Wonga Branding

Not many payday loan companies have the kind of mainstream recognition that Wonga have. They have the kind of brand recognition and loyalty that is usually reserved for high street shops.

Part of their popularity is down to some very clever advertising over the years. Between stylish TV adverts and tongue-in-cheek radio adverts, they’ve obviously spent a lot on getting the Wonga brand out there and recognised.

Ironically, it may be that one of Wonga’s most popular adverts, and most successful adverts, wasn’t actually one of theirs in the first place! The (terrible) advert for Envirofone ended up getting the word ‘WONGA’ into everyone’s heads. Which was only a good thing for wonga.com. Instead of driving people towards sending their phones in for cash, they kept on unintentionally plugging Wonga.

Football the Wonga Way

Football advertising has obviously been important for Wonga as well, as it ensures that they not only get their brand out there, visually, on the shirts, but also get regular coverage. This is obviously useful for any company that operates online.

This is all before the masterstroke of no longer referring to their products as ‘payday loans’. Instead, Wonga uses ‘microloans’ or ‘microfinances’. While there are differences between the products, it’s telling that Errol Damelin, the Wonga.com founder, has been able to get a number of serious interviews in newspapers and technological magazines – something that would have been impossible had they still been obviously selling ‘payday loans’.

Being this visible as a company obviously comes with a downside. While they’re able to distance themselves a little from payday loans, Wonga is still the obvious target for newspapers and the media whenever they run a negative story about the industry.

There are obvious positives with Wonga. They’re extremely fast, and can get their cash to you in fifteen minutes. They’re also a well established brand, which means that there’s a trust there that can be difficult for other companies to match.

Wonga Criteria

Wonga are also clear about the fact that they do have a relatively high set of criteria in order to be approved, which means that you may not stand the same chance of being accepted as elsewhere.

This is where it may come in useful to apply with MyPayday. One of the major lenders that we work with is Wonga, as well as many others. This means that you may stand a higher chance of being approved, as if you get turned down by Wonga, you still may be accepted by another lender.

Also, it’s important to remember that, with MyPayday, you won’t pay anything extra than if you apply directly. No extra charges, no membership – nothing. You’ll be treated exactly the same as if you applied directly.

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