pr asia 2015 presentation singapore

RADICAL TRANSPARENCY AND OPAQUE BUSINESSES

Dominic Gamble CEO & Co-Founder

PR Asia Conference

WHO AM I?

AND BY 32 I WAS HERE….ZZZZZZZZ

SO I FOUNDED THIS…

And now I’m:

But…

MY TALK TODAY

My experience in an opaque industry: Wealth Management

1. Operating effectively in an environment that demands transparency

2. Balancing the need for transparency with legal restraints

3. Using PR to effectively articulate opaque brands to customers

Part 1/3Operating effectively

in an environment that demands transparency

WEALTH MANAGEMENT IS NOTORIOUSLY OPAQUE

WHICH WAS FINE UNTIL THIS CAME ALONG…

BUT TIMES ARE CHANGING...

- 76% of Elderly people (55+) use internet for research, and 62% use smartphones- Our Average age of our users is 51 years old -

30% over 65- 88% go to the internet

first when they need info

- Only 1% of Singaporeans research only offline vs 74% research do a mix of both online and offline

MY INDUSTRY IS REACTING…SLOWLY

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE…

MORE SEXY THAN WE THINK

SO WHAT?

- The opaque industry is reacting = some good news to report at last!

- Opaque industry = new opportunities = eg robo-advisors, accelerators, entrepreneurs

- Opaque industries have older clients = not everyone is 25! – Social Media impact

Part 2/3Balancing the need for transparency with legal

restraints

LEGAL AND COMPLIANCE

HOW DID WE GET TO THIS STAGE?

- Boom & Bust

- 9/11 - 2008 crisis

- AML, KYC, RDR, FAIR, WTF?!

THE INDUSTRY’S REPUTATION

GOES FROM BAD…

…AND MORE BAD…

…TO WORSE…

…AND THE HITS KEEP COMING!

THE DAILY CHALLENGES DOING BUSINESS

- Promoting brand vs financial promotions

- Creativity vs caution

- Nimble vs slow process

THE VIRTUOUS CIRCLE OF INERTIA:Afraid of positive pr in case of negative pr!

Part 3/3:Using PR to effectively

articulate opaque brands to customers

ARE THERE ANY OPPORTUNITIES?

- When industries are this bashed and marketing is so bad….

- Asia

- Find the excitement….eg. Fintech

- Find the powerful messaging hooks whilst staying compliant

UNDERSTAND THE CLIENT TOUCH POINTS

Example: Wealth Management

- Seize on the sexy, drop the dull

- Identify triggers to act – wishy washy messaging has negative impact with younger client set

- Age of clients – still read newspapers

PR WORKS FOR US

Sunday Times, Nov 2015 Business Times, June 2015

GOOD COMMUNICATION: ROBO-ADVISORS

FINTECH

Homepage of FWM pls

WEALTH MANAGERS: CLEAR MESSAGE

WEALTH MANAGERS: GREAT DESIGN

BAD EXAMPLES: WHAT ARE THEY TRYING TO SAY?

SOLUTIONS FOR PR IN OPAQUE MARKETS

These are a given:- Patience- Persist

These are your USP vs the industry:- Understand backdrop vs consumer trends- Articulating messages clearly

FINAL WORD

- Opaque industries, esp. those with regulatory considerations, are tough

- But massive need for communicating clearly, concisely and effectively, even more so…

- ….because the market is rapidly evolving and transparency is demanded by consumers

They need third party professional help, that’s where you come in!

HOW TO REACH US

CONTACT:

Dominic GambleCEO & Co-founderdominic@findawealthmanager.com