From over there to over here, the typically US based The Gramercy Institute held their bi annual London event at Morningstar on Thursday 24th October to discuss 2025: Trends & Directions in Financial Marketing.

The packed half day agenda was a mix of panels and presentations, covering best practice and new directions across from content, brand, media and AI and the future of financial marketing (the latter of which I had the delight to be on the panel).

Content. Great content delivers insight that helps address audiences’ challenges. While the concept of the ‘9 lives’ of content ensures a constant drumbeat from the cascade of the content across the channels that meet people where they are.  Building on the perhaps more expected call for engagement, was the need ‘to move the conversation along’ - which provides a great reality check to avoid content spew.

Brand. The brand remains the differentiation and the competitive advantage, as well as the bedrock to customer and talent retention, plus cross selling.  Standing for something for the long term was a panel lightning rod. The perennial debate around purpose within asset management saw both sides reflected, from being the golden thread that unites (particularly during times of acquisition) to keeping purpose within community led marketing to ensure authenticity. 

Media. Sophistication in tools that measure audience engagement habits now allows far greater understanding of relevance, with the advice being not to ‘settle’ for good enough in terms of targeting. The co-ordination of earned, owned and paid was also highlighted as the starting point to better content optimisation, with smart data able to identify content multipliers.

AI & future of financial marketing. With AI now omnipresent and growing (spend levels currently £4.5bn in 2024 and set to grow to £64.3bn in 2030, and 46% of fs providers using AI to improve the customer experience), the panel shared how AI was helping in terms of communication creation as well as on the more futuristic developments including using avatars and tailored nudges. AI has become a useful tool that helps to save time and leading to new types of jobs from authenticators to predictive analysts to ‘Emily in Paris’s’.

Bill Wreaks, CEO & Chief Analyst, Gramercy Institute then shared the findings of some qualitative research within the US based Gramercy membership around what financial services brands are seeking from their agencies. Listen up:

-	Beyond the brief – understanding of the market.
-	Audience insight – outside in perspective.
-	360-degree ideas.
-	Innovation – the latest developments be that in media, content creation, partnerships etc
-	Key design principles – making sure every touchpoint is adding value to the brand through strong visual identity.

Striking is the similarity in challenges and needs that the financial service marketer faces whether they be US or UK based, particularly as the majority of the brands are global.

The Gramercy Institute held their bi annual London event at Morningstar on Thursday 24th October to explore best practice and new directions across from content, brand, media and AI and the future of financial marketing.  

The Gramercy  2025: Trends & Directions in Financial Marketing

While the summertime is typically considered a quieter period, it hasn’t been the case for our busy PR team who have been powering through the warm days and launching some fantastic work across a number of our clients. 

One of those campaigns has been Scottish Widows' landmark [Retirement Report](https://www.scottishwidows.co.uk/about-us/media-centre/reports/retirement-report.html), which is now in its 20th year. Examining how people think and feel about the future while charting the nation's preparedness for retirement year-on-year. This year, the findings show an alarming number of people aren’t on track for the retirement lifestyle they would like, people are having to work longer to save the money they need later on, and the heavy reliance on the state pension will continue for the foreseeable future. 

Working closely with the team at Scottish Widows and other agency partners, we launched the report at the end of July. Armed with the landmark findings, exclusive data, case studies, expert spokespeople and the support of sporting legend Paula Radcliffe as third-party spokesperson, the findings landed with a bang across broadcast, national, consumer and trade media. Coverage spanned from BBC You & Yours to The Times, The Telegraph and FT with over 100 pieces achieved to date, and more still to come. 

We love working on campaigns like this for a number of reasons. 

Firstly, engaging with a third party spokesperson, like Paula Radcliffe, added a different perspective on the findings. Paula was able to share her own experience of what it was like to retire from her ‘job’ at an early age, and the emotions she encountered. While this isn’t possible with every campaign, adding a third party spokesperson and well-known voice can really amplify the findings into a different space, to a different audience. And for us, the interviews coincided with the day that Andy Murray announced his retirement from tennis after the Olympics - a nice extra news hook. 

