After reporting unprecedented growth over the past year, financial comparison website finder.com.au is set to storm the US market, opening a Santa Monica office next week and rolling out a new TV campaign from Sunday.
The performance-based site, which compares products such as credit cards, home loans and insurance, claims it has 1.2 million visitors to the site each month and has a staff of more than 70.
As more brands look to leverage performance-based marketing tactics, the Australian comparison site says it is experiencing the knock on effect as it witnessed a record year for growth in 2014.
Finder co-founder and director Fred Schebesta said the company will tackle the hugely competitive US market by narrowing comparisons to specific categories including international money transfers, personal loans and internet TV, with the potential to expand to credit cards and shopping coupon codes.
Schebesta says the first US office will open with a staff of one, with the plan to grow to at least five within the year.
“We're not comparing all products in every category because that would be a massive project. We are starting with three categories and will build from there," he said.
The majority of the US products will be compared using existing technology and data collected and analysed off-shore.
He said the US will be a tougher market to crack than Australia, where people “aren't as aware” of the differences between financial products and are “slower to adopt” comparison sites.
“We kind of don't really care when banks rip us off. Australians just have a more laid back lifestyle,” he said.
The US launch will coincide with a follow up to the company's first major multimillion-dollar above-the-line media campaign which rolled out earlier this year.
Finder's third TV campaign, which includes 30-second and 60-second spots, are a departure from the ads developed by Radical Love earlier in the year which featured kids comparing candy bars against the backdrop of a old-school milk bar.
The new campaign, produced by Bowral-based creative agency one3six, features two simple ads using graphics that guide the viewer to the website.
Schebesta says the Australian business will continue to expand in the next six months, with at least 10 new staff to be added.
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