THE 14TH ANNUAL SHORTY AWARDS

The Shorty Awards honor the best of social media and digital. View this season's finalists!

Industry

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Strategy & Engagement

See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Brand Partnership See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Call to Action See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Community Management See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Creative Use of Technology See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> CTV/OTT See previous winners and honorees for Insights and Trends here.</a> <a href=https://shortyawards.com/17th/"https://shortyawards.com/category/16th/data-visualization">See previous winners and honorees for Data Visualization here.</a>"> Data & Insights See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Earned Media See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Event & Experiential See previous winners and honorees here.</a>""> Gamification See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Humor See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Innovative Media Buying Strategy See previous winners and honorees here.</a>""> Integration with Traditional Media See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Internal Communications See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> LGBTQ Community Engagement See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Micro-Influencer Strategy See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Multicultural Community Engagement See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Music & Dance See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> On a Shoestring See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Organic Promotion See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Paid & Amplification See previous winner and honorees here.</a>"> Physical and Digital Convergence See previous winner and honorees here.</a>"> Public Service Announcement See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Real Time Response See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> SEO & SEM See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Social Commerce See previous winners and honorees here.</a>"> Storytelling

Paze Brand Campaign Launch

Entered in Launch Campaign

Objective

Checkout can be a frustrating afterthought in online shopping. Paze aims to transform this experience, making checkout as easy and joyful as the shopping itself. Brought to you by seven of the largest U.S. banks and about 1,000 smaller financial institutions and credit unions for whom Elan is a processor. Paze is a first of its kind offering - designed to fill a market gap that hadn’t been solved yet – having a convenient online checkout experience with added security because actual card numbers are not shared with the merchant.

The goal: launch the new brand and achieve 19% national brand awareness by the end of 2024.

We focused on reframing checkout as a moment of joy and ease, highlighting the Paze core differentiators—speed, security, and trust. By anchoring the campaign in relatable shopping scenarios and the bank-backed reliability of Paze, we positioned it as the smarter, safer solution for digital payments.

This fresh, consumer-first perspective exceeded expectations, with Paze reaching 22% awareness, in November 2024, ahead of schedule, establishing itself as a credible new player in the digital payments market.

Strategy

Paze entered a competitive market where convenience often overshadowed trust. To differentiate, we redefined checkout as a joyful and effortless part of the shopping experience. Our platform, “Built for how you shop,” emphasized emotional connection and trust, showing how Paze fits seamlessly into diverse shopping habits while offering speed and security.

Creative Approach

We leaned into relatable moments—shopping during a bubble bath, holding a baby (or two!), or on a work break—to highlight how Paze adapts to every lifestyle. Humor and everyday scenarios reinforced the ease and simplicity of using Paze, while vibrant visuals and clean, intuitive design mirrored the product’s core promises of trust and delight.

Execution

We launched a robust 360º strategy designed to build trust and recognition:

Every asset reinforced the Paze differentiation: fast, easy checkout with added security due to tokenization and backed by trusted financial institutions. This cohesive strategy built consumer trust while emphasizing Paze’s reliability and adaptability in any shopping scenario.

Results

The campaign exceeded expectations, establishing Paze as a trustworthy new player in digital payments:

By turning checkout into a moment of ease and confidence, Paze not only achieved awareness goals but laid the foundation for future growth in adoption and transactions.

Media

Entrant Company / Organization Name

Early Warning Services® (Paze), Early Warning Services® (Paze)

Links

Entry Credits