We asked six CMOs a single question: in today’s financial landscape, what really wins, and how should brands respond? Here’s what they had to say: trust has become the baseline, products are expected, and memorable customer experiences are what ultimately build loyalty and lasting brands.
Ahmed Abdel-Karim, Executive Vice President, Integrated Marketing and Communications (EEMEA), Mastercard
I believe the winning formula is a balanced blend of the three. Trust is the essential foundation, products are the enablers, and experience creates lasting loyalty and differentiates a brand. When deciding how to spend their time and money, consumers are no longer motivated by product features alone. Instead, they are seeking connection and meaningful, shared experiences. Nearly 75 percent of Mastercard cardholders say they feel their best when spending their time on their passions, from food and culture to the arts. For brand-building, this means that while the foundations remain critical, the focus needs to shift from the transactional to the emotional. The brands that rise above are the ones that can build deep connections by curating unforgettable, passion-led moments.
Krutika Kavishwar, Marketing Manager, Continental Group
In our world, solutions, trust, and experience do not sit in separate buckets. They work together. That feels especially true in fintech and banking, where a strong offering without trust rarely goes far, and trust without a thoughtful experience does not last. Brand-building is therefore not only about campaigns, digital presence, or what appears on bigger screens. It is also shaped by the everyday experience people have with a business— how easy it is to connect, how clearly something is explained, how consistent the follow-up feels, and whether the experience lives up to the promise. These details carry real weight in a space where many offerings can look similar on paper. Over time, they shape how a brand is perceived and where loyalty begins.
Justin Smith, Managing Director, Ansarada
In banking and finance, product, trust, and experience used to be a sequence. Now, they’re a standard. Customers expect all three, simultaneously, from day one. A great product that’s hard to use loses. A slick experience on a brand nobody trusts gets abandoned. And trust without a product worth trusting is just legacy. For brand building, this changes everything. The brand is no longer built in a marketing department. It’s built into every interaction, every fee, and every resolved complaint.
The financial brands winning today aren’t out-advertising their competitors.
They’re out-delivering them.
Neeraj Gupta, CEO, Policybazaar.ae
Product gets you noticed. A genuinely differentiated product with faster settlements, smarter credit decisioning, and seamless cross-border payments earns the first conversation. But in a market where product advantages compress within months, it cannot sustain a brand alone.
Trust is the floor, not the ceiling. Especially across the Middle East, where financial inclusion is still deepening and consumers are making first-time decisions about digital banking, trust is non-negotiable. Without it, no product survives scrutiny.
Experience is where modern brands are actually built. Not through campaigns, but through every touchpoint: onboarding, dispute resolution, a human voice when things go wrong.
The brands winning in this region understand that experience is how trust compounds over time. That compounding is the brand.
Zafer Akyel, Director, Solutions Engineering & Architecture EMEA, WebEngage
In fintech and banking, experience wins, because that’s where trust is actually built or broken. Not in the brand campaign, but in the moment after a transaction fails or when a customer needs help and gets a templated response. The brands pulling ahead are the ones putting real investment into how they communicate across the full customer lifecycle, not just at acquisition. Retention in this sector is disproportionately tied to whether customers feel the brand is paying attention to them. Product gets people in, but how you engage them over time is what keeps them.
