Inspiring Marketing Campaigns for Fund Managers – Simples
Published: 25 July, 2021
More Great Campaigns To Inspire Your Fund Marketing
A couple of years ago we wrote a ProFundCom white paper about how some great marketing campaigns from different sectors could be successfully adapted for the funds sector.
And we got a lot of feedback to say how much people enjoyed it and how useful it was to them.
So, we’ve done it again – here are five more marvellous examples that can be used to inspire your own creativity and launch a marketing campaign that boosts your profile and your assets under management.
Compare The Markets And The Meerkats
If you haven’t seen the comparethemarket.com adverts, involving Aleksandr Orlov and the rest of his meerkat friends, over the last few years then you’ve been living on another planet.
The ads are part of a co-ordinated campaign that is fully integrated across TV, web, social media, billboards etc. Cuddly toys have also been launched and Aleksandr‘s trademark catchphrase of ‘simples’ is now part of the national lexicon.
The campaign has been going since 2009 and shows no sign of running out of steam or losing popularity. And it has been a huge success from a commercial perspective – the campaign was launched just a year after the business was founded and comparethemarkets.com is now one of the biggest price comparison sites in the UK.
Why it works
The meerkats campaign is a great reminder that marketing ideas work best when they’re given space to grow and reinvent themselves. What started as a simple TV ad has expanded across many different mediums and the agency behind the campaign is never afraid to try something new.
But perhaps its biggest achievement is that the meerkats are instantly synonymous with the brand. Nothing else needs to be said or done to encourage the connection between Aleksander and co and comparethemarkets.com.
Do it yourself
It’s worth remembering that the meerkats successfully advertise a rather dry service in the form of a comparison website. However, it seems unlikely that something like this would ever work in fund marketing.
But the big takeaway here is the idea of developing something that is memorable and engaging and that links directly with your brand however you use it. Even if the funds sector isn’t the place for cuddly fictional meerkats, you can still come up with a concept that achieves the same effect – it just has to be something that runs through all your marketing collateral to give you an instantly effective way of connecting with your audience.
John Lewis And The Christmas Adverts
Each year in the UK, department store giant John Lewis runs a Christmas TV advert that has become a festive tradition in its own right.
From a snowman buying gloves for his partner, to a little girl buying a telescope for the man on the moon, to Sir Elton John tickling the ivories – it never fails to connect and get people talking about it.
Why it works
The John Lewis Christmas ads are a real event – something that is increasingly rare in these days of on-demand entertainment. They create lots of excitement leading up to the release, with much debate as to what the latest ad will feature. And the commercials are a big communal experience that are talked about throughout Christmas.
And of course, that is all good news for John Lewis. It all comes at a time of the year when the battle of the high street is at its fiercest and retailers are doing all they can to encourage footfall in stores.
Do it yourself
The success of these ads is down to the expectation that surrounds them. Each year it is a talking point, both before and after release.
To replicate that, you could also look to do something at a set time each year that is both memorable and valuable. This could be an event, for example, or it could be something you give away to your email list or website visitors.
But it must be something that people both value and which they are expecting, which creates interest in your firm and encourages engagement. Of course this doesn’t have to be at Christmas (in fact, Christmas marketing is a bad idea for pretty much any sector except retail), but keeping it on a set date will encourage anticipation.
Solvite And The Shark Infested Waters
Years ago, Solvite wallpaper paste ran a series of ads that all followed the same basic premise:
An unfortunate actor was stuck onto a board using Solvite then hung upside down somewhere suitably perilous – such as swinging over shark-infested waters – to show the product’s incredible sticking power.
The campaign ran for years and with great effect – helping what was a little known brand to become the best known product in its market.
Why it works
These ads work for two main reasons. Firstly, the ads use an interesting and arresting concept – you want to know what happens to the poor chap pasted to the board, so you carry on watching.
But more importantly they illustrate by example. They show how good the product is – rather than just waffling on about it. This is one of the key components of all good marketing in any sector.
Do it yourself
Pasting someone to a board and hanging them over a circling mass of ravenous sharks has little relevance to fund marketing. But there is still much you can learn from this campaign, as its central tenet is to prove worth through example.
You can do this in a number of ways – through content that talks about what you do and how it helps your investors, testimonials where your clients say how you helped them, relevant awards you’ve won, or by highlighting statistics, results and trends that back up your claims.
Google And The Interactive Giving Campaign
Google is a company that knows a thing or two about marketing. So, it’s worth taking note of a recent campaign it ran to publicise a charity initiative in the San Francisco Bay Area, where the search giant is based.
Google gave away $5.5 million to Bay Area non-profits, but it chose an engaging and publicity-friendly way to do it – by letting the public decide where the money should go.
People could cast their votes online to decide which schemes got the cash. Google also installed large, interactive posters – in places like bus shelters, next to food trucks, and in restaurants – where locals could push a button to vote for their favourite cause.
Why it works
The campaign is an excellent example of how to do corporate social responsibility (CSR) well.
Not only did Google make significant contributions to good causes, but the interactive manner of the campaign made sure that the company itself benefited from the donations, as it attracted lots of attention and showed Google in a positive light.
Do it yourself
CSR is more important than ever, as people increasingly want to see that firms are putting something back into the community. If your company’s corporate behaviour and values are not up to scratch, then they look for somewhere else to invest their money. By contrast, no-one is going to refuse to invest with you on the grounds that your attitude to CSR is too good.
But, there’s absolutely no harm in making sure philanthropy also works for you in terms of positive PR, so it’s well worth taking a leaf out of Google’s book and ensuring your giving also has some marketing milage.
So, make sure you talk about it and do all you can to publicise what is going on. You can do this by telling all your investors and the prospects on your database about what you’re doing. You can also publicise it on your website, talk about it on social media and announce it to the world through press releases and PR campaigns. The more people know about your charitable campaign, the more your brand profile will benefit.
And if you do something clever and attention grabbing – like Google did with its interactive campaign – then you guarantee yourself more publicity.
Red Bull And The Daredevil Skydiver
Sponsorship is a very common aspect of marketing. But Red Bull did something a little different back in October 2014, when it put its name and logo behind an extraordinary event.
This was the occasion when an Austrian skydiver called Felix Baumgartner leapt to earth from a helium balloon at the edge of space to set a world record for the highest ever skydive. The whole things was funded by Red Bull through the Red Bull Stratos high altitude diving project, so the company ran the whole operation and Baumgartner was bedecked in Red Bull name, logo and colours throughout.
Red Bull streamed the entire event online, and it recorded the highest viewing figures of any live stream ever broadcast on YouTube — at just over 8 million viewers.
Why it works
Rather than just sponsoring a regular sporting event, Red Bull took its strategy a step further by developing and associating itself with an event that was truly ground-breaking.
It created massive traction and brand awareness because people who saw it witnessed something completely new. It was an incredible event, so was something that the whole audience would remember and reminisce over. And in the process this generated huge brand awareness for Red Bull, which is the world’s biggest selling energy drink.
Do it yourself
Lots of financial companies sponsor events – sporting and otherwise – but the sponsor’s name is all too often forgotten about.
But why not take a leaf out of Red Bull’s book and try organising and sponsoring something that you are behind and thus control. It doesn’t have to be someone leaping from the edge of space, but if it’s something that’s unusual and stands out then your brand will stand out with it. (And if you can put your brand in the record books while you’re at it, then that’s pretty helpful!)
