video

predictions

Three (Industry-Relevant) Marketing Trends for 2017

Posted by Mike McLaughlin on Jan 15, 2017, in Thoughts , tagged with , , ,

Predictions are an interest of mine and of course this time of year there are predictions everywhere about everything. Over the past few weeks I’ve digested more articles about marketing trends than I care to admit. The writing tends to be aggressive and the ideas are all over the place, ranging from better content to Snapchat to optimizing Web sites for Echo and Home voice-triggered searches.

Of course articles tailored to asset management are hard to come by. So after digesting all of these predictions, I thought to highlight the most common ones with potential (or ongoing) relevance to our industry. I ended up with three, so let’s count them down:

3. Mobile

Mobile remains important for well-known reasons, namely the continued growth of mobile Web traffic and search providers’ prioritization of mobile-friendly sites and results.

So what’s relevant for asset managers? Firms know the value of a responsive Web site. However, client-facing mobile apps have largely been a difficult obstacle. You can certainly count me as a skeptic as far as the opportunity to engage advisors and institutions via apps, especially when those apps typically do little but repackage information already available on the site.

But successful apps (outside the industry) deliver a better user experience and attract stickier usage than good Web sites. In addition, Google now offers app indexing. While I don’t think we’ll see any significant progress with client-facing apps in the near future, I do expect that they’ll remain a periodic topic of conversation with firms hoping to figure out a way to deploy them effectively.

2. Native Advertising

Ad blocking, increased competition on social media platforms and other factors are making it more challenging for traditional ads to get through and attract attention. Already a major factor with diverse execution methods, some project native advertising will make up nearly three-quarters of US ad revenue within five years.

So what’s relevant for asset managers? Developing compelling content and messaging has been an industry focal point for a while now. Marketing teams now find themselves at a point where creativity in promotion and placement is at least as important as creating the content / message itself.

Adoption of native advertising has been gradual within asset management. Given the intensity of the competition today, it seems that now is the time for it to accelerate.

1. Video

Ah, a topic that we’ve been talking about since the day Naissance began. The continued importance of video was a mainstay of almost every predictions piece I read. More content, more ads, more live streaming… all supported by an army of statistics on why video is so effective.

So what’s interesting for asset managers? I am actually a little stumped. On the one hand, video came up in no fewer than 5 client meetings last month. It’s on a lot of firms’ radars.

On the other hand I’ve already gone on record with why I think video isn’t done all that well across the industry. And if you exclude entertainment there’s still solid evidence that people prefer reading to watching.

Video ads certainly are an opportunity. But unless we see firms venture down the live streaming path or get creative in terms of presentation and format, this is one trend where I expect less interesting progress.

The Top 3 Videos of 2016 (So Far)

Posted by Mike McLaughlin on Aug 08, 2016, in Thoughts , tagged with , , , , ,

Over the past few weeks I’ve spent A LOT of time looking at asset managers’ video content. I learned many things, but the most fun question to consider is a simple one: which videos are the best?

Below is a wholly subjective Top 3 list based on content posted to the YouTube catalogs of 25 firms since the start of 2016. Before we get there, a few quick thoughts:

  • There is a high-degree of sameness. Lots of talking heads covering lots of the same issues in similar formats. In fairness it’s not all that easy to be truly original with video in this industry.
  • Scripts are limiting. Having non-actors who are required to stick to a tight script is often a detriment in terms of being able to connect with presenters. Looser presentations have a little more snap to them.
  • Nothing is viral. It seems 98% of the video have view counts in the three figures (or less).
  • Production values are universally strong. Firms have mastered incorporating different angles, music, graphics, quick edits, and more.

That said, let’s get to the top 3…

3. Janus: Denver Pride Fest

So many firms have videos that TELL you about their culture. Voiceovers, brief looks at people in the office in various settings, you know the drill. This clip succeeds where those fall short – it SHOWS genuine aspects of the Janus culture. The video is only viewable on YouTube so click here or the image below to watch.

