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Brand or performance? AI or human? Scale fast or build trust?

Martin Kennington has been on both sides of the fintech marketing jungle—from scrappy startup content campaigns to boardroom brand pitches. Now at Cynergy Bank, he’s helping lead the charge as they scale into the mid-market without losing their identity.

In this episode, Martin shares what it really takes to grow a fintech brand today—breaking down where marketers should push, pull, pivot, and stay put.

If you care about marketing that delivers, brand that connects, and growth that doesn’t sacrifice trust—this one’s for you.

Key Takeaways

• Scaling a bank? Start by knowing your edge. Cynergy Bank carved a space in the underserved mid-market, where big banks are too slow and neobanks don’t go deep enough.
  
• Marketing isn’t just ads. It’s relationships. Whether you’re using AI, building brand equity, or PR’ing your next launch—trust is still your best growth lever.
  
• The old playbook won’t cut it. TikTok, FinTok, influencers, PR, SEO—today’s fintech marketers need to be everywhere, fast.
  
• Brand ≠ logo. It’s how you show up across every touchpoint. And if your whole team can’t write 100 words about what your brand stands for? You’ve got a problem.
  
• Performance marketing gets you volume. Brand marketing gets you value. The best fintechs balance both.
  
• PR doesn’t just build buzz. Done right, it builds backlinks, credibility, SEO juice—and drives long-term conversion.
  
• AI won’t replace marketers. But it should replace busywork. Research, data analysis, and insight generation? That’s where AI earns its spot.
  

Talking Points

- Scaling without Losing Yourself

Martin explains how Cynergy Bank is growing fast—without losing the human-first approach that sets them apart.

“You can’t just turn the AI dial to max and expect customers to stick around. They still want a person on the other end.”
- Rebalancing Brand vs Performance

Most fintechs over-index on performance. Martin made the call to invest more in brand—and it paid off.

“You can’t just pick apples off the floor forever. At some point, you’ve got to plant trees.”

- Selling Brand to the Board
Brand budgets aren’t fluffy—if you pitch them right. Martin shares how he won internal buy-in by showing value, backing it with data, and proving ROI.

- AI’s Role in Marketing (and What It’s Not)

AI’s not a silver bullet—but it’s a damn good time-saver. Martin breaks down where it’s helping (data, insight) and where it still falls short (creative intuition).
- From Traditional to Tactical

With backgrounds in games, luxury car finance, and fintech lending, Martin’s seen how far the industry’s come—and where it’s still stuck.

“Fintech isn’t behind anymore—but some brands still act like they are.”

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About the show

The FML Podcast is brought to you by Growth Gorilla. To find out how our marketing experts can boost your fintech’s growth, head to “growthgorilla.co.uk”. And make sure to search for “the fml podcast” in Apple