The Oscars of the content marketing world saw Bank of America, Australia’s NRMA, Royal Bank of Canada and Santander Consumer Bank as finalists for the largest and longest-running international content marketing awards program in the world – the Content Marketing Awards.
The winners at this year’s (virtual) awards ceremony represent some of the best content marketing case studies around the globe, setting a new creative benchmark for financial marketers to aspire to. The 80+ categories recognise all aspects of content marketing, including the best in strategy, research, social media, video, editorial, illustration, design and much more.
Here we dive into some of the best finance content marketing case studies to come from this year’s awards and explain what makes them Oscar-worthy finance content programs.
Skillful storytelling – Bank of America
Podcasts are the fastest growing medium in Australia – 1.6 million Australians are downloading podcasts every week, up from around 1 million four years ago. So it’s no surprise that an audio series made the list of Best Content Marketing Program finalists. Bank of America proved that podcasts are here to stay, with That Made All the Difference. Bank of America senior vice president, Alicia Burke hosts the podcast, holding the audience’s attention with her crafty storytelling and the personal relationships and rapport she builds with guests. Bank of America proves how crucial it is to find a compelling host, particularly if the aim is for the podcast to be a regular part of your customer’s downtime. With short, digestible episodes at around 20 minutes each, That Made All the Difference is a podcast that’s packing some punch. Interviewing the likes of Arianna Huffington, co-founder of The Huffington Post, Vincent Stanley, director of philosophy at Patagonia, filmmaker Ken Burns and many more, this podcast offers guidance, inspiration and perspective on the challenges and inequalities within society, broadening the topics of engagement for the bank beyond straight finance.
Content that captures and holds attention – Santander Consumer Bank
Santander Consumer Bank takes the finalists medal for Best Content Marketing Program in Financial Services with its online publication, Magasinet. With the principles of good content marketing at its heart, Magisnet publishes content that is both useful and engaging for its target audience such as A guide to having a climate friendly christmas, and How to find the best ski holidays. By creating more ‘top of the funnel’ awareness content that is easy to digest, Santander is able to capture and hold readers’ attention, setting the brand up to introduce them to new products over time. A lesson for all financial marketers, rather than launching into your acquisition end goal, invest in content that will capture and hold your audience’s attention over the long-term. A heavy hitter when it comes to best-practice content marketing, Santander is a firm favourite of the Financial Marketer.
“ Rather than launching into your acquisition end goal, invest in content that will capture and hold your audience’s attention over the long-term.”
Personal stories direct from Aussies that care – NRMA
NRMA was also a commended finalist in the Best Content Marketing Program in Financial Services category for its real and authentic stories of Aussies helping other Aussies – Help is who we are. Echoing the heartfelt sentiment of the Humans of New York stories that launched in 2010, NRMA’s award-winning campaign champions local Australian heroes making an impact in their communities.
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Having tackled a treacherous bushfire season and then COVID-19, Australians have demonstrated their powerful resilience and community spirit to band together and prove that “help is who we are”. Financial marketers should see how real, emotive stories can help a finance brand connect with audiences and drive brand value with community engagement.
Personal and authentic stories are also a way financial marketers can tackle sensitive topics such as financial abuse or financially preparing for illness or death.
Free financial literacy for all – Royal Bank of Canada (RBC)
The McGill Personal Finance Essentials is a free, online course launched to help Canadians take charge of their personal finances. With reports showing that “the majority of Canadians are living paycheque to paycheque”, Royal Bank of Canada designed a course to improve Canadians’ financial knowledge and confidence in a changing financial landscape. With half of all Australians struggling with financial literacy and reports that 9 in 10 UK consumers struggle with financial literacy, financial marketers have opportunities to be educators in sectors such as investing, banking, superannuation/pension and insurance. RBC has shown that education is lacking for all ages and marketers have both the responsibility and the tools to provide content to address the literacy gap.
What makes for award-winning content marketing case studies?
What are the most important things we’ve learnt from these award-winning content programs?
- Engaging and personal talent can make or break your content, especially video or podcast
- Creating genuinely useful, helpful or entertaining content is far more engaging for readers
- Personal, authentic stories can help finance brands connect with audiences, provided they aren’t heavily branded
- Audiences across the globe are crying out for the right tools and information to help them make better financial decisions
An award-winning content program begins with a clear strategy, get in touch, we can help.
