How to Get Your CFO to Fund Brand Without Asking Them to “Just Trust Marketing” | Megan Bowen - CEO, Refine Labs

How to Get Your CFO to Fund Brand Without Asking Them to “Just Trust Marketing” | Megan Bowen - CEO, Refine Labs

Araminta speaks with Megan Bowen, CEO of Refine Labs, about frameworks that help marketing teams gain leadership buy-in and reallocate budget toward activities that drive qualified pipeline and revenue. Megan explains Refine Labs' "split the funnel analysis," which tracks inbound leads through to closed-won revenue, highlighting why high-intent leads outperform lower-intent sources and why businesses should move beyond MQL-focused measurement. They discuss balancing investment across demand capture, brand awareness, and expansion, using better CRM tracking and metrics to demonstrate brand impact. Megan also shares insights into FinTech buying behaviour, the role of AI in marketing, and how to identify agencies that deliver measurable business results. Key topics include: * How to make the case for brand spend to the CFO * How to figure out where your marketing sits on the maturity curve * Where AI belongs in marketing  * Why using it for strategy could cause issues Useful links: Find Megan Bowen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meganwhitebowen/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/meganwhitebowen/] Find Araminta on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aramintarobertson/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/aramintarobertson/]  Mint Studios website: https://www.mintcopywritingstudios.com/ [https://www.mintcopywritingstudios.com/] For show notes and more information about guests, head to: http://www.fintechmarketinghub.com/podcasthttps://www.mintcopywritingstudios.com/podcast [https://www.mintcopywritingstudios.com/podcast] This episode was produced by Orama - thought leadership videos and podcasts:  [https://orama.tv/] https://orama.tv/ [https://orama.tv/] About Araminta Robertson: Araminta is the Founder and Managing Director at Mint Studios, an agency that turns content into measurable pipeline for fintech and financial services companies. About Fintech Marketing Lab Fintech Marketing Lab is a podcast hosted by Mint Studios,an agency that turns content into measurable pipeline for fintech and financial services companies. This podcast is where we experiment, explore and break down how fintech marketing actually works in practice. Each episode, our host, Araminta, talks with top fintech marketers about what they’re testing, what they’re learning, and how they’re pushing the boundaries of brand, strategy and team building. Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 02:26 Frameworks and Funnels 03:12 Split Funnel Explained 06:57 Low vs High Intent 09:49 Rebalancing the Budget 11:41 Proving Brand Impact 16:43 Fixing CRM and Tracking 18:55 Marketing Maturity Model 25:31 FinTech Buyer Insights 29:41 AI in Modern Marketing 38:42 Agencies in the AI Era

The T-Shaped Marketer: How to Know If Product Marketing Is Your Special Sauce | Bryan McCarty, Head of Product Marketing & Developer Experience, Lead

In this episode, Araminta speaks with Brian McCarty, a fintech product and marketing leader now at Lead Bank. They discuss keeping companies aligned on what their product does and expanding product marketing’s role beyond launches. McCarty explains how product marketers can influence roadmaps early by reviewing PRDs, tightening problem statements, and adding launch/comms sections, plus running internal enablement to avoid surprises. He shares his one-page “messaging house” to standardize positioning across teams and channels, and some of his winning Money2020 plays. He also covers using AI thoughtfully while preserving writing skills. Key topics include: * How to get an entire company on the same page * How to get product marketing into the global roadmap * How to maximize big events * How to use AI without losing writing skills Useful links: Find Bryan McCarty on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryanmccarty/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryanmccarty/] Find Araminta on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aramintarobertson/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/aramintarobertson/]  Mint Studios website: https://www.mintcopywritingstudios.com/ [https://www.mintcopywritingstudios.com/] For show notes and more information about guests, head to: http://www.fintechmarketinghub.com/podcasthttps://www.mintcopywritingstudios.com/podcast [https://www.mintcopywritingstudios.com/podcast] This episode was produced by Orama - thought leadership videos and podcasts:  [https://orama.tv/] https://orama.tv/ [https://orama.tv/] About Araminta Robertson: Araminta is the Co-Director of the fintech Marketing Hub and Founder and Managing Director at Mint Studios, a content marketing agency that helps financial services and fintech companies acquire customers and position themselves as experts with content marketing. She also co-manages the 2,000+ person fintech Marketing Slack group, is the host of the Market Like a fintech podcast and co-runs the fintech Marketing Hub's events and conferences. About Fintech Marketing Lab Fintech Marketing Lab is a podcast hosted by Mint Studios, a content marketing agency specialized in the fintech and financial services industry. This podcast is where we experiment, explore and break down how fintech marketing actually works in practice. Each episode, our host, Araminta, talks with top fintech marketers about what they’re testing, what they’re learning, and how they’re pushing the boundaries of brand, strategy and team building. Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 03:45 T-Shaped Marketer Mindset 05:56 Influencing The Product Roadmap 08:07 PMM Role Across Build Launch Learn 13:40 Internal Enablement Before Launch 15:05 Remote Rituals To Stay Aligned 20:15 Using AI Without Losing Skill 25:03 Messaging House Framework 28:30 Content For Two Audiences 37:19 Memorable Moments Strategy 40:33 Consistency For AI Discovery

