• by Danielle Oster , December 18, 2024

When an Emmy-nominated star appears in a brand’s marketing content it’s usually pretty noteworthy, especially when that content is an educational video about financial fraud lasting over 10 minutes. For digital payment service Zelle, it’s not even the first time  Christina Ricci (“Yellowjackets,” “Wednesday”) appears  in the brand’s "S.A.F.E. Squad" content marketing series created in partnership with Vox Media.

Yesterday, Zelle launched a new video in the series, which launched last year and is stylized to resemble the true crime genre -- popular because “people love examining why criminals take certain actions and want to learn as much as possible to stay one step ahead,” Ricci said in a release.

Ricci reprises her role as a detective on the “S.A.F.E. Squad” to inform viewers about red flags to watch out for to avoid online scams, this year focusing on fraud detection using more sophisticated tools such as generative AI.

“The campaign aligns with the Zelle mission to equip users with the tools and knowledge to safeguard their finances, showcasing our focus on security and consumer trust,” Zelle Early Warning Services  CMO Andrea Gilman told Marketing Daily. 

The video appears across Vox Media properties such as Curbed, Thrillist, The New Yorker, and NBC News, and will run through the end of February. Zelle also collaborated with  Vox on an influencer marketing campaign launched last month -- which Gilman described as designed to reach “younger, susceptible audiences across TikTok with the hashtag ‘#fincrimestorytime.'"

Ricci’s return for “S.A.F.E. Squad” follows the success of last year’s campaign -- which Gilman said contributed to a +12-point increase in consumers associating the anti-scam messaging with the brand. It’s part of a longer-term focus on the issue for Zelle.

“For years we have prioritized financial education as a significant element of our advertising. Now we’re building on that firm foundation by focusing on expanding reach and sharing this important content as broadly as possible,” Gilman said. “We're looking for publishers -- like Vox Media -- that not only create compelling, high-quality content based on research and consumer insights but also have expansive coverage as part of their network and offerings.”

In the past, Zelle’s consumer education campaigns had such partners as the Better Business Bureau, the National Council on Aging and Utilities United Against Scams.

Zelle views consumer financial education efforts as part of a broader, “multilayered” approach to combating financial scams and building Zelle’s reputation with consumers as a reliably secure peer-to-peer payment (P2P) service.

“In 2023, we reached 40 million consumers with financial education resources and sent 700 million in-app alerts to warn users,” Gilman said. “Even as the volume of payments on Zelle grew 28% from 2022 to 2023, we saw a nearly 50% decrease in reports of fraud and scam payments.Last year, we processed 99.95% of payments without a report of fraud or scams, making Zelle one of the safest ways for consumers to pay people they know and trust.”

The issue will continue to play an important role in Zelle’s marketing in the future, with the brand planning to “evolve our approach as financial crimes evolve,” Gilman said. “Moving forward, we plan to continue our focus on consumer education and innovative storytelling to highlight evolving scam tactics.”