VITAL Card: The Card Made for Millennials and Gen-Z
Millennials and Gen Z are on the fence when it comes to credit cards, and industry leaders are struggling to connect with them. According to recent research from Experian, older generations own more credit cards than the younger crowd. Baby Boomers carry an average of 4.61 charge cards, and members of Generation X own 4.23 on average. After this, the numbers drop steadily; millennials carry an average of 3.18 cards, and the average Gen Zer over 18 has only 1.91 credit cards.
Chris Bridges, CEO and co-founder of VITAL Card, hopes to reach this untapped demographic. “We leverage gamification and social media to benefit Millennials and Gen Z,” he explains. “These generations are spreading the word about the card that pays users to spend and share responsibly.”
VITAL Card leverages the content creator economy
Sometime in 2012, the internet spawned a new business category called “the creator economy.” YouTube, TikTok, Twitch, Instagram, Facebook Live, and YouNow emerged for video streaming. Instagram, Snapchat, and Pinterest specialized in photography and graphic design. iTunes, Spotify, SoundCloud, Splice, and Pandora catered to musicians and podcasters. Twitter, Medium, and Quora hosted written content. Software tools such as iMovie, Photoshop, PicMonkey, Canva, and Garage Band enabled enthusiastic creators to flood these platforms with content.
It wasn’t long before businesses recognized these platforms as a novel source of advertising. According to Business Insider, in 2021, businesses spent $13.8 billion on influencer marketing. By the end of 2022, the industry will be worth $15 billion. VITAL Card’s business plan motivates influencers to share free of charge.
The vast majority of content creators are Millennials and Gen Zers, with 64% falling into the 39-or-younger age bracket. Tens of millions of influencers are digitally connected and actively sharing their favorite brands, but until VITAL Card, no credit card fully leveraged the power of social media marketing to reach these generations.
“An army of influencer marketers is responsible for VITAL Card’s rapid growth,” Bridges reports. “We are harnessing the power of social media. Approximately 50 million content creators are churning out videos, graphics, and messaging for social media platforms, and many of them are talking about us.”
This innovative marketing shows promising results, as VITAL boasts the most successful pre-launch of any current credit card. To date, 149,000 new members are using the card. The company’s viral coefficient rate is even more exciting, with each VITAL user generating 4.67 new users. To put that in perspective, other credit cards maintain viral coefficients averaging .01. Up to 93.81% of VITAL CARD holders are referred by other VITAL users, but across the industry, the percentage of referrals is less than 0.5%.
Millennials and Gen Z care deeply about creation, curation, connection, and community. “User-generated content about VITAL is exploding because 63% of VITAL members are ages 18 to 34,” says Bridges. “Their YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and TikTok posts are spreading the word and growing the VITAL community.”
Why members are sharing VITAL Card with friends and followers
Two bonuses are prompting Millennials and Gen Z to share the news about this new card. First, VITAL motivates its users with challenges centered around responsible spending. Members receive periodic notifications suggesting ways to improve their credit scores and financial habits. In addition, they receive 1.5% cash back on every purchase.
VITAL puts members in control of their credit and provides a path to credit limit increases. For instance, the card’s gamification features enable consumers to improve their financial decisions and, subsequently, their credit health. Members who start with a secured card can later level up to the unsecured premium card for additional rewards.
A second feature of VITAL’s gamification focuses on growing the VITAL community. VITAL rewards members when friends sign up, but also when those friends sign up others. According to Bridges, these three tiers of sharing means frequent gratification for cardholders.
Each month, VITAL takes 1% of its total community spend and gives it back to the community. “Your referral score determines how much cash you get every month,” Bridges explains. “The more you share, the higher your score, and the larger piece of the 1% cash back pie you get. Referral rewards are deposited straight into your account every month.”
The youngest generations are already a powerful force in consumer culture, and they stand to inherit over $68 trillion from the Baby Boomer parents by 2030. With VITAL poised to become the chosen spending method of Millennials and Gen Z, it’s no wonder people are watching these elegant gold, silver, black, and rose gold metal cards.
