The financial industry has consistently spent more ondigital advertising than any other industry.

Still, according to a report by eMarketer, digital ad spend-ing by the financial services industry will rise further from $5.2 billion in 2013 to $7.4 billion by 2017 (“The U.S. Financial Industry 2013: Digital Ad Spending Forecast and Key Trends”).

This figure isn’t surprising given that 57% of respondents to a survey conducted by PWC claimed that their bank would increase their digital investments in the coming two years.

Sixty-three percent of respondents also noted that they expect to see a 6% hike in revenue because of the in-creased investment.

Within the vast umbrella of digital advertising, mobile advertising, the video format and programmatic buying seem to show the most promise.

THE FINANCIAL INDUSTRY LEADS IN DIGITAL SPEND

PROGRAMMATIC:“Programmatic now delivers more than 33% of financial ads, according to the Journal of Financial Advertising and Marketing. In addition, more than half of financial brands will spend ad budgets through RTB and programmatic for both branding and direct marketing campaigns,” said advisor to Martini Media, Skip Brand.

BrightRoll’s Tod Sacerdoti is spot on with his prediction that nearly 75% percent of all digital video ad buys will be programmatic in 2014. Not only are these video buys more automated, measurable and transparent than TV, but they are also becoming more accessible to brands with the rise of sophisticated programmatic platforms, simple-to-use video executions and optimization.

“Programmatic is the new premium, and video is just the required first step for the financial advertisers to lead the way,” said Brand.

MOBILE: Spending by the financial services industry in the mobile adver-tising realm increased by 56% from 2012 to 2013—the growth rate is expected to slow to 46% from 2013 to 2014.

VIDEO: Although search and banner ad spends currently exceed that of video, the rate of spending on video is increasing at a greater rate than any other mobile format. There has been a 57% in-crease in the number of financial marketers expected to lever-age online video marketing between 2012 and 2013. Perhaps even more interesting, 58% of financial marketers claimed that video is VITAL to market financial services (Martini Media Inc.).

Banking is becoming synonymous with mobility. As your brand’s product and service o�erings become increasingly digitized, so too should your marketing e�orts. If you’re trying to attract people who use online banking, online is where you need to advertise.

Plus, competition from non-bank, digitized financial services like PayPal, means that banks have to step up their digital strategy to stay relevant and useful to the millennial consumer.

DIGITAL SERVICES NEED DIGITAL PROMOTION

1.

BRAND DIFFERENTIATION

“Consumers view most banking brands as undesirable and wholly undi�erentiated,” claims Simon Clough, Group Board Director, Clear. “The digitalization of the industry is further commoditizing our brands, with fewer face-to-face interactions limiting our ability to set banks apart.”

Online video helps this situation tremendously. Banks should brand for the future, not for right now. Just being digital is not enough, you have to be the one defining WHAT digital is in order to make any kind of impact in the highly undi�erentiated finan-cial market. Small di�erences in interest rates or other technical product di�erentiators, while important, don’t really di�erenti-ate your brand. Cultivating your digital presence gives your brand a personality in the marketplace, and that is what allows your products to stand above the rest.

2.

INCREASED POINTS OF CONTACT WITH THE CONSUMER

3.

Adopting a digitally focused strategy increases the number of times the consumer and bank “connect” and engage with each other. It’s easy to transfer money to six friends using mobile banking. However, if you had to do it at a branch, you’d either try to make one trip and interact with the bank one time, or not borrow money at all due to the hassle of returning. The ease of moving money around makes transferring it more likely and more frequent.

Consequently, customers will engage with your brand more frequently the more “digital” you are. Adopting a digital strategy that focuses on mobile and multi-platform usability is also key. The number of people banking purely through their smartphones has increased every year, as has the number of people banking on both PCs and mobile devices. Pure PC use, however, has fallen steadily.

Today, the financial industry’s target consumer is one who is accustomed to existing in a highly digitized world that is defined by convenience and immediacy. Young adults’ symbiotic relationship with technology means that the best way to engage them is to enter the digital space—18 to 34-year-olds are far more interested in and likely to consume financial information via online video.

In fact, while only 9% of total survey respondents claimed to have watched a video posted by a financial institution on YouTube or some other social media platform in the past year, a far higher 19% of respondents claimed to have watched one when the sample was reduced to the 18 to 34-year-old segment (Mintel’s Lifestage Marketing – U.S., January 2013).

REACHING THE YOUTH SEGMENT

4.