Public.com's Strategy For Moving Upmarket Without Losing Younger Investors | Zach Dioneda, VP Brand Marketing, Public.com

In this episode, Araminta interviews Zach Dioneda, VP of Brand Marketing at Public, discusses how the multi-asset investing platform deliberately rebranded to look more mature, shifting its competitive set from neo-brokers to legacy firms like Schwab and Fidelity by positioning Public as a serious, premium, digital-first investing platform. He explains how years of product expansion since 2022 set the stage for the early-2025 rollout, and how marketing supports longer consideration cycles with a trust-building mix of placements while avoiding incentives that can cheapen the brand. Dioneda also describes engaging younger audiences through authentic online presence, including active Reddit participation by Public leaders. Key topics include: 1. Why Public repositioned against Schwab and Fidelity instead of the other newer brokers 2. How they build trust across a longer buyer cycle  3. Why they're careful with the incentives of growth hacks that can cheapen a brand   4. How they made a TV ad almost entirely with AI Useful links: Find Zach Dioneda on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/zach-dioneda-36b6989/ Find Araminta on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aramintarobertson/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/aramintarobertson/]  Mint Studios website: https://www.mintcopywritingstudios.com/ [https://www.mintcopywritingstudios.com/] For show notes and more information about guests, head to: http://www.fintechmarketinghub.com/podcasthttps://www.mintcopywritingstudios.com/podcast [https://www.mintcopywritingstudios.com/podcast] This episode was produced by Orama - a video and podcast studio for B2B Fintechs.:  [https://orama.tv/] https://orama.tv/ [https://orama.tv/] About Araminta Robertson: Araminta is the Co-Director of the fintech Marketing Hub and Founder and Managing Director at Mint Studios, a content marketing agency that helps financial services and fintech companies acquire customers and position themselves as experts with content marketing. She also co-manages the 2,000+ person fintech Marketing Slack group, is the host of the Market Like a fintech podcast and co-runs the fintech Marketing Hub's events and conferences. About Fintech Marketing Lab Fintech Marketing Lab is a podcast hosted by Mint Studios, a content marketing agency specialized in the fintech and financial services industry. This podcast is where we experiment, explore and break down how fintech marketing actually works in practice. Each episode, our host, Araminta, talks with top fintech marketers about what they’re testing, what they’re learning, and how they’re pushing the boundaries of brand, strategy and team building. Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 00:38 Meet Zach at Public.com 02:06 Rebrand Goals and Speed 03:06 Threading Trust and Innovation 05:54 From Social App to Platform 07:34 Tipping Point End of 2024 09:18 Who Public Is For 12:48 Marketing Shift and Media Mix 15:50 Trust Building and Incentives 20:34 Gen Z Credibility Signals 26:21 AI Products Generated Assets 33:35 AI Marketing and Staying Close

How to Design Fintech Conference Booths that Attract Buyers and Accelerate Deals | Rachel Verrill, Field Marketing Manager, Taktile

