The moment the SoFi brand begins to 'run on its own'—the true meaning behind 9.6%
"Unaided Brand Awareness"—
This is a concept that is difficult to translate directly, but if one were to put it into Japanese, it is close to "spontaneous brand awareness."
It is a metric that measures "brands that come to mind" without giving the user any hints.
For example,
when asked without any premise, "If you were to use a financial service, please name three companies that come to mind,"
the brands that are naturally recalled—that is "Unaided Brand Awareness" (hereinafter referred to as spontaneous brand awareness).
The important point is that it is a "brand already in the mind" rather than one recalled after seeing an advertisement.
<SoFi's brand awareness is growing rapidly>
SoFi places great importance on this metric, and its value has been rising rapidly in recent years.
As of 2024, management explains that it has expanded approximately fourfold compared to 2021. Even recently, it has increased by about 40% year-on-year, reaching approximately 9.6% as of the fourth quarter of 2025.
This is an extremely high growth rate for a financial institution.
<Why is Unaided Brand Awareness important?>
This metric is important because it is closely related to customer acquisition costs. Generally, at a stage where brand awareness is low, customer acquisition depends on advertising.
However, once awareness reaches a certain level, inflows from word-of-mouth and referrals increase, and dependence on advertising decreases.
As a result,
・Decrease in customer acquisition costs
・Increase in customer acquisition via referrals
・Improvement in profit margins
such changes become more likely to occur.
<SoFi's marketing investment is at a high level>
Previously, I looked at each of SoFi's expense items in detail.
Among them, the one that continues to show particularly strong growth and maintains 30% of sales is "Sales & Marketing (Sales & Marketing expenses ≒ advertising expenses)".
On the other hand, major U.S. banks such as J.P. Morgan and Bank of America have advertising and promotion expenses that are only a few percent of their sales.
However, because there are differences in accounting classifications, a simple comparison is not possible. Also, due to differences in current brand awareness and business models, they cannot be compared unconditionally.
Even so, it is clear that SoFi is investing in customer acquisition at a high level.
<Changes that may occur in the future>
Although SoFi currently spends a large amount on advertising and promotion, if brand awareness rises further, the structure of customer acquisition itself may change.
In other words, a shift from acquisition dependent on "advertising" to acquisition starting from "referrals and word-of-mouth".
There is no clear standard, but it is said that such changes are likely to occur when spontaneous brand awareness reaches a certain level. Around 10% is often considered a level where word-of-mouth becomes easier to spread.
The 9.6% level for SoFi suggests that it is beginning to enter its initial phase.
<The moment a brand begins to 'run on its own'>
In the 2025 earnings call, CEO Anthony Noto stated regarding unaided brand awareness,'We want to grow that into the mid-20s, and if we do that, we will likely be in the top 10 financial institutions.'
Beyond these changes lies what Noto calls 'Escape Velocity.'
Escape velocity is a term originally from physics that refers to the speed required to break free from gravity.
When applied to business, it signifies a state where a brand reaches a certain level of awareness and growth is sustained without relying heavily on external investments such as advertising.
<2026 could be a turning point>
If the current growth rate continues, SoFi's brand awareness will reach the 10% range during 2026.
This means entering a phase where improvements in customer acquisition efficiency begin to appear in earnest.
Specifically, changes such as
• Lower customer acquisition costs
• Lower Sales & Marketing ratio
• Operating leverage increasing further
• Higher profit margins
may begin to appear more clearly.
2026 could be the year SoFi enters the initial phase of transitioning from 'advertising-led growth' to 'brand-led growth.'
While the Adjusted EBITDA margin is expected to rise to 34.4% in 2026, it is believed that there is still room for further improvement as these structural changes progress.
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