InMarketing This Week: Leaning into a crisis
Andrew Carrier
Strategic marketing and communications leader | Financial Services | Fintech
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 from London every Sunday evening at six o’clock to give you a head start on the week. Read it here, or subscribe to have it delivered straight to your inbox.
Read on to learn why:
① Uber has turned legal defeat into strategic advantage.
② Agile communications are required to ‘own’ the story then amplify it.
③ There are very few businesses that can’t be improved by having their own app.
④ Integrated wealth management could make neobanks truly compelling.
⑤ Exclusive? Even the robots are getting into Clubhouse.
⑥ Strange and weird woodland creatures built the world’s most valuable private firm.
⑦ You shouldn’t let Elon Musk make a speech at your wedding.
What’s new?
This week, The Economist applied its customary thoughtful analysis to the UK Supreme Court’s ruling that Uber drivers are workers employed by the firm rather than self-employed contractors.
① In short:
- “Instead of fighting tooth and nail, Uber made a handbrake turn, announcing on March 16th that its 70,000 drivers will be paid at least the minimum wage, get a pension and receive holiday pay. The company will contact current and former drivers to offer them cash payments in lieu of holiday pay for the time they have worked for the firm.”
- “Now it looks as though a combination of the judiciary and the market may improve conditions in the gig economy. Uber’s new package for drivers goes beyond what many campaigners had expected. The firm hopes that its retrospective, across-the-board decision will not only see off potential new litigation but also make it a more attractive employer than rivals such as Bolt and Ola ahead of what is set to be a busy summer as the economy reopens.”
- “Uber is seeking to turn a legal defeat into a strategic opportunity. A firm that prides itself on having disrupted urban transport may now disrupt the gig economy.”
Why does it matter?
I had originally intended to berate Uber for its customer communications after the ruling. Very quickly, emails were sent out positioning the company as taking a voluntary lead on workers’ rights when, in fact, they had been forced by the highest court in the land to change their ways. But that was before I’d read The Economist’s article and understood the extent to which Uber has leaned into a situation which many would have treated as a crisis.
② By going above and beyond what was expected of it and then leveraging their formidable communications team to get the message out quickly, Uber has turned a thorny legal problem into a strategic advantage over its competitors. They have managed to take control of the narrative and ‘own’ the story.
It takes pretty agile communications to get one of the most respected weekly news magazines in the world to write about you as the saviour of the gig economy.
It’s also pulled-off quite the PR coup in the process. Having suffered a high-profile and embarrassing legal defeat, it takes pretty agile communications to get one of the most respected weekly news magazines in the world to write about you as the saviour of the gig economy.
Albert Einstein - who, when asked about a particularly challenging problem, apparently replied “in the midst of every crisis, lies great opportunity” - would be proud. Good work, Uber.
What’s next?
Take action
The lesson from Uber’s week is simple enough. When faced with a crisis, lean in, don’t run away from it. If you can’t avoid an outcome, at least take ownership of it and steer it to your advantage. And, as with so many strategic decisions, entrust your Communications team to shape the story and to amplify it via the key channels at their disposal: press, social media, and direct client communications.
Get help
I’m currently looking for a full-time, in-house role but in the post-Covid age of depleted marketing budgets and remote teams with skills gaps, many organisations need marketing and communications support that’s agile, flexible, and risk free. That’s why I founded WhatsNext Partners.
Whether it be as a permanent member of your team or with 'on demand' support, let me know if you need my help.
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What else?
Three other new articles that are worthy of your time.
FINANCE
AJ Bell acquires platform phone app developer Adalpha
③ There are very few businesses that can’t be improved by having their own app.
- “AJ Bell has bought Adalpha, a start-up company developing a mobile platform proposition for financial advisers, for an undisclosed fee.”
- “AJ Bell said the acquisition was focused on improving its service to financial advisers, rather than its D2C proposition.”
- “The platform business, which has ￡55bn assets under administration between its adviser and D2C platforms, said Adalpha's ‘simplified proposition’ has the potential to complement its existing adviser platform business.”
TECHNOLOGY
New challenger Ikigai combines digital banking and wealth management
④ Integrated wealth management could make neobanks truly compelling.
- “Targeting future and present high-net-worth individuals, Ikigai consists of a current account and savings account, with adjacent wealth management features, all combined in a single app and card.”
- “There is very little on the market that provides a modern digital-first banking experience and the kind of premium banking services typically offered by legacy banks to their more affluent customers.”
- “Ikigai also offers ‘fully managed, globally diversified investment portfolios’. Portfolios are built and managed by Ikigai in collaboration with BlackRock.”
MEDIA & MARKETING
Tinkoff’s Voice Assistant Oleg is now Available in Clubhouse
⑤ Even the robots are getting into Clubhouse.
- “Tinkoff, an online financial ecosystem, has integrated its voice assistant Oleg into Clubhouse, making it the first voice assistant, speech recognition and synthesis solution available in this audio-chat social network.”
- “Oleg will be a full-fledged user helping room creators to communicate and moderate discussions in Clubhouse utilising its text-to-speech and speech-to-text capabilities in real-time.”
- “Tinkoff’s voice assistant will be able to enter rooms, transcribe speech in real-time, and stream the text in his ‘Oleg in the Clubhouse’ Telegram channel. He can also moderate Clubhouse rooms, voice questions to speakers, remind users about time limits, regulations, etc.”
Quotable
⑥ John Collison, co-founder of payments firm Stripe which became the most valuable private company in Silicon Valley this week ($95bn if you’re wondering), on his staff:
“They are the strange and weird woodland creatures who are payments fanatics.”
One more thing…
⑦ Henry Mance could give Lucy Kellaway a run for her money when it comes to mocking self important corporate-speak . He’s written a delightful teardown of “the fratboy folly of Tesla’s self-anointed Technoking” for the FT this week.
- “The new job titles are to humour what Dubai’s shopping malls are to taste. They have all the subtle wit of a freshman vomiting into a plastic pint glass.”
- “You just know these guys laugh every time they see the number 69 on a balance sheet.”
- “Don’t let Musk give a speech at your wedding. Even if you’re marrying him.”
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 evening to give you a head start on the week. Read it here, or have it delivered straight to your inbox at six, before it's available anywhere else.
InMarketing is a broader celebration of marketing that innovates, interacts and influences. It's available on Twitter, on LinkedIn, and as a Flipboard magazine.