Thoughts

Industry Viewpoints: Creating an Effective Blog

Posted by Anu Heda on Dec 27, 2016, in Best Blogs of the Week, Thoughts , tagged with BlackRock, SSGA, Vanguard

Last month I was fortunate to present thoughts and ideas on industry blogs to 20+ marketers at a break-out session of PAICR‘s annual meeting. Obviously, writing the “Best Blogs of the Week” column for five years informed my point of view. And so much has changed in these five years. Two quick examples of change; first, when I started there were 6 asset managers with blogs; now there are over 40. Second, five years ago most blog posts were authored by “admin” with no graphs, charts, or tables; now that would be unconscionable.

The hour-long session was interactive and engaging. I appreciated the high volume of questions and even some attendees offering answers. Here are three notable takeaways, from the attendees.

“Blogs are not serious.” – This is a message one CEO said to his marketing team (yes, in 2016). Some firms will need generational change at the top echelons of management for this attitude to change. Apparently showcasing BlackRock, Vanguard, and SSgA as firms maintaining vigorous blogs isn’t sufficient anecdotal evidence.
“Our blog is our content engine.” – This came from a firm with a high-volume blog in reference to their content syndication program. The Marketer made reference to the blog as central to all social and e-mail campaign efforts.
“Three years in; we still don’t feel efficient [in creating posts].” – This message had over half the room nodding heads. Some firms leverage outsourced writers while others have in-house staff partnered with investment professionals. In both cases (and situations in-between) there’s a sense that too much time and effort goes into each post.

So while the industry has grown to use blogs in unbelievable (to five years ago) ways, I believe we’ll see more firms introduce blogs and currently blogging firms try to become more efficient.

5 Biggest Topics from Marketers at MFEA

Posted by Anu Heda on Dec 04, 2016, in Thoughts , tagged with MFEA

In late October, I attended the Mutual Fund Education Alliance (MFEA) Annual Marketing Council event (Nothing better than Chicago during the Cubs run towards greatness). Over a month later, five topics have remained in my mind. If you have thoughts or questions on them, please let us know. We’d love to discuss them.

Topic 1 – DOL regulatory changes – This topic seemed most prominent as all marketers I spoke with mentioned thinking about how marketing will change as many advisors change their business models. Many discussed an inclination to begin 2017 with a renewed investment in Marketing towards platform creators and home offices in lieu of efforts in the field. Others were contemplating value-add programs as advisors become responsible for the “best interests” of clients. Nobody is taking an ostrich approach.

Topic 2 – Behavioral finance continues to mystify – Through the best-selling efforts of Dan Ariely, Richard Thaler, and the Freakonomics team, behavioral economics has become increasingly mainstream. Many were familiar with the concepts discussed during an engaging presentation by Stephen Wendel. Yet, maybe 2 – 3 attendees had any plans to use the concepts in their Marketing plans. Everyone else found the topics and accompanying anecdotes simply amusing.

Topic 3 – Measurement – This is a tough one for me to observe. We’ve discussed Marketing measurement for over a decade with no de rigeur KPIs rising to the surface. One firm may resign itself to measuring client digital activity, while another uses sophisticated longitudinal brand surveys. This one seems to be a function of budget and senior management’s mandate.

Topic 4 – Customer journey mapping – A technique long used by marketers to connect information across siloes by gaining a comprehensive view of the complete journey across communication channels has come to asset management. Presentations by Lazard Asset Management and OppenheimerFunds were received with a lot of nodding heads, note-taking and practical questions. Afterwards, I received multiple questions on the nuances of creating a journey map, leading me to believe many organizations are beyond the “should we?” and are now at the “how?” step.

Topic 5 – Technology – Seemingly everyone has invested in automation software from companies such as Marketo and Eloqua. Attendees noted paying prices and experiencing highly different implementation timeframes from one another, for the same software.

Overall, MFEA events are very worthwhile. If you have not attended, consider the events forthcoming in 2017.

The Last Podcast Post We Need to Write

Posted by Mike McLaughlin on Dec 04, 2016, in Thoughts , tagged with JPMorgan, podcasts

The macro picture surrounding podcasts is pretty astounding. There are now hundreds of thousands of podcasts globally with total downloads now over a billion. On a monthly basis more than 1 in 5 US adults listens to at least one.^[1]

This penetration has kept podcasts on the radar of the industry’s Marketing teams for years. And while I understand that inclination, I think it’s about time to admit that the industry as a whole has been unsuccessful in leveraging podcasts as a client engagement tool.

First, consider current deployment. I indexed the 20 largest firms via a simple question: does the firm have an active podcast that can be found on iTunes? Note that I excluded firms with a significant direct channel (e.g., Vanguard and Fidelity) and defined “active” (generously) as having published at least once in the past 6 months.

