Financial Services Public Relations

Four economists worth listening to...and one you MUST hear

2012-02-13T10:46:00.000+11:00

While I tweet and blog from events I usually don't re-publish the subsequent content. The Financial Standard Chief Economist's breakfast (see Kaitlin Walsh's summary in the post below) is worth making an exception for. If you're looking for a little light economic-style entertainment I can highly recommend Tim Harcourt's presentation. For a global view check out the presentation by Principal

A glimmer of light for 2012? Report from the Financial Standard Chief Economists Forum

2012-01-31T11:37:00.001+11:00

Playing to a packed house of 800-plus financial bods were the five panel members addressing this year’s Financial Standard Chief Economists Forum at the Westin Hotel in Sydney this morning. As everybody’s favourite economist, Master of Ceremonies Don Stammer, pointed out in his introductory remarks, macro-economic forces are playing an arguably unprecedented role in the shaping of world

Do you have permission to lead?

2011-12-08T10:16:00.001+11:00

CEOs, and most of us, have to earn our permission to lead. While as leaders we want people 'in behind us', or following, the challenge is how to truly engage people so they want to follow the direction we set. How to choose the right direction to start with? How to consult or adapt our vision to one that our teams find compelling? Then how to build an unswerving committment among the

Why I can't do what you want if you can't explain it well enough...internal communication

2011-11-29T09:05:00.000+11:00

Now I may not have started out as a guru at explaining myself to others. Just ask my team. But what I do know a little about is explaining (on the large scale) strategy to staff - in financial services but also other industries. What does that mean, exactly? The bit about "explaining strategy to staff"? It means this... what the context is, where the company aims to be in that picture,

#QantasLuxury = social media stand up

2011-11-22T20:43:00.001+11:00

Wow. Just last week a group of senior corporate affairs people were talking about the interaction between traditional and online media. You know the rub - social media can be where an issue starts and then traditional media grab it and it's away. It moves so fast you either can't respond, are ill-equipped to do so or management just don't 'get' the right way to deal with it. And before you

Picture a perfect client: top 5 secrets to being one

2011-11-20T23:16:00.000+11:00

Much like a perfect summer day in the Cotswolds, a 'perfect' client is delightful. Mythical also. Much like the perfect PR firm or consultant. If, like me, you believe perfection is found in moments, not perpetuity, then perhaps you'll sympathise with the idea that perfection is the journey, and not a fixed end point. While this landscape looks good at a distance, the picture was taken

Qantas v Unions: Pot or Kettle blacker?

2011-10-30T22:15:00.001+11:00

Regardless of the outcome, reputations will be damaged in the boxing match featuring "Qantas vs the unions". It remains to be seen whether the pot, or kettle, emerges with their name more blackened. Both the unions and Qantas are likely to suffer some tarnish to their reputation given actions by both mean they are failing to deliver on basic service, let alone the brand promise. I'm not an

2011-10-28T18:54:00.000+11:00

Flashback Friday With the weekend now about ten minutes away I wanted to do something a bit unusual. And that's talk about us. Not me, mind you. Us. Otherwise known as BlueChippers. This week, as we've worked together to hit home runs for current clients, pitch to new clients and improve how we work, a few things really leapt out. So, at risk of having you see me as a a bit soppy, I want to

The sweet spot remains (online) for financial services PR

2011-09-08T15:49:00.000+10:00

After a lively discussion today with a group of senior corporate affairs people in financial services I thought I should check back to a few things Paul Cheal and I said in our first financial services social media seminar in 2009. Re-reading this post it's interesting to see just how much is still the same...and fortunately a lot of what we said then held true, or still applies. Take this

Women in banking and finance: some progress but far to go

2011-09-06T22:06:00.004+10:00

Some 600 financial services folk gathered tonight in the Westin ballroom to hear from Penny Wong, Federal Minister for Finance and Deregulation and a stellar panel, including company director Carolyn Hewson and Adam Spencer, ABC702 host and panel moderator.The Deutsche-sponsored event heard from one of the bank's senior executives who readily conceded the bank's own gender outcomes remain

Know thy consultant...and yes, the earth did move

2011-08-24T10:05:00.001+10:00

PAICR wrapped up today with the traditional conference closer: a panel of asset consultants and a question and answer session. It was an intense session...made slightly more so as the earth, or at least the building literally moved, during the final part of the session. There was no more powerful example of the permanency and ubiquitous nature of social media as immediately post-tremor ("Are