Secondly, Scottish Widows is forging a path in the financial services industry and spotlighting the experiences of marginalised communities. The team understands that we don’t all have the same experience and if we are to improve retirement outcomes across the entire population, we need to understand diverse experiences from those living with disabilities, minority groups and the LGBTQ community. And importantly, equip everyone with the tools, conversation starters and small actions they can take to make a positive change to their financial futures. 

Thirdly, with the formation of a new government we’ve been able to work closely with the public affairs team to call for changes needed to get more people in the UK on track for retirement. From lowering auto-enrolment age, widening the scope to bring in self-employed workers, and increasing contribution rates, these calls, if implemented, would have a really significant impact on people’s retirement outcomes - especially for the next generation of retirees. 

We’re incredibly passionate as an agency about transforming the world of finance for the better and these values align closely with Scottish Widows ambitions. And, with Pension Engagement Season around the corner, this certainly won’t be the last you hear from us! 

The warmer summer weather hasn’t seen our PR team down tools. Instead they’ve been busy launching fantastic work across a number of our clients including the Scottish Widows Retirement Report which is now in its 20th year! Read more here:

Marking 20 years of retirement insights with Scottish Widows

Last Monday, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the first ethereum exchange traded funds (ETFs), marking another large win for cryptocurrency enthusiasts following the debut of bitcoin ETFs which were approved by the agency back in January. The mere sound of the word ‘crypto’ still frightens and confuses many investors, instantly conjuring up tales of scams, ponzi schemes, legal battles and get rich quick adverts. Indeed to this day, the majority of mainstream coverage of digital assets typically is focused on the above, in crypto-land,  you are either a hero or a zero, all this despite the fact that the asset class has been popular for quite some time. 

Despite the media coverage and fears associated with it, many of which are well-intentioned, digital assets continue to grow in prominence and popularity. This is illustrated by a recent study of global institutional investors which found that 60% were familiar with the asset class, 51% were invested in it, with one in seven admitting they are likely to increase their allocation towards it in the next two to three years. This demonstrates the tide and attitude towards digital finance is definitely shifting.

The big question for those in the industry who are trying to bridge this gap is how exactly do they do it? Enter the California Roll (stay with me here). Before I explain just how digital assets are like raw fish, I must admit this idea came from the mind of our Strategy Director Dan Perry, who stumbled upon it by reading work by behavioural psychologist Nir Eyal so all credit to both of them for this. 

In the 1970s, Japanese restaurant owners in the states were struggling to entice diners into their restaurants. Raw fish was not part of the established American diet and the cuisine was just altogether alien. But by swapping the unfamiliar raw fish, tofu and seaweed for more familiar ingredients like avocado and crab they provided a gateway to sushi in the form of the California Roll. Making the unfamiliar familiar, and therefore more palatable.

The blending of the familiar with the unfamiliar is a proven method for encouraging the widespread adoption of new products, the key issue at hand here. This therefore, can be applied to the world of finance, in the form of unfamiliar assets in familiar wrappers e.g. Bitcoin ETF or familiar assets in unfamiliar wrappers e.g. Tokenised gold.
The initiative therefore lies with those established traditional finance businesses that are able to market their digital asset capabilities as an evolution of those products we all know and love rather than a revolution. This should encourage wider spread adoption and, in time, more positive media coverage and better public opinion.  

