A payment processor popular with online sellers and small businesses called Square is kicking off a national TV advertising campaign on Monday. A spokesperson for the company told EcommerceBytes the ads are designed to highlight the magic that occurs between buyers and sellers.
The 15-second spots will air on national cable channels including Fox Business, CNBC, Discovery Health & Fitness, NBC Sports (Versus), History, Travel, Bravo, CMT, and AMC. The campaign includes primetime airing.
The ads focus on the customer experience that Square helps businesses create across the country. They feature small businesses, including services as well as retailers: a wedding dress designer; a hobby shop; a surfing instructor; a music teacher; a nature guide; and a stylist.
“Selling Made Simple” is the tagline, with the words “Start accepting credit cards today” included in each spot. The ads prominently demonstrate the Square card reader that attaches to sellers’ smart phones and used to swipe shoppers’ credit cards in person.
The six videos are also available for viewing on YouTube. Clicking on the videos takes viewers to the Square homepage that includes a pitch at the top for sellers. It explains merchants can sell on the go using an iPhone, iPad or Android device; sell in store using an iPad at point-of-sale; and selling online via Square Market. That section of the homepage is followed underneath by links to Square Market, an online marketplace where merchants can list their items for sale at no cost.
Here are links to the new Square TV ads on YouTube: Nature Guide, Designer, Music Teacher, Surf Instructor, Hobby Shop and Stylist.
In a recent interview with EcommerceBytes, Square founder Jack Dorsey said the company’s original service was Square Register, an app that allows anyone to sell offline. With the launch of Square Market, it found its service attracting online merchants as well.
eBay had tapped actor Jeff Goldblum in 2012 when it ran its first national ad campaign for its payment service PayPal. Neither company devotes much toward television marketing in the U.S. these days, while ecommerce site Rakuten is currently testing TV ads in a couple of markets.
