Earlier this year, the US fintech start-up ProActive Budget rebranded to become Qube Money in an effort to modernise the brand and reconnect with its customers. To reveal the story behind ProActive Budget’s rebrand, we caught up with Scott Henderson, Marketing Manager at Qube Money.
"We're hoping to build trust with our audience and make a splash into the budgeting app and mobile banking space. We believe that once people try our unique banking system, it will transform the way they save and spend. Hopefully, that will lead to sharing the app with friends and family." Scott Henderson, Marketing Manager at Qube Money
What provoked Proactive Budget’s rebrand and name change?
ProActive Budget decided to rebrand for two key reasons:
- First, whenever you would search for "Proactive", the only thing that came up was skincare. Even when you added "budget," Google would dish out ways to get skincare for cheap.
- Secondly, which was the main reason, was to give the company a new look and feel. When talking with customers, the ProActive Budget name sounded old school. Because we needed to shut down operations for a few months while we integrated with a new payment processor, we also decided to rebrand.
What did the rebranding process look like?
It involved scaling back and assembling the right team. We hired new partners for development, operations, design, marketing, and even partnered with a new bank. Our hope was the rebranding process would only take a few months, but those few months ended up turning into an entire year. These things take time, and we're focused on creating a brand that people know, like, and trust.
Let's talk about the brand: Why Qube Money? What are the main features of the new brand?
The main idea of ProActive Budget was creating budget categories in an app as if they were envelopes. The most successful budgeting system is cash envelopes, but it's hard. Our patented digital banking system makes it easy, empowering people to save money and stick to a budget.
We went with cubes as a way for people to split their money into different cubes or buckets. Later, we decided to wordplay and switched out the "C" with a "Q."
ProActive Budget was simply a discretionary spending app, but with Qube Money, it's a full-suite bank offering everything most online banks do plus budgeting tools. Ultimately it has a lot more features.
What was the hardest part of the rebranding process? How did you tackle this?
Managing timelines with new partners.
We had no idea that during our rebrand time that COVID-19 would hit. Luckily, we've seen an increased demand for our product. However, it did extend our timeline because our bank and payment processor began to work remotely, as well as our debit card manufacturer.
What about the activation? Did the COVID-19 pandemic affect your original launch strategy?
We planned to have the fully functioning app out this spring. As we were gearing up to launch, we realized that many things still needed to happen before we could officially relaunch.
As far as messaging, we focused less on selling our lifetime memberships and more on building relationships. We tried to provide valuable education on our blog, even though we didn't have an app out yet.
What are you hoping to achieve from the rebrand over the next two to three years?
We're hoping to build trust with our audience and make a splash into the budgeting app and mobile banking space. We believe that once people try our unique banking system, it will transform the way they save and spend. Hopefully, that will lead to sharing the app with friends and family. We're taking a grassroots approach and encouraging users to share the app once they realize how unique and effective it is.
How do you see the fintech industry evolve post-COVID?
Listening to podcasts like Fintech Insider, it's been interesting to see the increased demand for fintech companies. In the US, in the UK, and all across the globe, consumers are shifting to digital banking services. I'm really into fintech, and it's incredible to see the potential this industry has over the next decade, and I think COVID has only accelerated the shift.
About Scott Henderson: Scott Henderson is the Marketing Manager at Qube Money and he runs a successful online blog Simplifinances. Scott is an Accredited Financial Counselor and has been featured in major publications such as Fox Business, US News & World Report, The Simple Dollar, and many more. He holds a business degree from the University of Utah and a master's degree in Personal Financial Planning from Texas Tech University.