In this episode, Araminta interviews Rachel Verrill, about designing conference booths and successful events. Rachel shares common booth mistakes and some unusual tactics. She explains her process for vetting vendors, when to use booth design agencies, and designing around demo needs. She shares tips for side events, and how to mobilize your team to make sure that all their initiatives contribute to the pipeline. Key topics include: 1.  Why you shouldn’t care that much about foot traffic 2. Why your BDRs are the most underrated people you can bring to an event.  3. How she ties every event decision back to pipeline 4. How to build your event playbook Useful links: Find Rachel Verrill on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-verrill/ Find Araminta on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aramintarobertson/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/aramintarobertson/]  Mint Studios website: https://www.mintcopywritingstudios.com/ [https://www.mintcopywritingstudios.com/] For show notes and more information about guests, head to: http://www.fintechmarketinghub.com/podcasthttps://www.mintcopywritingstudios.com/podcast [https://www.mintcopywritingstudios.com/podcast] This episode was produced by Orama - a video and podcast studio for B2B Fintechs.:  [https://orama.tv/] https://orama.tv/ [https://orama.tv/] About Araminta Robertson: Araminta is the Co-Director of the fintech Marketing Hub and Founder and Managing Director at Mint Studios, a content marketing agency that helps financial services and fintech companies acquire customers and position themselves as experts with content marketing. She also co-manages the 2,000+ person fintech Marketing Slack group, is the host of the Market Like a fintech podcast and co-runs the fintech Marketing Hub's events and conferences. About Fintech Marketing Lab Fintech Marketing Lab is a podcast hosted by Mint Studios, a content marketing agency specialized in the fintech and financial services industry. This podcast is where we experiment, explore and break down how fintech marketing actually works in practice. Each episode, our host, Araminta, talks with top fintech marketers about what they’re testing, what they’re learning, and how they’re pushing the boundaries of brand, strategy and team building. Timestamps: 00:00 Introducing Rachel Verrill - Field marketing manager 02:37 All about booths and events 10:18 Vendors And Agencies 17:27 Choosing A Booth Theme 25:43 Color Coding VIP Targets 31:28 Side Events That Work 39:37 Hosting Sporting Suite Events 42:31 Events As Product Signal 43:13 Closing Thoughts And Gratitude

The Fintech Marketing Playbook for Complex Products, Long Sales Cycles, and Messy Attribution | Paul Staite & James Hayward, Primer

Araminta interviews Paul Staite and James Hayward at Primer, a unified infrastructure platform for global payments and commerce. They explain why traditional SaaS marketing playbooks often fail in payments due to long sales cycles, hard-to-demo “background” products, extreme regional and vertical nuance, global-first targeting, multiple personas, and buyers for whom payments is only part of the job. Primer’s lean team succeeds through executive buy-in, data-driven prioritization, tight cross-functional collaboration, and clear goals, while using both quantitative and qualitative attribution signals. Paul describes the “GTM engineer” role and using automation/AI and Clay to surface intent signals into Slack; James shares AI workflows for tone-of-voice consistency. They also discuss Primer’s ungated Payment Pioneers research series and highlight key “first tools” like robust website forms. Key topics include: 1.  Why traditional marketing playbooks don't really work in payments 2. What’s a go-to market engineer  3. How Primer operate as a lean, high performing marketing team  Useful links: Find Paul Staite on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulstaite/ Find James Hayward on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-h-92178975/ Find Araminta on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aramintarobertson/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/aramintarobertson/]  Mint Studios website: https://www.mintcopywritingstudios.com/ [https://www.mintcopywritingstudios.com/] For show notes and more information about guests, head to: http://www.fintechmarketinghub.com/podcasthttps://www.mintcopywritingstudios.com/podcast [https://www.mintcopywritingstudios.com/podcast] This episode was produced by Orama - a video and podcast studio for B2B Fintechs.:  [https://orama.tv/] https://orama.tv/ [https://orama.tv/] About Araminta Robertson: Araminta is the Co-Director of the fintech Marketing Hub and Founder and Managing Director at Mint Studios, a content marketing agency that helps financial services and fintech companies acquire customers and position themselves as experts with content marketing. She also co-manages the 2,000+ person fintech Marketing Slack group, is the host of the Market Like a fintech podcast and co-runs the fintech Marketing Hub's events and conferences. About Fintech Marketing Lab Fintech Marketing Lab is a podcast hosted by Mint Studios, a content marketing agency specialized in the fintech and financial services industry. This podcast is where we experiment, explore and break down how fintech marketing actually works in practice. Each episode, our host, Araminta, talks with top fintech marketers about what they’re testing, what they’re learning, and how they’re pushing the boundaries of brand, strategy and team building. Timestamps: 0:00 Why FinTech Content Matters 01:31 Meet Primer Marketing Leaders 02:59 Why Payments Is Hard To Market 05:44 Global ICP And Persona Complexity 10:13 ROI Proof And Data Gaps 16:31 Building A Content Culture 27:06 What Is GTM Engineering 32:45 Content Team AI Workflows 39:45 Payment Pioneers Research 45:03 Tool Picks And Wrap Up