Social media breakout: PAICR 2011

2011-08-24T09:55:00.000+10:00

Judging by the audience response in this session, most of us are using social media personally, but many are not there as financial services companies or institutions. Pretty much the same as Australia. And pretty much, I'd suggest, a fleeting moment in time. Deborah Well of Harbor Capital Advisors chaired the session that Vanguard's Eric Haberacker and I spoke at. Newsflash...presentations by

"I have no idea what I'm doing": the marketers' quandry

2011-08-24T09:44:00.000+10:00

Welcome to online marketing in financial services. While the industry, for the most part, hasn't been fast to adopt digital marketing or social media, it's still bewildering territory at times. "No corporate function has evolved more than marketing" said Razorfish's Ryan Alderman, quoting McKinsey (McKinsey Quarterly 09.2009). It's no wonder marketers in financial services feel lost. To do

Earthquake, social media and financial services

2011-08-24T07:39:00.000+10:00

Boring picture, interesting moment. This (uninteresting) picture is of just before a minor earth tremor hit New York today. PAICR delegates reacted with complete calm. The "after" picture would have looked the same with one big difference - everyone had their phones in ther hand checking twitter for what the hell just happened. According to nearby tweets some New Yorkers evacuated their

Deborah Well, PAICR Social Media Chair

2011-08-23T14:50:00.001+10:00

I'm currently attending the PAICR Conference in New York, and today I had the pleasure of interviewing Deborah Well, PAICR Social Media Chair, about the state of social media in US asset management. In this four minute video she shares: 1. A summary of where social media use is at in the Unite States (early adopters, fast followers and, yes, plenty of laggards) 2. The opportunites for asset

Brand, and why it matters (A LOT) in asset management

2011-08-23T06:38:00.000+10:00

About three quarters of institutional clients see brand as a critical attribute in deciding which fund manager or asset manager to sekect. So the message is this: if you're a fund manager and you're not investing in brand, you better. Because it matters a lot to your potential clients. And yet conventional wisdom is that brand isn't so important in institutional asset management. Time to

Bringing new asset management client aboard

2011-08-23T06:17:00.000+10:00

Lazard Asset Management, Jennison Associates and MFS Investment Management shared their client on boarding and retention strategies at today's PAICR conference. One global asset manager's on boarding for institutional asset management clients follows a checklist: 1. Welcoming package email: step-by-step review of funding process including required documentation, standard IMA templates, client

#PAICR2011: Being the best we can be

2011-08-23T00:44:00.000+10:00

The Professional Association for Investment Communications Resources (PAICR) opened today in New York with a 'can do' Englishman exhorting his mostly US audience to stay positive. What is the new normal? Whatever we think it is, claims Andrew O'Donoghue, the opening speaker. His bottom line for those in asset management communication is this: look at things differently. Just because we feel

FSC Wrap Up

2011-08-05T13:58:00.000+10:00

The 2011 FSC conference closed today with a Q&A session with former PM John Howard. Here is how BlueChipper Paul Cheal saw it. Q. What's the outlook for the Australian economy? A. Everything is relative...certainly Australia is looking good compared to many other economies. That said, our optimism, so important for all businesses, is starting to fray. Q. Why is

The price is right

2011-08-05T12:51:00.000+10:00

With the background of a 4% fall on Wall Street and a falling local share market as he kicks off the last day of the FSC Conference, US author of 'Myth of a Rational Market' Justin Fox picked a timely day to discuss whether the markets are driven by rational investors or panicked decisions of a few. To answer the question Justin takes us on a (not so random) walk through the history of

Myth of a rational market: Day Three at the FSC

2011-08-05T10:53:00.000+10:00

A walk through investing history with Justin Fox (Harvard Business Review Editorial Director) wound up with this: it's really hard to beat the markets. The index managers may well have been cheering as Fox took delegates through generations of investment thinking. On the way from Markowitz to Sharpe HBR's Fox says some ideas have stood the test of time, while others have proven to be myths -

FSC Day Three: Talking Heads

2011-08-05T10:33:00.000+10:00

Today's breakfast was well attended - no doubt thanks to the Financial Services Council's sensibly late 9am start. Even the majority of last night's hard partying delegates fronted up for the FSC's Talking Heads session with the ABC's Leigh Sales, MP David Bradbury and Senator David Bushby. Employer default funds, My Super and more were on the menu. Why, asked Leigh Sales, is My Super going

E is for Advice

2011-08-05T10:15:00.002+10:00

E was the letter of the day in this session discussing advice as a profession, which was defined by three e's: education, experience and ethics (which probably should be first). Industry or profession; a quick straw poll showed that all in the room think financial planning should be a profession, but the FPA's Mark Rantall states you can't just call yourself a profession

Who thinks financial planning should be an industry? Or a profession?

