The story started with a number that should have been bigger news than it was. Last year, Zelle processed over $1 trillion in payments—the most ever sent by any person-to-person payment service in a single year. More than 3.6 billion transactions, but here’s the thing: the technology isn’t the story. The human connection is.
That insight sits at the center of Zelle’s new “When It Counts” brand platform, launching today through work from Pereira O’Dell. It’s the debut of a platform that repositions America’s most-used peer-to-peer payment network from utility to trusted cultural presence.
Beyond the Transaction
Andrea Gilman, Chief Marketing Officer at Early Warning Services, frames the evolution simply: “Zelle has become an essential and embedded tool that is helping Americans show up when it matters most.”
The campaign shows this through quiet moments—paying a babysitter, splitting rent with a roommate, sending money to family far from home. These aren’t flashy fintech moments. They’re quiet acts of care that power what Gilman calls “the people-to-people economy.”
The Network Effect That Actually Matters
What sets Zelle apart isn’t another app to download. It’s how the money moves: through a network of more than 2,300 banks and credit unions, each embedded in the communities they serve. The structure enables reliable, fast money movement between two bank accounts without needing a separate app or digital wallet.
That network effect becomes the campaign’s strategic foundation. “When It Counts” will run across connected TV, online video, YouTube, Meta and owned channels, with additional amplification from those 2,300 financial institutions—giving the campaign local reach through institutions already embedded in communities nationwide.
Timing That Counts
The campaign launches during what Pereira O’Dell and Zelle recognize as a season of transition—back to school, back to work, back into the financial juggling act that comes before the holidays. In these moments of emotional and financial complexity, families and communities lean on one another more.
Zelle positions itself not as the hero of these stories, but as the infrastructure that makes the support possible. It’s a subtle distinction that reflects the brand’s maturation from startup disruptor to embedded utility.
The Partnership That Built This
Pereira O’Dell has served as Zelle’s creative agency of record since 2019, building this relationship through multiple campaign cycles and business evolution. That six-year partnership culminates in “When It Counts”—a platform that positions payment technology as infrastructure for human connection rather than the star of the show.
Instead, “When It Counts” captures the specific emotional territories where digital payments actually matter: the moments when showing up for someone requires more than good intentions.
Learn more
Pereira O’Dell
Agency LinkedIn
Contact: newbiz@pereiraodell.com
- About the Author
- Latest Posts
