CREATIVE DIRECTION |BRAND & CONTENT STRATEGY
standing out
in a sea of sameness
They’re not just financial advisors. They’re also human.
Look at any asset management firm and you’ll see the same things: highly rated products, award winning solutions, and industry leading research. Two of these are easily measured by accolades and performance. But the third? Research isn’t measured as easily, and as a firm heavily invested in it, we saw an opportunity to stand out.
But how do you talk to financial advisors? Do you dazzle them with data? Maybe. Do you impress them with case studies? Possibly. But our goal wasn’t to tell them we were the best at it. We wanted to show them. We wanted to help them see why it mattered, in a way that felt human.
Our hypothesis
We believe that positioning ourselves as industry leaders in research would help to differentiate our firm from competitors in the asset management space and build brand awareness for Columbia Threadneedle Investments.
My process
I developed concepts for four distinct message architectures that paid off the strategic brief. I tested each with internal stakeholders (to vet authenticity) as well as financial advisors (to vet relevancy).
I refined the top three messages and developed creative concepts with my design partner. I co-led blind user testing with advisors to identify the most effective creative and messaging.
Out of these concepts, we delivered:
Two national TV commercials
Digital ads
Print ads
A comprehensive style guide
Short videos
Campaign microsite
TV Commercials
The following commercials aired in the fall of 2021 for our national brand campaign, Research Intensity. My goal was to dispel the myth that all research is created equal by using relatable analogies that spoke to advisors on a human level.
My role: Concepting | Writing | Creative Direction
I wrote the “Stars” commercial to show that research is only as good as the people who make meaning of it.
I wrote the “Conductor” commercial to show how CTI conducts research with intensity, similar to the art, timing, expertise and discipline needed to bring to create a symphony.
Online Ad
This OLA drove to a 1-minute video we created featuring our analysts sharing how research informs everything we do.