2011-08-04T23:56:00.000+10:00

The Financial Planning Association's (FPA) Mark Rantall kicked of his remarks with this question in an afternoon session at this week's Financial Services Council Conference. Session attendees unanimously agreed it's a profession we're after, not a "financial planning industry". Second only to medicine, said Rantall, is the importance of a strong financial planning

Connecting our people with customers' experiences

2011-08-04T13:08:00.000+10:00

Hearing Joe Jordan today reminded me that good content, delivered well can make ANYthing interesting. Even life insurance. Really. Yes, Australia is one of the most underinsured nations on the planet - ranking 16th in the world for life insurance penetration and density. Because, Joe suggests, people have dogged, ill-informed views of what insurance actually does - or doesn't do. And we are

Financial Services Council (FSC) Conference Day 1

2011-08-04T07:11:00.000+10:00

BlueChip Communication's Paul Cheal, Bruce Madden and Carden Calder are attending the 2011 FSC Conference on the Gold Coast. First up at the FSC were Chair Peter Maher, Minister Bill Shorten and new ASIC head honcho Greg Medcraft. Minister Shorten offered to do "the standard" 20 minutes from Government to industry but instead (and really much more interesting) gave a free

Day 1 at the FSC: leaders talk challenge & opportunity

2011-08-03T17:30:00.002+10:00

A guest post by BlueChip senior Paul Cheal attending the Financial Services Council annual conference. Day 1 of the FSC out with a relaxed "chinwag" with some of the industry's leaders discussing the challenges and opportunities facing the industry. From the Insurance industry was Jim Minto of TAL who was joined by John Van Der Wielen of ANZ and fund manager SSGI's Rob Goodlad. The group

New financial crisis? "What NOT to do" public relations rules hold true

2011-08-01T15:11:00.000+10:00

As Australia reaches the end of the first month of the 2012 financial year, we're feeling the shudders of global financial uncertainty. The US debt challenges appear handled, for now....but who knows what's around the corner? Uncertainty, for leaders and communicators, makes it far more challenging to set, and communicate, a course. Where do you lead people "to" when the landscape is unknown and

News...morally bankrupt or giving us what we want?

2011-07-17T22:46:00.000+10:00

How quickly, fueled by genuinee public outrage, and years of restrained bile, media can turn. In this case, on itself. It raises a bigger question than the obvious one of media ethics. There's a very good reason for the media furore. And it's not phone tapping. News of the World, and possibly other News Limited titles, intervening in the private lives of grieving people was simply the thread

Banking on social media at Rabo

2011-06-07T16:11:00.001+10:00

Imagine my delight when I opened my inbox on Saturday morning to find... a wrap up from "Visible Banking" on Rabobank's first social media day. Now, I do have to declare an interest. BlueChip Communication, which is the firm I founded and run, does work with RaboDirect in Australia. Our conversations there range from traditional media to online and experiential. Social media is almost always a

Bus tale ... with a tail

2011-06-07T12:54:00.000+10:00

Horns. Tail. Colour and movement. I'm not normally inspired by public transport. But I'm finding buses particularly inspiring this week. Here's one I saw today. It has horns, a multi-coloured hide and a tail. In PR-speak it's an experiential campaign...perhaps in other words a good old fashioned stunt. Best practice would be to back this great mooving (pardon the bad pun) stunt with an

Private eyes, spying on our partners, and internal communication

2011-06-01T15:43:00.000+10:00

On a rainy Sydney morning, this ad stood out to me for its encouragement to DIStrust those closest to us. While I may not like this private eye’s exhortation to us all to snoop on our partners, I do think there’s a message of value in this bus advertisement for us all. Or at least for those of us who work in communication. And for leaders. So back to the bus ad. What might it mean, or what

TEDxSydney: why communicating your ideas well, matters

2011-05-28T18:02:00.002+10:00

At TEDxSydney today I've been blessed to hear, and see, some great ideas. Some great ideas were well expressed. Other great, important ideas were not well expressed...and thus may languish. Some less interesting and less ground breaking ideas were well expressed. So what's the buzz? Well it's about the ideas that are well expressed...of course. The presenters got people talking, engaged and

