InMarketing This Week: CIM's Marketing Leaders' Summit 2020

Innovate > Interact > Influence

Written for CEOs, marketers and other leaders in the financial sector, InMarketing This Week is a showcase for news likely to impact them - delivered with insight on why it matters and ideas on what to do about it.

It’s published here every Sunday to give you a head start on the week ahead. If you would like it delivered straight to your inbox, subscribe here.

What’s new?

This week, I'm throwing out the carefully considered - honed over weeks of relentless toil and experimentation - format of IMTW (hey, it's my briefing, I'm allowed to break the rules) to focus on just one topic: the Chartered Institute of Marketing's Financial Services Group's Marketing Leaders Summit 2020. The online event, which took place last Wednesday, was hosted by Jacob Howard and moderated by Tony Jarvis, Aimee Peters and Christoph Woermann. It brought together an impressive lineup of speakers to cover an unusually broad agenda:

• What next for financial news? A conversation with Francesco Guerrera
• Promoting financial literacy Featuring Andrew Hebden and Fiona Hickley
• Digital content marketing in the post-Covid19 world A panel discussion with Eric Fulwiler, Ciaran Rogers, and Gunnar Steven
• The editors' view A discussion amongst financial journalists Julie Chariell, Faisal Islam, Jason Karaian, and James Kynge
• What are financial services marketers looking for in their external media partnerships in the post-Covid19 world? With in-house marketers Winfried Daun, Alison Harbert, and Helena Jarabakova
• Brand, vision, and culture in financial services Featuring brand specialists Josh Dibbens, Lareena Hilton, and David Wheldon

Session summaries

FINANCE

Promoting financial literacy

TAKEAWAY: Be bold and brave when choosing partners to extend your reach

The most eye-opening session of the day focused on the, at first glance somewhat unlikely, partnership between the Bank of England, Tes and Beano Studios. The organisations have come together to teach primary school children about finance, producing a set of 12 lessons and various games for kids called Money and Me.

As Andrew Hebden of the Bank of England explained, the challenge was how to make their message accessible without dumbing it down. "We need to simplify our message but, in so doing, we have to be very careful because our messages are often quite nuanced." The Bank specifically chose to work with partners because it wanted to broaden its reach. "We have a reputation that dates back to 1694," said Hebden. "That's very valuable, you can't build that from scratch. So, we have to embrace it but also portray a modern and diverse institution."

"We would love to see the kids come out the other end making better financial decisions."

Fiona Hickley from Beano Studios, speaking like any good marketer, said "the way we tell our story is by really knowing our audience." The only difference being that in this case, the audience was primary school children. "Be clear and be honest," she concluded.

The initiative has got off to a strong start with 60,000 downloads in the first month and Hebden says there are plans to develop it further. The measure of real success may have to wait a few years, however. "Ultimately," said Hepden, "we would love to see the kids come out the other end making better financial decisions."

The editors' view

TAKEAWAY: With vaccines on the horizon and Biden in the White House, 2021 should see economic recovery and a 'battle for banking' between tech firms and incumbents

The second session to focus purely on finance took us from the classrooms of England to newsrooms around the world as four financial editors discussed the big trends of 2020, starting - as you might expect - with Covid-19.

The session kicked off with optimism. "The coronavirus vaccine has happened far quicker than anyone expected," said Faisal Islam of the BBC. "That it happened during the pandemic is absolutely stratospheric in terms of economic impact it could have." James Kynge of the FT was similarly upbeat, noting that "The Chinese economy is roaring back" and suggesting that by delivering vaccines and helping with debt in Africa, China can take steps to rehabilitate its image on the world stage.

The positivity continued as the panel turned to consider the US. "Biden's cabinet picks are people who are well versed in crisis management," said Jason Karaian of the New York Times, noting that he expected them to "go big, early" with economic stimulus.

"Millennials and Gen Zs don't trust credit cards or big banks. Big Tech's involvement could be a positive."

Considering finance more specifically, Julie Chariell of Bloomberg LP proclaimed the 'battle for banking' one of the big shifts for 2021. "In the UK, the challenger banks are getting pretty close to the incumbent banks in terms of the offering," she said. "The wallet providers like PayPal are now getting closer and closer to banking; they're even moving into payroll." Chariell went on to outline another army in the battle: the new lenders offering 'buy now, pay later' services. "Millennials and Gen Zs love this way to pay. They don't trust credit cards or big banks," she said, adding that Google's recently announced Plex (which I covered a couple of weeks ago) would be a good way for big banks to catch up. "Big Tech's involvement could be a positive; we should see more partnerships."

The only faintly dark reflections were reserved for when the panellists looked back at 2020, with James Kynge noting that "the pandemic was disastrous for journalism that relies on sources." Chariell agreed, adding that "you miss the body language which can tell you something. And now everyone is a little webinar-ed out." Not me though, dear reader, not me; your coverage continues...

