The best brands tell a story about what it means to be human, to live well and flourish. Dove. Nike. Harley-Davidson. They don’t talk about soap or shoes or motorcycles. They talk about empowerment and fearlessness and rebellion. Great brands do research to identify the stories that move their customers, then show how their products and services bring those stories to life. Using narrative methods from psychology and anthropology, we enable financial brands to do the same - to overcome the trappings of product, price and performance and speak deeply into the stories people most want to live.

As investing becomes commoditized and fees are increasingly compressed, financial companies need to be winning in “the experience economy.” How do you win? By pairing the latest advances in CX technology with game-changing strategic insight into what’s motivating customers at every stage of the lifecycle. In-depth prospect interviews. Focus groups with client communities. Journey mapping. Annual surveys. Real-time customer feedback loops. We help you build, monitor and optimize exceptional client and advisor experiences with bespoke, branded and on-strategy research programs.

Advertising and recruiting campaigns offer the most forward-thinking financial companies the opportunity to upend industry assumptions and say something radical. More tactical and targeted than a brand strategy, these campaigns beg for edgy insights and disruptive creative executions that speak engagingly into the cultural present. Backed by science. Designed to lay ruin to industry tropes. Our campaigns consistently outperform benchmarks and our clients’ wildest expectations.

Thought leadership should identify opportunities and solve intractable problems. Our clients have shattered the half-truths of the wealth management industry. Been the first to spot the reversal of gender norms in the C-Suite. Investigated the untold impact of stress among financial advisors. Thought leadership shouldn’t just say something different. It should endeavour to do something meaningful. From insight to launch our thought leadership programs move the industry forward. And our clients to the front of the pack.

Is your message resonating? Is your value proposition clearly stated and compelling? We recruit clients and prospects across channels and evaluate your communications on the basis of measurable psychological variables - including persuasion, attitude change, attention, arousal and involvement. Designed to help you find and refine the heartbeat of your message, we identify what’s working and what’s not. And we don’t stop until you achieve maximum emotional and motivational impact.

See how you are performing against the competition. Prove the ROI of your marketing spend. Spot opportunities to get ahead. Our benchmarking research joins foundational industry measures with proprietary psychological ones customized to help you evaluate both the rational and emotional sides of the financial brands, products and services you compete against.