gives SMBs the power to seize opportunities, however they define them, in real time. 

"We are embarking on a company rebrand that goes beyond our 'look and feel'," Bill CMO Sarah Acton said. "Through our new brand, we'll be honoring and celebrating the people and businesses we serve - their stories, their journeys, their impact."

In one spot, Repurpose, Inc. controller Sarah Sanders says that while her company helps the world recycle, “our office was all paper, and nobody wanted to file the paperwork, print checks, or mail them.” With Bill, she says, “no matter where our key players are, they have visibility into our cash flow. Goodbye paper. Goodbye plastic.”

In another spot, Joey Womack, founder/CEO of Goodie Nation, says his funding non-profit gets time back with its community of 250+ diverse entrepreneurs because he no longer has to send millions of dollars to 76 companies using paper records. And in another spot, Juan Higueros, co-founder/COO of Bear Robotics, says “our [financial operations] were not automated – paper invoices would get lost, then my engineers would be like, ‘where’s my missing part?’… now Bill tracks our invoices and plans payments, so we can focus on growing.”

During the pitch process, which pitted Odysseus Arms against BBDO and 72andSunny, the Odysseus Arms team spent a week with accountants and business managers using the agency’s proprietary Third3ye process, which inputs feedback from a brand’s target consumers in order to develop intelligence around their pain points, perceptions and motivations within the category. 

The agency uncovered a universal problem holding back small business – an “addiction” to paper. Third3ye illustrated the antiquated practices that were unnecessarily consuming time, resources and energy being utilized by small and midsize businesses.

“We needed to isolate the human drama that makes Bill transformative,” said Franklin Tipton, co-founder and CCO. “A company’s financial system is its operating engine, yet I found out a gigantic chunk of our economy is living in the Eighties. One finance manager even told me to justify charging a client, he has to go to a storage crypt, find the box, find the file, and spread out all the paperwork to find the relevant expense documentation. It’s like a trunk full of lead on the business.”

Part of Worldwide Partners, Inc, Odysseus Arms teamed up with, R&R Partners to design the media plan. Commercials will air on CTV devices in select markets as well as appearing in digital media in LinkedIn and Meta as well as other key placements including Out of Home.