FSC Life Insurance Conference, Sydney 6 April 2011

2011-04-06T14:36:00.001+10:00

Bruce Madden attended the FSC Life Insurance Conference held in Sydney today on behalf of BlueChip Communication The Financial Services Council’s second annual conference dedicated to its life insurance members kicked off in Sydney today with some big numbers. Suncorp’s CEO Geoff Summerhayes reminded us that the financial services sector now accounts for some 11% of our national economy, with

@dmscott, @#PWCMBS ... Yes, it was a Twitterfest!

2011-04-01T14:17:00.007+11:00

Last night I attended an event hosted by PwC as part of their Masters of Business series. We were very fortunate to hear from David Meerman Scott. As you may know, David is in Australia, and today hosted a Social Media Masterclass, which, by all accounts, was sensational. While I couldn't make it to the Masterclass, I was delighted to join PwC and more particularly, to watch the stream of tweets

What happens when the RBA joins twitter?

2011-03-31T00:30:00.000+11:00

What happens when the RBA joins twitter?Suddenly social media for business is mainstream news. And we've reached a tipping point.Not before time. Yes, in the last three years there have been a lot of conversations that run like this:BlueChip: We believe (insert proof points here!) social media is critical to how you communicate, and in particular to your PR now. There a some things you may want

Make your long term (PR) relationship work: top 3 tips

2011-03-14T19:23:00.000+11:00

I was talking to a much-loved female relative last night about her upcoming 50th wedding anniversary. That conversation, and others in the last few weeks with the C-suite executives in our client organisations, have caused me to reflect on the nature of success in long-term client partnerships - why it works or fail, and specifically, how we and our clients behave to achieve great PR results.

Just how fast can PR deliver business results?

2011-02-28T23:14:00.000+11:00

Recently we were engaged by a client who was well into a particular campaign. Sans PR. Which is fine...unless that campaign needs PR support. Swiftly after our appointment (days, not weeks) our client asked where the positive media coverage was. Ouch! Here's my take on that, and a short version of the conversation I had with our client. I should disclose, our client had ample, positive and

The future is here...thank goodness!

2010-11-29T15:49:00.000+11:00

As a client pointed out to me last week, I'm not exactly a prolific blogger. Sorry about that - clients, as you may appreciate, and team, generally come first! Frequency is blogger best practice number one...ooops. And I don't really do a huge amount of cross promotion (almost none). That would be blogger best practice number two down the drain. Here's one to make up for that at least...

Trusted adviser, supplier or sucker?

2010-11-09T21:44:00.000+11:00

"The Trusted Adviser", written by David Maister, Charles Green and Robert Galford in 2001 remains one of the most influential books in professional services. Why? Well the thinking in it was clear, it captured and crystallised a notional that hadn't previously been well named...and cynically? It also played to the egos, insecurities and genuine intentions of many in professional services. It

Ogilvy PR's 360 top 5 on social media measurement

2010-11-05T10:54:00.001+11:00

A PR industry conference could be a day in hell...or prove truly illuminating.On the 'illumination' scale I'm giving the PRIA an 8 out of ten so far. Today I'm attending the Public Relations Institute of Australia's Registered Consultancy Group conference, and sharing some of the more interesting presentations via twitter (@carden).We just heard from the person who for many years authored Malcolm

What to do when you can't NOT communicate - Day 1 of the PAICR conference

2010-09-14T12:40:00.002+10:00

Communication 101 Communication is a learned skill. We’re all born with the ability but it takes real practice to be good at it. So opined David Grossman, Founder of the Grossman Group, an award-winning Chicago PR firm. Do I agree? Oh yes. So what’s the upside of good communication asks David Grossman? Well it helps put strategy into action. Done poorly? Misunderstanding, skepticism and damage to

Strategic Marketing in Asset Management - Day 1 of the PAICR conference

2010-09-14T05:56:00.001+10:00

Great presentation today by Jeffrey Margolis based on his white paper “Inside a Successful Asset Management Firm: Building and Executing a Premier Marketing Strategy and Organization.” Despite the lengthy title, Jeffrey’s workshop made the potentially complex, simple. I wanted to share some of his very practical comments with you because I know many of our clients (and other readers) have

