Comics and cartoons: the latest in finance content marketing

Just when you think every card in the finance content marketing deck has been played a new one hits the table. Lately, we’ve seen finance podcasts make the mainstream, Facebook location pages take off and memes find their place in the finance marketing mix.

And now? Comics. 

This simple yet ingenious tool does all the things finance content marketers dream of doing — in one fell swoop. 

Comics put the fun in finance content marketing

As any finance content marketer will tell you, one of the biggest barriers to customer engagement is customer apathy. And that’s because people tend to think of finance as dry and boring.

Comics have quite the opposite reputation. Comics mean a fun and relaxing break from adulting.

One bank that’s already onto the power of comic books in finance content marketing is the Bank of Uganda. Through a series of adventures, superhero Mani teaches the Moni kids financial literacy — from learning what the Bank of Uganda does and how it works, to finding out about the regulations that protect accounts. The comics are in the form of four downloadable ebooks, housed on the bank’s website.

Comics put the simple in finance content marketing

Another obstacle to customer engagement in finance content marketing is the perception that money is too complex to comprehend. ‘We all fear what we don’t understand,’ writes author Dan Brown in The Lost Symbol.

That’s why techniques that simplify and clarify — like listicles — get such a warm response. And comics are on the same track, with their commitment to replacing technical information with straight-forward stories.

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For inspiration, check out the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s graphic novel, The Story of The Federal Reserve System. This clever content takes a subject to which entire tomes are dedicated, and transforms it into an easy-to-read tale, narrated in the second person (‘you’) to create a sense of intimacy, and dotted with familiar references, such as ‘perhaps someone in your family has recently taken out a loan at a bank — to buy a car, for example’. 

Comics put the storytelling in finance content marketing

A stack of research has proven there are neuroscientific reasons why we all love a good story, including the fact that identifying with characters boosts oxytocin, a hormone that motivates empathy and trust. And trust, is, of course, vital to successful relationships between finance brands and customers. 

For that reason, South-East Asia-based DBS Bank enlisted a marketoonist to help them transform their culture, from that of a traditional big bank to a ’27,000-employee startup’. 

And the UK’s NatWest Bank is going even further, by turning the customer into a character with its new educational video, ‘Island Saver’, which aims to teach children about responsible money management — and adds an interactive element that helps with long-term relationship building.

As finance content specialists we can help you illustrate the stories your brand needs to tell.  Get in touch.