Although mobile banking consumers are on average 14 years younger than o�ine bankers, late adopters like boomers and se-niors seem to be demonstrating a growing a�nity for convenience-enhancing technologies. They have begun to increasingly rely on digital banking services to lighten the burden of their day-to-day schedules, much like they have been relying on services like EBay.

REACHING THE BOOMERS & SENIORS

5.

Financial products and services are di�cult to grasp for a significant portion of potential and existing consumers. Moreover, we seem to be entrenched in an age where new financial products and services are constantly being developed.

While financial institutions needn’t roll out a video explaining the future of Bitcoin, they could use online video to augment users’ understanding of their own o�erings. Not only would this free up a significant amount of time for their in-branch person-nel and customer service representatives, but it would also enhance the consumer experience. Users can play, pause and replay customer service videos at their own convenience. People also tend to be somewhat less open to experimenting with a new product when it concerns their general financial standing. Having a video to “walk them through it” is incredibly beneficial.

ENHANCED CONSUMER COMPREHENSION

6.

A report by Jim Marous on Banking Trends for 2014 cites an interesting claim by Nicole Sturgill, Director of Retail Banking Re-search, CEB Tower Group.

“Digital channels will mature from being transactional to being engaging in the coming year,” she said.

The financial industry has long been defined by a somber, number-driven, oftentimes negative brand image. Today, an increasing number of financial institutions seem to be leveraging digital media strategies like online video content curation to reposition themselves as more “human” (e.g. Bank of America, Wells Fargo, E*Trade).

7.

AUGMENTED BRAND RELATABILITY

Total Mentions:

Share of Voice:

Facebook Likes:

Kred Influence:

Kred Outreach:

341,258

12%

1,542,254

674

6

DIGITALLY FOCUSED REBRANDING:Bank of America (BoA) unveiled a brand new campaign that focuses on the role the bank has played in helping people build their lives. BoA is trying to change its image from one of a bank that is all about the num-bers to one more focused on its customers. It transformed its “Bank of Opportunity” tagline to the more personable “Life’s Better When We’re Connected” to reflect this shift.

Not only does BoA’s new tagline immediately raise the importance of being connected through technology, but it also reflects the brand’s adherence to a key industry trend. Financial institutions need to posi-tion themselves as brands that possess the same values as their poten-tial consumers in order to facilitate maximum engagement.

SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE: The brand is also one of the most active on social media. It is constantly engaged in trying to connect to its customers in a more personal way. BoA was able to leverage the online space to give itself a more “human” and relatable face in the market.

1.

FOCUS ON MOBILE: The bank reportedly has over 12 million mobile customers, a figure that increases by an average of 10,000 new subscribers every day.

MERRILL LYNCH MERGER:Mergers and acquisitions can often lead to a confused brand image, especially when the two companies involved are highly recognizable names in the market. BoA’s online ad placements on websites like CNN in 2013 have been extremely successful in uniting the two companies’ public images under one benevolent brand.

The “Bank of America” brand elicits the highest level of aware-ness in the financial market as well as the highest levels of cur-rent use amongst its competitors (23%). The brand’s impressive standing in the market could be explained by its understanding of the need to grow its digital presence.

E*Trade made some big changes this year. It retired its partner-ship with Grey New York and phased out its iconic “baby” spot. E*Trade’s new relationship with Ogilvy and Mather led to the creation of its current “Type E” campaign.

DIGITALLY FOCUSED REBRANDING:The “Type E” campaign is aimed at “customers who are embracing technology and digital channels,” said CMO Liza Landsman. It features House of Cards legend Kevin Spacey, who according to Landsman has “transformed the digital entertainment space by creating such high quality content online that we have actually changed the way we con-sume TV.”

What’s notable here is that although the spot hasn’t really achieved super-virality in the digital space, it was conceived and created with the digitally-focused consumer in mind.

2.

ONLINE VIDEO CONTENT CURATION:E*Trade is utilizing its YouTube channel for commercials and education-al content. The company realizes that pertinent, quality content drives tra�c and digital engagement.

DIGITAL CUSTOMER SERVICE:E*Trade President Navtej Nandra recently described the “new and im-proved” E*Trade as a “digital hybrid” that works across many plat-forms, including those that rely on customer service representatives and live advisers for clients who want the "human touch."

FOCUS ON MOBILE:Nandra also claimed that 10% of the company's trades are now execut-ed through mobile and tablet devices. When sales of a brand’s product seem to increasingly rely on the digital space, so too should the brand’s marketing strategy.