The answer turns out to be 2. Or really 1.5, because one of those is Goldman Sachs, which produces a regular podcast that is frequently unrelated to its asset management business. If you exclude them, you’re left with JPMorgan who in 2016 has produced:

24 audio podcasts ranging from 7 – 42 minutes, primarily focusing on insight from David Kelly
24 video podcasts that run the gamut from short marketing messages to video commentary

Two other top 20 firms published and abandoned podcasts over the course of the past year. It’s pretty clear to me that podcasts fall short as a useful marketing tool for asset managers, and I see two simple reasons why:

Heavily Scripted Content is Boring: Podcasting is, generally, a platform that thrives on the energy and interactivity of the hosts. Within our industry, however, it’s easy to tell almost immediately that there’s an iron-clad script driving the conversation. The energy of a legitimate give-and-take or engaging monologue is all but absent.
The Lack of Visuals is a Disadvantage: Discussing the markets and investments is typically data-intensive. Data-intensive conversations are best supported at least in part by visuals (graphs, charts, tables, etc.), none of which translate to an audio-only medium. Therefore an asset management podcast is usually mentally taxing to track.

So it is time to give up on podcasting? I do believe that the best answer is a simple YES. However, for those still inclined to pursue it, there are two avenues to consider:

Focus on Non-Investment Content: Hands-down the best industry podcast I’ve listened to is this JPMorgan episode on the spending habits of retirement plan participants. Unburdened by the careful avoidance of investment recommendations, the two hosts are actually able to have a real conversation that includes banter and personality. It strikes me that broader value-add is a better opportunity than hard-hitting investment insight.
Consider a Brand-Building Approach: Prudential produces a paid podcast via Slate as part of a broader marketing effort. While not a perfect analogy for intermediary-focused asset managers, the Prudential effort points to the potential feasibility of leveraging sponsorship and the $35 million podcasting advertising market^[2] as a means to build overall brand awareness. This has some appeal at a time when many firms are at least thinking about how to strengthen their images among individual investors.

I value a contrarian perspective as much as anyone, but aside from the two just-noted considerations I think the industry can leave the “opportunity” of podcasting alone.

A Sea of Sameness: Marketing Multi-Asset Class Solutions

Posted by Mike McLaughlin on Dec 04, 2016, in Thoughts , tagged with multi-asset class solutions, positioning, product

In recent years survey after survey has shown that both asset managers and institutions alike anticipate significant growth in multi-asset class solutions (MACS). BlackRock has projected MACS to account for 25% of net new business within five years. It’s no surprise, then, that more and more firms (FundFire login required) are investing in their MACS businesses.

However, one element that appears to not be getting enough focus from the industry is the actual positioning and messaging of MACS. So I dissected how 11 high-profile providers initially introduce their capabilities. The result? Differentiated messaging is almost non-existent.

The goal was not to be exhaustive in analyzing the stories, nor to dig through tertiary details, but instead to catalogue the central elements. The sameness across the firms became apparent quickly:

Despite the perceived opportunity, firms repeatedly fall back on consistent elements in messaging MACS. Trumpeting a collaborative process, a focus on client needs, or the size of the investment team does very little to distance one firm from the next.

Of course there are exceptions. For example, two of the firms provide strong specificity on risk management up-front in presenting MACS. But they are the exceptions. And so while there is a major opportunity to pursue with MACS, thus far the marketing does little to reflect that.

Favorite Beers of Fall 2016

Posted by Anu Heda on Dec 04, 2016, in Thoughts

Beers! As we head into winter, we thought to each share our three favorite beers of the fall. Let us know if you have others to add or follow either of us on untappd.

Top 3 Beers: Anu

Transmitter – PH1 Dry Hopped Sour – From a very young Queens brewery, this is an acerbic delight. It’s a sour ale but not fruity with characteristics of a malty pale ale.

Folksbier – Echo Maker – From an even younger Brooklyn brewery, I enjoy the rye bread and slightly spicy parts of this beer. It has a sufficient hop profile to sort of wash away the immediate rye flavors and ready you for the next sip.

Beers via Lost Abbey Brasserie Dupont / Lost Abbey – Deux Amis – Saison is my favorite beer style. It’s a farmhouse ale categorized with a low-hop profile (not bitter) and highly malty. This is my favorite saison for 2016; maybe my favorite new beer of 2016. Deux Amis is simultaneously a beer geek’s beer and great for new craft beer explorers.

Top 3 Beers: Mike

I’m going to cheat slightly here in that most of the fall beers I had were either forgettable or ones I’ve been enjoying for years. I also need to figure out how to make my lesser palette sound interesting compared to Anu’s notes.

Off Color– Sibling Rivalry – Let’s start with my home state and the style that got me excited about beer (tripel). One BeerAdvocate review somehow includes 14 different elements in describing the aroma and taste. I’ll just say this is an “American” tripel, which means you get a little less of the traditional sweetness, a little more hops, and still a very nice beer.

Boulevard – Bourbon Barrel Quad – Cheat #1 here, as I’ve loved this beer for years. However, I only sporadically see it in large format, 25 oz. bottles. Until now! Boulevard, an excellent Kansas City brewery, now sells the BBQ in 4-packs. The bourbon is lighter than other barrel-aged beers but a great domestic quad is a very hard beer to find.

The Bruery – 9 Ladies Dancing – Cheat #2 here, as this is sitting unopened in my fridge. On the plus side this is one of my two or three favorite breweries and is part of their awesome 12 Days of Christmas series. On the downside there is a coffee element since this beer is modeled after tiramisu. It promises to be interesting in either a very good or very bad way.