Global Trends in Asset Management - Day 1 of the PAICR conference

2010-09-14T05:52:00.000+10:00

Day 1 of the PAICR conference in New York opened with a presentation by Kevin Quirk, Partner at Casey Quirk. It suggests fundamental changes are altering how asset managers, the world over, do business. Casey Quirk is a management consultant to investment managers, so well placed to comment on trends. While somewhat US-centric for Australian firms there was plenty of value in Quirk’s

PR measurement...why counting dollars is like playing poker with matchsticks

2010-07-08T21:34:00.001+10:00

ASR - the Emperor's new clothes? If you're a capable PR person short on a laugh, read this article on mumbrella. Media Monitors have just launched a new measure of PR effectiveness. It's based, to the horror of some, on advertising value. Note it's NOT called AVE - advertising value equivalent. It's called ASR - advertising space rates. After I stopped laughing at the spin I had to admire

Strengths - and why they matter in your communication

2010-07-07T22:30:00.001+10:00

Fresh from a recent Strengths workshop with Marcus Buckingham I'm looking at the world slightly differently. Marcus Buckingham's book "Go put your strengths to work" and one of his recent Sydney seminars was all about how playing to our strengths at work makes us happier and more productive. And who among us doesn't want that?? This evening I tore the little cards out of the back of

Top 3 things you should know about your PR firm...

2010-06-22T23:50:00.000+10:00

What people say about PR firms... Catching up with some C-suite colleagues today I heard some recurring themes about PR firms. Sadly for the PR profession they were not particularly flattering. "They're just not that smart" "They don't get the business" "Appalling to deal with" "Would never hire them" You get the general picture. While it's tempting to defend the good work done by many great

R.E.S.P.E.C.T...what it means to me

2010-05-19T01:00:00.001+10:00

R.E.S.P.E.C.T…what it means to me To paraphrase Aretha, my team has a very particular meaning for the word respect. Several meanings in fact. First, “respect” (in our business) means seeking first to understand, before seeking to be understood. Often, that simply means listening. It also means asking questions, before jumping in with solutions. It’s not something that came naturally to

Breakfast with the Prime Minister today

2010-05-04T23:31:00.001+10:00

Squeezed tightly between two clients I listened intently to Kevin Rudd talk this morning. I say "squeezed tightly" because the sold-out event drew the financial services industry in force to the Shangri-La ballroom in Sydney to hear Chris Bowen, Minister for Financial Services, Craig Dunne, AMP CEO, John Brogden IFSA CEO and the Prime Minster. Chris Bowen told a great story about a Prime

Fear versus cautious confidence - how context changes everything

2010-04-23T08:58:00.000+10:00

As 2010 proceeds at a cracker pace it's interesting to reflect on the difference a year makes. The context (although not all the content) is completely different. In financial services public relations, marketing and communication the game has changed - along with the context. Last year the context was fear. This year it's cautious confidence. One can be paralysing, the other galvanising. As

2010 - the year of video & online PR

2010-02-18T21:53:00.000+11:00

As we all know predictions are a dangerous game. Particularly when it comes to social media. Last year and my colleagues and I listened to people who know better than us, we heard some interesting things. This included: 1. The mobile device is set to soar thanks to iPhone 2. Video popularity and accessibility would follow as bandwidth and download speeds improved (particularly on mobile phones

Lessons from 2009 and what it means for 2010 for financial services communication

2009-12-22T22:04:00.000+11:00

Tonight as we held drinks with colleagues in our Sydney CBD office one client jokingly asked "GFC. What's that?" And it was actually funny because for the smallest moment we'd forgotten how this year began. As 2009 started most of us working in financial services could think of nothing else. As the year ends most of us are thinking about next year - how to capture more of our markets, how to

10 steps to take your financial services pr & marcomms communication online

2009-11-28T09:29:00.000+11:00

This morning my colleague Paul Cheal and I presented a seminar about how Australian financial services marketers still have a window of opportunity to achieve “first mover advantage through online PR”. This afternoon we also published an eBook focusing on the most practical take-away from that seminar - the ten simple steps to take your pr and marketing communication online. Yes, it’s a new era

How to brief a financial services, or B2B, public relations firm

2009-11-22T22:52:00.001+11:00

Brief? What brief? It’s been seven years since I last briefed a PR firm, and just on 48 hours since I last took a brief from a potential client. In the intervening six years and 363 days, I’ve often wondered how the various suppliers I worked with coped. A good brief sets up the whole relationship, saves time and makes sure you get value for money. I've got a feeling my partners didn't ever