Total Mentions:

Share of Voice:

Facebook Likes:

Kred Influence:

Kred Outreach:

409,059

14%

610,244

940

6

DIGITALLY FOCUSED REBRANDING: Wells Fargo’s recent ads tend to reflect the need to capture the millen-nial market. The bank understands that the most foolproof way to do that is by underscoring its commitment to digital. Wells Fargo’s new "Done," campaign focuses on the bank’s easy-to-use e-banking ser-vices.

Millennials want to bank “from the convenience of their cellphone," Wells Fargo CMO Jamie Moldafsky said, but value all channels, includ-ing ATM, phone and tablet. "It's the ability to do it how you want…you have to fit into their life."

ONLINE VIDEO CONTENT CURATION:Wells Fargo Stories is an “online journal of working together” on the brand’s website. It is a space where the brand puts the spotlight on how its services have empowered communities. It focuses on the end result—the potential of the product instead of the product itself. The Wells Fargo YouTube channel similarly features videos that highlight “Wells Fargo in the community,” o�er financial tips, consolidate inter-esting content for businesses, reveal behind the scenes clips of com-mercials and more.

3.

FOCUS ON MOBILE:Aside from being one of the first banks to o�er mobile banking ser-vices, Wells Fargo overhauled and redesigned its website last year to allow for a more streamlined, user-friendly experience across platforms and devices, specifically smartphones.

DIGITALLY FOCUSED REBRANDING:The JP Morgan brand su�ered some serious setbacks due to its involve-ment in Mado�’s Ponzi scheme disaster. Its rebranding attempts were centered on presenting the brand as relatable peers in the digital space. However, its “askJPM” hashtag-hijacking debacle illustrates that the company didn’t quite get it right.

It was poorly timed and opened the brand up to a public battering. The bank’s new Chief Marketing O�cer, Kristin Lemkau claims that while #askJPM was a mistake, JP Morgan will not steer clear of plat-forms like Twitter.

"We've got to be there. Our customers are there, it's really important," she said. Lemkau also mentioned that the brand needed to step up its social strategy to get on par with its competitors.

CONTENT CURATION: "There is a lot of good that's going on in the company. We've got to do a better job of telling that story, and digital channels are going to be an important way to do that," said Lemkau in an interview.

FOCUS ON MOBILE: Lemkau also claimed that the brand needed to go beyond connecting with its users via email and would continue to develop its mobile capabilities.

4.

Total Mentions:

Share of Voice:

Facebook Likes:

Kred Influence:

Kred Outreach:

1,556,738

55%

3,750,985

877

8

DIGITALLY FOCUSED REBRANDING:The #TeamCiti and #FTW campaigns from CitiGroup incorporated brand messaging and showcased many of Citi's competitive and inno-vative banking products, including Citigold, the Citi Mobile app, and the Citi ThankYou® Preferred Visa card. These campaigns assisted in not only increasing brand awareness, but also helped raise $500,000 for sponsored CitiGroup athletes and their sports programs.

Unfortunately, the campaign videos didn’t quiet obtain major online viewership. When banks create marketing materials designed for en-gagement, they need to focus on targeting socially active audiences across the most influential social channels.

CONTENT CURATION: “We have to be a digital company...engaging and marketing in the social space...bringing content to where people are,” said CitiGroup’s former Global Consumer Chief Marketing and Internet O�cer, Michelle Peluso.

FOCUS ON MOBILE: CitiGroup has recently launched its “Citi Mobile(R) Snapshot” which allows U.S. banking and credit card users to view deposits, card balanc-es and recent transactions without logging into their accounts.

"Customers want fast and simple access to their account information, and Citi Mobile Snapshot is the latest example of how we are finding new ways to deliver,” said Chief Client Experience, Digital and Market-ing O�cer of Citi Global Consumer Banking Heather Cox in an inter-view with The Wall Street Journal. This feature will allow customers to monitor their accounts by displaying balances and their 15 most recent transactions.

5.

Total Mentions:

Share of Voice:

Facebook Likes:

Kred Influence:

Kred Outreach:

326,360

11%

949,700

888

7

A FEW TAKEAWAYS

GET THERE FIRSTIt is important to define what the future of financial services will look like instead of merely following the industry’s innovation leader. Reports by both McKinsey and Accenture have predicted that the next three years will bring roughly 35% or $350 billion worth of market share in the American financial services industry into play. The brands that win will be those that embrace digital first and set the rules for the rest to follow.

1.

KNOW YOUR BRAND AND TIME YOUR SOCIAL INTERACTION

Just having a digital presence isn’t the answer. You need to understand the platform and its applicability to your brand’s needs before attempting to incorporate it into your ad strategy.