Janus

2. PIMCO: Asset Allocation for Equities in 2016

Over 25 seconds PIMCO uses one question, two statements, and two simple graphics to deliver its fundamental guidance on how the equity markets will go over the course of the year. No long-winded speeches, no multi-page paper… just a direct and clear message.

1. Schroders: Hidden Talent – Muy Thai

I am not sure how many topics would be more unexpected than Muy Thai in a video from an asset manager.

Marketing Munis

Posted by Anu Heda on Jun 28, 2012, in Thoughts , tagged with

While reading about the Supreme Court’s decision, Google served this ad (see below) on The New York Times Web site. The landing page provides an introduction to DWS municipal bond funds along with a video.

Two positives about the video:

  1. Freshness – The expert cites Stockton, CA as a source of concern. Stockton declared bankruptcy less than two days ago.
  2. Q & A Format – Two people on camera is four-times more interesting than one person. And the questions are pretty interesting.

Client Quotes: The Pace of Digital Change

Posted by Mike McLaughlin on Jun 07, 2012, in Thoughts , tagged with , , , ,

In almost every client meeting I hear something memorable. It’s usually something funny, because my brain retains that stuff better. But it’s also always something that reinforces an important idea for me.

Still a dominant force, and a reminder that digital change happens slowly.

This week I heard two things that reminded me just how far our industry has to go when it comes to digital strategy and execution. Every day we hear about a new cutting-edge mobile initiative, or another firm expanding its social media presence, or a unique piece of content.

We hear less on the reality that in many ways the digital evolution is a slow one. Here are two client quotes from last week that hammer that home:

1. “When terrorists send a threat, they don’t do it via PDF.”

This got a big laugh from me. It was a moment of stand-up comedy in an otherwise serious discussion. In this case, the client was lamenting his firm’s struggle to produce compelling output in light of video’s immense impact on how people communicate memorable messages.

The fact is that the industry has gotten markedly better in using video, specifically by:

  • Mixing multimedia content in alongside traditional printed material
  • Keeping videos short, given viewers’ attention spans are at all-time lows
  • Finding the sweet spot among production quality, production speed, and cost

Even so, there’s an entrenched printed material legacy, and clients still prefer the printed option to multimedia in many cases. Video may have killed the radio star, but it hasn’t yet done major damage to the asset management PDF.

2. “I just received the regulatory ‘OK’ for two Tweets I posted in December.”

/re-checks calendar

Ouch.

We recently wrote a piece about the barriers to social media implementation (subscription) for Ignites. We didn’t delve into the issue of regulation if only because it’s so well-established as THE major contingency in many firms’ social media strategies.

That said, we have two active social media projects right now, and this client hammered home the potential negative impact of regulation. Not only do the rules need to be better crystallized, but the processes do as well.

Six-month waits for approval of 140 characters will put the brakes on some firms’ continued adoption of social media.

4 Web Tips for Asset Managers from Gawker (Part 2)

Posted by Mike McLaughlin on Dec 06, 2010, in Thoughts , tagged with , , , ,

In a post last week, I suggested that pending design changes to Gawker’s popular blog family offer up 4 good ideas for asset managers and their Web sites.  The previous post covered two of those ideas; and without further ado here are two others:

  1. Appointment Viewing Works: Having experimented with pre-scheduled content and “theme” weeks, Gawker has found that they do well at attracting readers.  In the past I’ve advocated that asset managers too embrace programming practices from the media – preset publishing schedules that can be promoted in advance, serialized content that can stretch over time.  Gawker’s data validates that this works.

    2. Each week's Economic Calendar drives people to pay attention to information as it is released.

  2. Video is an Advertising Prerequisite, Too: The Web has gone way beyond static banner ads.  Gawker notes that 30-50% of potential sponsors have video ads to run online.  While asset managers have integrated more video into their Web sites, how fast can they start using video to support their online advertising as well?

Yes, Gawker is not an asset manager.  Content is their product.  But what they’ve learned in repeatedly trying to engage more people with their content parallels the similar challenges of asset management marketing and eBusiness teams.