In this episode of The Future of Consumer Marketing, host Andres Figueira interviews Alf Gunnar Andersen, CEO & Founder of Horde, an intelligent personal economy app disrupting Norway’s traditional banking sector. Horde empowers consumers by aggregating all their financial data in one platform, revealing hidden costs and enabling smarter financial decisions. Operating in one of the world’s most expensive digital advertising markets, Alf shares how his team used creative guerrilla marketing tactics to compete against banks with budgets 10-15 times larger, including a viral treasure hunt campaign that generated 60,000 new users in one week.

Topics Discussed:

• Competing against established banks with unlimited marketing budgets in expensive digital markets

• Building consumer trust when disrupting a traditionally conservative industry

• Creating viral marketing campaigns with limited budgets ($100,000 vs competitors’ $100 million)

• Gamifying financial education through reward systems and behavioral psychology

• Navigating regulatory barriers while maintaining growth momentum

• Scaling fintech across European markets through upcoming PSD3 regulations

Lessons For Consumer Marketers:

Turn Your Entire Marketing Budget Into One Viral Moment

Rather than spreading their limited $100,000 budget across traditional channels, Horde concentrated everything into a single treasure hunt campaign. They hid the entire budget in cash inside a glass box in the Norwegian forest and live-streamed it, requiring app usage to find clues. This generated 60,000 new users in one week and created sustained media attention that outperformed their competitors’ much larger traditional ad spends.

Use Regulatory Friction as a Competitive Moat

Horde leveraged Norway’s strict hiring laws and regulatory complexity as strategic advantages. While these barriers make scaling harder, they also create significant moats against larger competitors who can’t simply copy their approach in new markets. The upcoming PSD3 regulation becomes an expansion opportunity rather than just compliance overhead.

Build Features That Generate PR, Not Just Revenue

Horde’s credit card cancellation feature solved a real consumer problem (unused credit lines reducing mortgage capacity) while simultaneously creating media stories. When banks tried to block their solution, it generated additional press coverage. This approach transforms product development into a content marketing strategy.

Gamify Behavioral Change, Not Just Engagement

Horde’s reward system goes beyond typical gamification by targeting specific financial behaviors: paying down debt before interest kicks in, reducing overall debt month-over-month, and completing financial literacy quizzes. Points can be redeemed for gifts or additional debt payments, creating a flywheel where engagement directly improves user financial health.

Compete in Expensive Markets Through Creative Budget Allocation

In markets where Google clicks cost $100+ (refinancing keywords), traditional digital marketing becomes unsustainable for startups. Horde’s approach shows how to redirect budget toward attention-generating stunts that create organic reach and word-of-mouth, effectively bypassing expensive paid channels.

Segment Users by Financial Behavior, Not Demographics

Horde identified distinct user segments: those in financial distress needing debt management, and credit card optimizers accumulating rewards points. Rather than age or income-based targeting, they built different product experiences and revenue models for each behavioral segment, maximizing value for both user types.

Scale Brand Building Through Authentic Values

Horde’s anti-shame approach to debt management and advocacy for financial transparency created genuine brand differentiation. Their stance on age limits for buy-now-pay-later services and criticism of predatory lending practices established thought leadership that attracts both users and media coverage.