2.

FOCUS ON EVOLVING CUSTOMER PREFERENCESA study conducted by Mintel tracked respondents’ social interactions with prominent financial institutions.

3.

BASE: Internet users aged 18+

who use social media and have used

I HAVE LOOKED UP/TALKED ABOUT THIS BRAND ONLINE ON SOCIAL MEDIA…

Before I became a customer

As an existing customer

As a past customer

SOURCE: (Mintel, Retail Banks and Credit Unions - US - February 2014)

786

12% 9% 13% 13% 25% 31%

14% 15% 17% 13% 31% 33%

7% 5% 6% 9% 15% 9%

654 564 513 157 156

BASE: Internet users aged 18+

who use social media and have used

786 654 564 513 157 156

I HAVE CONTACTED OR INTERACTED WITH THE BRAND ONLINE ON SOCIAL MEDIA TO…

Get freebies, discounts or special o�ers

Share a negativeexperience

Share a positive experience

Express excitement/satisfaction

Seek or share advice

To enter or participate in a contest or giveaway

6% 5% 7% 8% 15% 17%

7% 7% 7% 7% 18% 20%

5% 5% 8% 8% 18% 16%

5% 5% 5% 5% 10% 15%

2% 2% 2% 3% 5% 6%

6% 5% 7% 8% 15% 17%

BASE: Internet users aged 18+

who use social media and have used

786 654 564 513 157 156

I FOLLOW/LIKE THE BRAND ON SOCIAL MEDIA BECAUSE….

I HAVE RESEARCHED THE BRAND ON SOCIAL MEDIA TO….

I want to be associated with it

It aligns with my personal views (ie, no animal

testing, marriage equality, locally grown, GMO-free)

Share a positive experience

Compare it against other brands (ie, price,

quality, service)

To enter or participate in a contest or giveaway

7% 9% 10% 9% 22% 24%

7% 7% 10% 10% 24% 25%

4% 4% 4% 5% 8% 10%

11% 12% 16% 14% 25% 26%

68% 70% 64% 65% 34% 30%

CONTENT CURATION AND MONEY MANAGEMENT:The highest number of customers watch videos from financial institutions while being an active customer, the second highest watch them before they become a customer and lowest number watch them after they stop being one/disengage. This means that your branded video content needs to go beyond introducing the market to your brand and product, they need to be more than just a means to enhance visibility. Focus on using video to not only attract, but also maintain engagement.

CUSTOMER SERVICE:The highest number of customers reportedly interacts with financial institutions online when they want to share a positive experience they’ve had with the brand. The second highest number of customers claimed that they would digitally interact with a brand in order to share a negative experience they’ve had. Reward your loyalists and be quick to reach out to your detractors to remedy the situation.

RELATABILITY AND VALUE ALIGNMENT The highest number of customers claimed to follow/like a brand when it aligned with their personal views or when they want to be personally associated with it. Be relatable and further values that resound with the millennial generation.

SHIFTING TO A “BRANCHLESS” BANKING SYSTEM:According to a report by the Financial Times, “within five years, at least three out of every four customer interactions with banks will be online or mobile. Less than 5% by some estimates will be taking place in branches.”

4.

LOOK BEYOND AMERICA:“Mobile adoption is extremely widespread—more than three billionpeople have mobile phones but only around two billion people have bank accounts. In those markets where banking is not already well established, many are moving straight to mobile payments, and skipping plastic and branch banking altogether. Having a smartphoneis like having a bank right in the palm of your hand,” said Citi’s CEO Michael Corbat.

As the technology and financial services industries grow nearly parallel to each other in developing regions, people’s first interactions with financial institutions could be digital.

5.

MITX: WHAT’S NEXT AWARDSEven though we didn't bring home the trophy, we were still honored to be a finalist for the 2014 MITX What's Next Awards. The team was nominated for Best Online Video Innovation along side HitBliss and Cantina and enjoyed the local celebration at the Westin Waterfront in Boston. It was a night to remember filled with good friends, drinks and speeches from Mayor Menino, John Michael Higgins and more!

DIGITASLBI NEWFRONT 2014May was a busy month for us, and that included being a part of the famous NewFronts Conference in New York. Our team took over DigitasLBi in NYC and spent the day educating the industry on what's new in native video advertising, as well as picking up a few helpful tips ourselves! Check out our best tips for a successful year in digital advertising here: 4 Takeaways from NewFronts 2014