Hey, wanna haggle?
monobank is Ukraine’s first and biggest neobank, a homegrown fintech phenomenon often compared to Revolut for its bold digital-first attitude. Launched in 2017, it is now used by almost 10 million Ukrainians.
First came the bank, then came the shop. monomarket — monobank’s built-in e-commerce platform — had spent ten months growing quietly inside the app. Now the time has come to act like a grown-up and make some noise during the back-to-school season, one of the loudest retail moments of the year.
But here’s the thing: Ukraine’s e-commerce scene is a battleground of retail giants, with Rozetka (the “Ukrainian Amazon”, whose name literally means “Socket”) leading the charge. Years of heavy ad spending have turned the market into a noisy arena — crowded, competitive, and nearly impossible to break into.
The challenge
Break mono users’ habit of buying elsewhere.
Let them know: “Psst — the monobank app has monomarket inside. With Installments (aka Pay in Parts) and free delivery, by the way.”
Let them know: “Psst — the monobank app has monomarket inside. With Installments (aka Pay in Parts) and free delivery, by the way.”
The catch? monomarket isn’t typical e-commerce.
There’s no website — just a marketplace tucked inside the app.
Which means we’re limited to app users… who often scroll right past the “Marketplace” button.
There’s no website — just a marketplace tucked inside the app.
Which means we’re limited to app users… who often scroll right past the “Marketplace” button.
The solution
mono went all-in: monobank invested its own 200 million UAH (around 5 million USD), which turns into a flat –10% in your cart on every item, no matter the price or category. Washing machine? Laptop? Go for it.
Yet how do you make such an honest, modest discount stand out during the back-to-school promo storm, when everyone else screams about “–70% OFF” (just on, you know... chargers and cables)?
People have developed banner blindness. Loud promos feel shady — tricks, mumbo jumbo, and fine print.
Our –10% could remain unnoticed in the noise.
Playing by the market’s rules would be a losing game.
So we made our own.
Our –10% could remain unnoticed in the noise.
Playing by the market’s rules would be a losing game.
So we made our own.
We stopped talking about promos and rethought the ritual. And gamified it.
Instead of a cold −10% in the cart, we invited people to:
Instead of a cold −10% in the cart, we invited people to:
HAGGLE
Same vibe as your parents proudly knocking a dollar off at a local market.
For the campaign, we dressed mono’s mascot — a cat — as a grandma. Meet the Granny Cat. Because who else has a black belt in bargaining?
She became the face of the campaign — first appearing in the app as a haggle guide from the home screen to the checkout.
Then we went out and actually taught people how to haggle.
Fact: people hate spending money.
Another fact: people love memes.
Another fact: people love memes.
When the message is serious, make it funny — that’s how it sticks.
So we tapped into Ukraine’s meme heritage and brought in Ukrainian celebrities — the kind of national icons everyone recognizes (think “the local equivalents of Ryan Reynolds energy”).
The spots don’t feel like “la classique” ads — more like something straight from your TikTok feed: fast, ironic, meme-y.
Ad noise → meme boom.
monobank isn’t “textbook classics from the last century.”
It’s about fun, irony, and rebellion.
It’s about fun, irony, and rebellion.
So the OOH matched: simple, meme-driven, delightfully trollish.
We even placed a billboard right next to our biggest rival, teasing the competition.
In the Kyiv metro, we trolled classic marketing clichés — calling out fake discounts and overused ad tricks.
We even froze memes into posters and dropped them IRL.
The results
And here’s what we haggled in the first three weeks (vs. the previous four months):
+30%
higher conversion of active users to buyers
higher conversion of active users to buyers
+66%
more orders
more orders
+41%
higher average check
higher average check
×3.3
more active users
more active users
×4.4
growth in GMV (gross merchandise volume) compared to a 6-month benchmark
growth in GMV (gross merchandise volume) compared to a 6-month benchmark
All during one of the noisiest retail seasons of the year.
Congrats, you’ve made it to the end.
Here’s to happiness, health, and scoring monomarket deals — all in your monobank app.
And if you’re hunting for more great cases — you’ll find those on our website.
And if you’re hunting for more great cases — you’ll find those on our website.
Monobank
CEO — Oleg Gorokhovsky
CMO — Misha Rogalskiy
monomarket CEO — Artem Shevchenko
monomarket PO — Glib Babiiuk
PMM — Viktoriia Vashchenko
Marketing — Anna Abramiian
Creative Writer — Anton Voronkov
Creative Manager — Anna Yanborysova
Designer — Andrii Shepel
Designer — Kolia Novikov
Designer — Andrii Lebed
CMO — Misha Rogalskiy
monomarket CEO — Artem Shevchenko
monomarket PO — Glib Babiiuk
PMM — Viktoriia Vashchenko
Marketing — Anna Abramiian
Creative Writer — Anton Voronkov
Creative Manager — Anna Yanborysova
Designer — Andrii Shepel
Designer — Kolia Novikov
Designer — Andrii Lebed
HyperNormal
Copywriter, Idea — Anna Zaporozhchenko
Copywriter — Olena Tyshchuk
Art Director — Iva Kucherenko
Designer, Motion — Sasha Dashko
Project Manager — Kostia Kotov
Strategists — Sasha Kuziva, Maryna Dyka
Creative Leader — Valentyn Paniuta
Copywriter — Olena Tyshchuk
Art Director — Iva Kucherenko
Designer, Motion — Sasha Dashko
Project Manager — Kostia Kotov
Strategists — Sasha Kuziva, Maryna Dyka
Creative Leader — Valentyn Paniuta
Limelite Production
Director — Rodion Moseyenkov
DOP — Lena Chekhovsky
Executive Producer — Vlad Bolyelov
Line Producer — Eugene Zdorovylo
Bidding Producer — Viola Filenko
1AD — Kris Ilina
Production Designer — Anastasiia July
Production Manager — Anton Chernikov
Gaffer — Yaroslav Kutnyk
AC — Ruslan Vitkovskyi
FP — Serhii Sardudinov
Playback — Oleksii Honiailo
Stylist — Lena Ignatenko
MUA — Anna Lysevych
Casting Agency — EasyCasting
Casting Director — Karina Melnychenko
Casting Manager — Nastia Zykina
Location — Serhii Bilak
BTS — Aleks Sivchenko
Edit — Max Mulderr
CC — Vlad Chernolyasov
Composer — Maksym Sikalenko
Sound Design — Cavemen records
Post-Production Studio — Casper Studio
DOP — Lena Chekhovsky
Executive Producer — Vlad Bolyelov
Line Producer — Eugene Zdorovylo
Bidding Producer — Viola Filenko
1AD — Kris Ilina
Production Designer — Anastasiia July
Production Manager — Anton Chernikov
Gaffer — Yaroslav Kutnyk
AC — Ruslan Vitkovskyi
FP — Serhii Sardudinov
Playback — Oleksii Honiailo
Stylist — Lena Ignatenko
MUA — Anna Lysevych
Casting Agency — EasyCasting
Casting Director — Karina Melnychenko
Casting Manager — Nastia Zykina
Location — Serhii Bilak
BTS — Aleks Sivchenko
Edit — Max Mulderr
CC — Vlad Chernolyasov
Composer — Maksym Sikalenko
Sound Design — Cavemen records
Post-Production Studio — Casper Studio
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