Day One at FPA 2009

2009-11-20T13:53:00.000+11:00

Bruce Madden attended Day One of the FPA National Conference 2009 in Melbourne for BlueChip Communication. Three industries have converged on the Melbourne Convention Centre this week, meaning delegates to the Financial Planning Association annual conference must first run the gauntlet of the "Mind, Body and Spirit Festival" before hitting the annual gab fest of the Australian College of

Minister Chris Bowen: ASFA Day 3

2009-11-17T22:56:00.000+11:00

Day Three of ASFA in Melbourne ended on a self-congratulatory note, with Minister Chris Bowen concurring with earlier speakers that we do in fact have a great national savings system, and delegates rating the conference a success. In closing the 2009 ASFA conference, Chris Bowen, Minister for Financial Services, Superannuation and Corporate Law, outlined his four tests for the outcome of the

Will Cooper reshape the world of super as we know it? ASFA Day 2

2009-11-17T22:53:00.000+11:00

Jeremy Cooper may not be planning wholesale changes to our super system. On the other hand, his comments in an ASFA plenary session suggest he's certainly not entirely buying the industry line that "it ain't broke so don't fix it". In a wide ranging speech, Jeremy Cooper outlined the potential governance issues facing the industry in 2025, including the potential for a group of four "super"

Financial literacy - are we there yet? ASFA Day 2

2009-11-17T22:51:00.000+11:00

If financial literacy is "the ability to make informed judgments and effective decision regarding the use and management of money" then 46 per cent of Australians are functionally illiterate and 53 per cent are functionally innumerate, according to Russell's Linda Elkins. On a panel with Vanguard's Jeremy Duffield and Paul Henderson from The Smith Family, Linda Elkins told ASFA delegates how

Have we reached peak Super? ASFA Day 2

2009-11-17T22:48:00.000+11:00

Ross Greenwood coined the term "peak super" in opening Day Two of the ASFA conference in Melbourne today. The questions he threw as challenges to the panel and the audience included: "What happens when the money going out (how everyone in the room currently gets paid) is greater than the money coming in?" and "Do we really have a world class retirement savings and income system?" The short

Trustees urged to look longer term than the nation's leaders - ASFA Day 1 closing

2009-11-11T23:38:00.007+11:00

In closing the day's proceedings, Dr Keith Suter countenanced three scenarios for the future world order - "business as usual", "break-up", "break-down" or "breakthrough". In the "breakthrough" scenario, Australia is poised to make the most of a world in which both the economy and how we manage scarce resources are reinvented - to see the globe become both economically and environmentally

Member research - Super? What super? ASFA Day 1

2009-11-11T23:36:00.003+11:00

On an individual member level, ASFA research conducted by Auspoll shows what superannuation members really think about it all. And the short answer is they don't really think. At least they don't think much about their super. When asked which superannuation issues caught their attention recently, the largest portion of respondents (47 per cent) could not think of any - and answered "none".

Five mega-trends & financial planning - ASFA Day 1

2009-11-11T20:01:00.002+11:00

Graham Rich of brillient! and Portfolio Construction Forum spoke in the morning about his pick of the top five mega-trends affecting future portfolio construction outcomes. The "mega-trends" may sound familiar, and were in fact echoed by other speakers: reformation of regulation, turbo of technology, movement of markets – particularly global emerging markets, the ETA of ESG, and retirement of

Bank deposits versus super? ASFA Day 1

2009-11-11T19:59:00.001+11:00

Dr David Morgan's view of the new global economic era is bank-centric, with both threats and opportunities for the superannuation industry. The GFC revealed an inherent vulnerability within the local banking system, says Dr Morgan. This Achilles heel is the low level of retail deposits which in turn leaves our banks dependant on foreign wholesale funding. It was this foreign wholesale

Dr David Morgan & Dr Keith Suter - ASFA Conference Day 1

2009-11-11T19:57:00.001+11:00

Global Financial Crisis, and the rise of China and India, were the twin themes that dominated the first day of ASFA's annual conference in Melbourne today. Dr David Morgan, former Westpac CEO provided his perspective on these key issues in the opening plenary, and Dr Keith Suter, social and political commentator and Sunrise regular, closed with them this afternoon. The common threads? That

Measuring media results...is there a perfect solution or just "make do"?