TECHNOLOGY

Digital content marketing in the post-Covid19 world

TAKEAWAY: Never lose sight of fundamentals, keep your clients foremost in mind and use digital to tailor your content and its delivery to them

There was only one session specifically focused on technology and that's as it should be. I wholeheartedly agree with Eric Fulwiler of 11:FS who said he hoped "pretty soon we stop talking about digital marketing and just start talking about marketing." His point being that digital is now so integral to how marketers approach their job that it is no longer a distinct function.

Ciaran Rogers of Target Internet was the first to question using digital channels simply for the sake of it, noting that "it all boils down to the fact that you're trying to reach people. We need to get back to getting our message across to people." Building on this idea, Fulwiler suggested that the fundamentals of marketing haven't changed but "the attention, and where it is, have changed." Post-Covid, there is no doubt that the attention is online.

“Challenger brands create much more bespoke content, incumbents tend not to.”

The advantage of using digital channels - one that too few marketers are using - is that it affords a much greater degree of personalisation. "Sometimes we’re not aware of how much the current marketing ecosystem is set up by a completely different, TV-centric era,” said Fulwiler. “We now have the ability to create much more bespoke content. Challenger brands take advantage of that, incumbents tend not to.”

Digital isn't only a tool for reaching our audiences with bespoke messages, however. As Gunnar Steven of Société Générale pointed out, it can also be an effective way of understanding the issues preoccupying complex wholesale clients. Rogers agreed, lamenting how little personas are used and stating that "you need a much greater focus on the customer and matching the customer with the right solution."

MEDIA & MARKETING

What next for financial news?

TAKEAWAY: Run content marketing like you would a proper newsroom

The summit began (in Christopher Nolan-esque style, I'm reporting on the sessions in the order it suits me, not as they actually occurred) with some fascinating perspectives from Dow Jones' Head of International, Francesco Guerrera.

He talked about how the pandemic had led to a polarisation, a balkanisation of the news. "My theory is that it happened because people were so isolated," he said. "The echo chamber amplifies and you lose the 'serendipity of news' you have when you commute and meet people."

"Your readers are very savvy, they will click away in a second."

It wasn't long before Peters and Woermann were pushing Guerrera for tips that would help the audience of financial markers. "Your readers are very savvy, they will click away in a second so the closer you are to real news, the better," said Guerrera. "Run your content marketing like a proper newsroom, hire journalists."

What are financial services marketers looking for in their external media partnerships in the post-Covid19 world?

TAKEAWAY: Choose media partners that compliment your own capabilities

Even the most accomplished content marketing programme can't replicate the reach of a real media organisation. That's why marketers sometimes turn to external media suppliers to help them deliver new audiences. This session aimed to identify the criteria on which those partners should be judged.

"It's all about lead acquisition."

For UBS' Winfried Daun the answer is editorial credibility and the ability to create truly compelling content together. "You constantly have to raise the bar. But we are always conscious of anything that feels too gimmicky. We go for things that have legs."

Investec's Alison Herbert was after data that leads to being able to interact with the 'right' attendees. "I’d like a media partner to give us insight into an audience’s interests, data on the quality of the interaction we can have with them," she said.

CME Group's Helena Jarabakova cut straight to the chase, saying that she looks for media partners that are well positioned to deliver leads. "For us, it's all about lead acquisition."

Brand, vision, and culture in financial services

TAKEAWAY: Brands are built on a company's culture so internal buy-in is critical but ultimately it's the customer that must benefit

The final session of the day considered culture and how it is reflected in brands. The pandemic meant that Deutsche Bank's Lareena Hilton had to pivot her brand purpose work to ensure it remained relevant. "It allowed us to demonstrate the bank's response to a pandemic," she said. "The reaction of employees has been really positive. It's unified them despite working from home."

"It's the customer that must feel the love."

Blackrock's Josh Dibbens described the asset manager's work on sustainability and social impact. "We've invested around ￡2.5m in local charities. We want to help build more diverse and inclusive workforces and industries," he said.

While agreeing that these kinds of brand and culture initiatives were commendable, David Wheldon couldn't help noting that most of them should have happened before the pandemic. Indeed, it was left to Wheldon - after having impressed upon them that 'culture' must come from the very top of an organisation - to remind the audience of the most important takeaway: "It's the customer that must feel the love of the rebuilding of a culture."

Quotable

Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States:

"The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do."

About

Written for CEOs, marketers and other leaders in the financial sector, InMarketing This Week is a showcase for news likely to impact them - delivered with insight on why it matters and ideas on what to do about it.

It’s published every Sunday to give you a head start on the week. Read it here, or have it delivered straight to your inbox.

InMarketing is a broader celebration of marketing that innovates, interacts and influences. It's available on Twitter, on LinkedIn, and as a Flipboard magazine.