## Sources:

[Fidelity Digital Assets Research: Institutional Investor survey](https://www.fidelitydigitalassets.com/sites/g/files/djuvja3256/files/acquiadam/June%202024%20Institutional%20Investors%20Digital%20Asset%20Survey%20-%20Key%20Findings%20%2805.29%29.pdf) - Survey of institutional investors by Fidelity
[https://www.nirandfar.com/california-role-rule/](https://www.nirandfar.com/california-role-rule/) - Original California Roll story by Nir Eyal 
[https://www.ft.com/content/f36d7eeb-03d6-4dab-909a-d5d4524a4edb](https://www.ft.com/content/f36d7eeb-03d6-4dab-909a-d5d4524a4edb) - FT article on the approval of Ethereum ETFs


What could Digital Assets and Sushi have in common? Perhaps more than you think. PR Senior Account Executive Luke Hall takes a look at how the success of the California Roll might just be the model for bridging the gap on digital assets.

Why Digital Assets are like Sushi

## What's going on? 

In the past, everyone has treated B2B and B2C separately, but really it’s all business to human (B2H). If you want to move products, you need to move people. And if you want to move people, you need to move their minds. So, we need to create content that engages on a human level – that’s what B2B marketing should be all about. If we spent as much time engaging with our audience, as we did on perfecting features, benefits and our performance marketing funnel, we’d start to see the quality of sales leads improve dramatically.

## Why does it matter?

As the world becomes more digital, we appreciate real human engagement and conversation more than ever. If you really want to drive growth in your business, it’s time to wake up to the power of branding, purpose, storytelling and emotion. This will help your brand become more meaningful in the minds of your audience. Business audiences want more from you than product features or benefits. They want to be entertained, educated and made to feel special. They’d love to know what your business cares about, what you value. Crucially, they want to be treated as human beings, not as buying machines.

## What can we do?

- It doesn’t mean performance marketing should be ditched. Instead, consider tone of voice alongside conversational and colloquial language, and simplify complex topics and themes as if talking to a friend, and reel them in with a story where people need to hear the ending. 
- Become experts in people, emotion and storytelling. Become a trusted educator for your customers; learn for yourself and experiment. Find out what your customers are really experiencing when they engage with you. 
- Be more human. It will make you more likeable, and if you’re more likeable, the chances are you’ll be more profitable, too.

---

__For more from our 2024 Signals Report, read the full piece [here](https://assets.ctfassets.net/sxw14dxmazhg/jNSe8xFxo3VnUarFvWZCt/63fc7b5d494576b1889826043fe98b42/Teamspirit_-_2024_Signals_Report.pdf). Or if you’d like to discuss the impact of these signals on your business contact us at [hello@teamspirit.co.uk](mailto:hello@teamspirit.co.uk).__


In the past, everyone has treated B2B and B2C separately, but really it’s all business to human (B2H). If you want to move products, you need to move people. And if you want to move people, you need to move their minds. Are we losing this?

In marketing, are we losing sight of ‘Business to Human?

BlackRock chief executive, Larry Fink, recently addressed FTSE 100 companies with a [cautionary letter ](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2018/01/16/worlds-biggest-fund-blackrock-warns-companies-find-social-purpose/)– make a positive contribution to society or risk losing support from stakeholders.

To prosper, Fink advises that every company must deliver not only financial performance but also serve a social purpose – without this [sense of purpose](https://www.blackrock.com/corporate/en-no/investor-relations/larry-fink-ceo-letter), no public or private company will be able to achieve its full potential. 

The CEOs are told they have an obligation to consider their long-term growth strategy, which can only be sustained through an understanding of broader structural changes such as slow wage growth, rising automation and climate change.

Strong words from the world’s biggest investor, and ones which resonate strongly with us at Teamspirit. Our own purpose, to transform the world of finance for the better, is something we believe in strongly. And if you’re interested in getting involved too, we’re the agency to talk with. 

Find out more about the importance of making a positive contribution in FS from our Purpose in Action whitepaper [here](http://teamspirit.uk.com/what-we-think/white-paper/purpose-in-action). 


BlackRock chief executive, Larry Fink, recently addressed FTSE 100 companies with a cautionary letter – make a positive contribution to society or risk losing support from stakeholders. 

Society over shareholders, says Fink

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