According to a Deloitte Global Marketing Trends report, 2020 was the year of fusion, seeing “[brands] partnering with cross-industry peers in their ecosystems to deliver value”. Brand partnerships and collaborations are an excellent way for finance brands to expand their reach, diversify their audience or unite for a common cause.
With ROI an obvious focus for CFOs and a measurable deliverable for financial marketers, The American Express Business Collaboration Index indicated, “The strong performance of collaboration investments makes a compelling case for all organisations to place even greater emphasis on further partnerships.” Financial marketers should take note that brand partnerships could unlock new opportunities and potential for your finance brand to reach new audiences and deliver strong ROI.
We take a look at some finance brands taking co-creating to a whole new level.
Nuveen & Forbes Rerank the Rich
US asset management firm Nuveen joined forces with publisher Forbes to rerank its Forbes 400 list of billionaires. Nuveen reranked the Forbes 400 by philanthropic giving rather than traditional net worth, dialling down the likes of Donald Trump and scoring highly for more altruistic figures like Oprah Winfrey and Bill Gates. What can financial marketers learn from this brand partnership? Make sure your collaboration beats to the heart of your brand and what it stands for. Nuveen has built its legacy focusing on managing money for not-for-profit institutions and the Rerank the Rich campaign helped reclaim its leadership in the responsible investing space, lifting Nuveen’s favorability (+13.4%) and recommendation (+2.2%), and earning the brand $12.4M worth of media.
“ Brand partnerships could unlock new opportunities and potential for your finance brand to reach new audiences and deliver strong ROI.”
Lloyd Bank & Daily Telegraph Crossword_Clues
UK retail bank Lloyds Bank wanted to encourage its older audience to engage with its banking app. How do you engage with a traditionally old fashioned audience who hasn’t looked twice at your digital product? Lloyds Bank worked with the national broadsheet newspaper the Daily Telegraph to create a series of ads that revealed the app’s features through answers to cryptic crossword puzzles. The Daily Telegraph not only provided the contextual environment for Lloyds Bank’s affluent audience, their editorial team also wrote the crossword clues.
Financial marketers should remember that a brand partnership needs to be just that. Lloyds Bank let the Daily Telegraph take hold of the reins to create content that they knew their older audience would engage with. Financial marketers need to confidently collaborate to get the best out of the brand partnership.
Standard Chartered Bank UAE & World Art Dubai Art Gap Exhibition
The University of Oxford released a study, “Is gender in the eye of the beholder?” which found that art by female artists sells for 47.6% less than those by male artists. Multinational bank, Standard Chartered Bank wanted to shine a light on this staggering statistic and support its commitment to gender equality in the United Arab Emirates.
Art Gap presented by SCB was an exhibition of female artists in the UAE to highlight this gender pay disparity. Since female artists are being paid 47.6% less, the artists would paint 47.6% less and use their blank canvas to raise awareness of the stark gender pay gap. The brand partnership demonstrates how SCB leveraged research and insights to shine a light on key issues that the business was wanting to address.
Financial marketers need not be afraid to join the debate, but it’s important when finance brands join the discussion to remain authentic. Earlier this year we saw how finance brands could help tackle sensitive issues and support movements such as Black Lives Matter with action, and have a voice in a period of significant political upheaval.
These clever brand partnerships show how impactful and effective collaborations can be. Financial marketers should look for opportunities to work with organisations that complement their own brand and its values.
If you need help creating content that will bring a partnership to life, get in touch.