2009-10-18T21:38:00.000+11:00

We measure media results several ways. I've shared some of them below. We're still searching for that perfect solution however, and very open to new and improved ways of measuring success. There's no point talking measurement if the goal of media relations isn't clear. For the most part we find a typical institution or firm in financial services wants to either overcome an issue or build their

What makes a great PR person?

2009-10-11T19:49:00.001+11:00

1. Motivation: it sounds basic (and it is) but oh so lacking sometimes...slackness is sure to follow 2. Information: we are only as good sometimes as what we know and when. Regardless of whether someone is a client or a supplier, we are all under constant pressure to actually know what the hell the real story is. 3. Judgement: swift, accurate judgement about a situation is immensely valuable.

Who does it better? Consultant or inhouse PR practitioner?

2009-10-09T14:02:00.001+11:00

Really it's a trick question. The simple answer is "it depends". On what? The person, their experience, their colleagues (particularly their manager), the CEO and probably some random things such as news of the day. This is a question I think about almost every day. For one, I've been on both sides. Secondly, I now devote a great deal of time, as everyone in our team does, to thinking about

Australian PR and social media practice....do we stack up versus the world?

2009-10-05T21:58:00.000+11:00

I had the great opportunity last month to travel to New York, London & Hong Kong for a conference and meetings with clients, partner firms and potential clients. While it was good to bring new ideas home to the BlueChip team and our clients, it was even better to get a sense of how what we do stacks up globally. In fact, there are some areas where our niche financial services PR firm leads the

9/11 and 15/11: Lives versus lucre

2009-09-14T14:00:00.002+10:00

This post was written in the back seat of a yellow cab on arrival into New York on 9/11 2009, and just a few days short of the one year anniversary of Lehmann Brothers declaring bankruptcy. Both events caused great fear. How our trusted institutions (governments, corporates in particular) emerged from those events has been defining, with trust intact or in tatters. Reputation research tells us

Financial institutions' exponential online growth - 54 on twitter to over 600 in less than 6 months??

2009-09-13T21:27:00.005+10:00

Now here's a really useful blog for anyone interested in financial services online pr and social media. Visible-Banking, out of the UK, tracks, among other things, the growth of financial institutions (FIs) online. From a mere 54 in March 2009 to a whopping 606 more recently! We are talking here about banks, credit unions, fund / asset managers, insurers, credit card issuers and others who

Network science and why it will change what we do

2009-09-12T01:39:00.000+10:00

En route to the US to attend the PAICR conference I watched a documentary about network science. It helped explain why financial services (and many other) marketing and PR efforts are seemingly unpredictably successful or unsuccessful. And why measurment remains a challenge. In short, my takeout is that relying on opinion leaders or influencers is an unproven and probably unsuccessful way to

Day Two at the 9th Annual Wraps, Platforms & Masterfunds Conference

2009-09-06T21:24:00.002+10:00

Bruce Madden, co-founder and Director of BlueChip Communication, attended Day Two of the Wraps, Platforms and Masterfunds Conference in the Hunter Valley. Here is his take on the day. To summarise the mood of the retail IDPS industry, gathered together to discuss vital business matters in the Hunter Valley these past two days, one reaches for synonyms to describe the twin notions of fear and

Day One at the 9th Annual Wraps, Platforms & Masterfunds Conference

2009-09-06T21:20:00.001+10:00

Bruce Madden is my fellow co-founder and a Director of BlueChip Communication. We attended one of the major Australian wealth management industry events together last week. Here's his summary of Day 1 Called "After the Storm" the 9th Annual Wraps, Platforms and Masterfunds Conference commenced in the Hunter Valley, NSW last Thursday, 3 September. The event has attracted over 200 delegates from

Managing Reputation Risk: An ounce of prevention worth a pound of cure

2009-08-30T22:32:00.012+10:00

Managing Reputation Risk: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure in many instances This blog about reputation risk from the Reptutation Institute caught my eye because BlueChip's issues/reputation risk kit has had a serious work out since January 2008. Of course financial services organisations, be they large, small, new or established, have found themselves needing to manage

How to show you genuinely care about all 1 million customers

2009-08-23T23:26:00.000+10:00

Many moons ago, in the years leading up to the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, my then employer, AMP ran one of THE most successful financial services advertising campaigns of the decade. Enter Vicki Williams, a customer service staff member from AMP in Perth. Vicki was the winner of competition conceived by the agency (Leo Burnett) and run among AMP staff to produce the star of the big budget TV ad.

