Tearsheet’s Marketing Awards have emerged as the **premier recognition for innovation in the financial sector**, celebrating brilliance in marketing, customer acquisition, branding, and growth strategies. As the landscape of financial services evolves, these awards shine a spotlight on companies that are not just aiming for scale but doing so with profound **customer engagement** at their core.
This year, we highlight the trailblazers who are setting new benchmarks in customer-focused initiatives within financial services.
Campaign of the Year: April’s "Dream Big, Sleep Easy" at Money 20/20
In a landscape crowded with forgettable fintech pitches, April’s **“Dream Big, Sleep Easy” campaign** emerged as the overwhelming victor of Tearsheet’s 2025 Campaign of the Year. While most competitors settled for traditional sponsorships and predictable logo placements, April adopted a fresh strategy that ingeniously addressed the conference’s notorious sleep-deprived atmosphere.
Building on their past successes, they treated attendees to **Sleep Kits** delivered right to their hotel rooms, which included “Dream of Deposits” sleep masks, “Weapon of Mass Deductions” laptop stickers, and sleep affirmation cards that cleverly reframed tax season into a growth-centric opportunity.
The creativity did not stop there. Poolside at **“The Dream Zone” cabana**, April crafted a serene oasis amidst the conference buzz, serving a dual purpose as a meeting hub and a tangible demonstration of their core promise: “Embed April, and you can genuinely rest easy while unlocking tax season’s full potential.” The outcome? An **organic social media buzz** that rivals even the most extravagant ad spends, with attendees enthusiastically donning their April sleep masks and generating over **100 valuable partnership discussions** in just 72 hours.
Best Product Marketing: Citi and Movable Ink
In a world where generic marketing emails often face the doom of the spam folder, **Citi**, in partnership with **Movable Ink,** has redefined the concept of personalized marketing, earning the **2025 Best Product Marketing Award**. Faced with the challenge of standing out in an inbox flooded with sameness, Citi turned personalization into a game-changing revenue strategy.
Their Merchant Offers program leverages dynamic data, utilizing Movable Ink’s capabilities to deliver millions of **content variations** based on individual shopping behaviors, local deals, dining preferences, and savings earned—all timed to the precise moment an email is opened. This approach transcends traditional A/B testing; it’s **real-time, hyper-relevant marketing** transforming mundane emails into personalized shopping journeys.
Best Product/Service Designed for Gen Z: Persado
As financial institutions scramble to capture the elusive **Gen Z demographic**, Persado has clinched the **2025 Best Product/Service Designed for Gen Z award** with its innovative **Motivation AI platform**. While many brands fail in their attempts to communicate authentically with this digitally savvy generation, Persado has perfected a method that resonates by understanding what genuinely drives this values-focused cohort.
By harnessing insights from **over 17 billion customer interactions** and performance data from eight of the top ten U.S. banks, Persado’s platform crafts personalized, emotionally engaging messages that avoid triggering Gen Z’s **BS detectors**. The results speak volumes: brands utilizing Persado’s technology report a staggering **40% increase in conversion rates**, significantly upping their game in the competitive financial landscape.
In a world where **45% of consumers** would consider switching banks for more personalized interactions, Persado is not just helping financial institutions thrive— they’re securing relevance in an age where **authentic connection** is key.
With these standout campaigns, the **Tearsheet 2025 Marketing Awards** set a higher standard for the financial sector. These innovators are not just winners; they’re paving the way for the future of marketing, one brilliant strategy at a time.