Audience analysis AKA who are these super fund members or investors anyway?

2009-07-29T21:15:00.004+10:00

Real people. With stories that tell us far more about who they are as people than the figures in their statements or their age. The better we know these personal stories, the better our investment communication. And, I believe, the better the outcome for the investor.Here are two very different investors facing a similar drop in their super balances...Mary is a 65 year old professional who is a

What do you say to investors when their money has gone?

2009-06-10T22:35:00.004+10:00

What on earth do you say to investors who are near retirement and find themselves with half their capital gone thanks to global market volatility? Or worse, poor investment choices?Fund managers, financial planners and superannuation providers are answering these questions now, and will have to keep answering them in the future.There's no easy answer. There's no doubling the lost dollars to

Ethics in PR (now stop laughing!)

2009-06-03T20:54:00.000+10:00

Today the Public Relations Institute of Australia sent out a link to the PRTV edition about ethics.It's easy to laugh when the concepts are linked - "PR" and 'ethics'.My second, more sombre reaction (as when interviewed) is that ethical behaviour by PR people is impossible if they don't really know what they're communicating about.How do I know? Let's call it bitter experience...stories for

Barack Obama on why media matters

2009-05-14T21:22:00.000+10:00

This, from today's Crikey. It's a couple of days old now, but it's something that has gone strangely undereported in the Australian press. Barack Obama's address to the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner featured the usual attempt -- a funny one -- at First Standup, but the President also went on to make some serious points about journalism and its relationship to effective democracy.They

What the big 4 banks are up to on Twitter

2009-05-06T22:27:00.000+10:00

To twitter or not to twitter?Westpac, nab, ANZ are there. And recent media coverage on Commonwealth shows it is definitely monitoring the site.As a Westpac customer, I’d follow them on twitter; alas, it’s not to be. While Westpac is following nab on twitter, its own updates are protected, meaning no one can follow them unless they are approved by Westpac.However, you have to credit ANZ. They’ve

GFC + social media = new religion

2009-05-06T22:24:00.000+10:00

How financial services players are turning to social mediaWith all the hubbub about twitter in conventional media, financial services execs seem suddenly to have found religion. Or at least, the curiosity to search for their social media spirituality.Shrinking budgets and greater public scrutiny - thanks to the global financial crisis (GFC) - have helped send many of our financial services

Annual Reports & Shareholder Reviews - avoiding the 'house of pain'

2009-05-05T18:40:00.000+10:00

Here are some practical tips for those involved in the annual report & shareholder review process, written by one with some scar tissue on the subject. While some aspects of the reporting process are outside corporate affairs or investor relations control, many things can be done to make the process more efficient and produce a higher quality product.Want the 30 second version? This week I'll

What NOT to do as professional communicators in the GFC

2009-04-29T21:52:00.000+10:00

With an admittedly ‘ghastly’ outlook for 2009, how do you communicate to clients and other stakeholders in the year ahead?While it’s tempting to keep a low profile, the strongest findings (http://www.reputationinstitute.com/index) about reputation show that leadership and communication are more important than ever in a crisis.Reputations are made or broken in troubled times. As PR & marketing

Financial services heed swine online

2009-04-29T21:48:00.000+10:00

A global health crisis trumps a global financial crisis anyday.Rightly so. Lives matter far more than money.So then, it's right that swine flu has galvanised the online community.The single source of all about swine flu? http://mashable.com/2009/04/25/track-swine-flu/And for analysis of how swine online in unfolding, read the professional communicator's view athttp://

Streakers, strollers & scholars...yes they all read

2009-04-27T21:40:00.000+10:00

Writing for three audiences in every documentEVERY document (well nearly) should cater for three levels of readers. Some will glance, some will skim read and some will study every word.Also known colloquially as streakers, strollers and scholars.So how to talk to them?Headlines and big pictures for the streakers.Sub-headings and pullout text for skim readers - our strollers.And the full treatment

Welcome....what do you want?

2009-04-13T17:40:00.000+10:00

Welcome! This blog is about financial services communication and PR - more specifically, the industry's reputation.If you're in asset or wealth management, banking or similar, this is for you.It's about ideas as well as proven approaches that drive reputations in financial services pr. The content is based on the successes I and my colleagues have had, but also the mistakes - what we've learned