WORD OF MOUTH
WoM
the publication for financial and technology communications professionals
Worst of Times, Best of Times MINING FINANCIAL COMMUNICATIONS OPPORTUNITIES WHEN CRIsIS IS THE DAILY NORM Page 07
Also in this issue: 02 Communication: Your Most Powerful Weapon 03 Q&A with George Cadbury, PCE Investors 04 Deutsche Bank at Sibos 2008 08 Asia Communication Challenges
Issue 12
The following are usually on our list of recommendations: Ensure that communication is a focus at the highest level in the company Once you have agreed that your corporate reputation matters, spend sufficient time discussing the strategies you need to deploy to ensure your goals are met. No action may well be the right strategy, but at least it has been considered.
Welcome Tom Coombes Chairman and CEO
Communication: Your Most Powerful Weapon The dramatic and unprecedented events in the global financial sector have prompted most, if not all, of our clients to review and change the way they operate. This is true for our clients across the banking, investment and technology sectors. It may be hard to see right now, but the adverse market conditions will definitely drive improvement in not only the way companies run their businesses as a whole, but the way they use communication to protect and drive it. In an industry that depends on confidence and trust more so than almost any other, the financial sector has often lagged in its communication competence. Over the course of events this year Cognito’s blog – www.financialpr.blogspot.com – has discussed the communication challenges facing specific firms and the industry in general during these unique market conditions. What is clear is that often the market conditions were changing so fast that well thought through communication strategy was impossible to implement. Too often we felt that too many companies did not have the focus or internal competence in communication to ensure that this crucial business function was in place to play its role in helping the organization when it was needed the most. The majority of firms in the financial markets can improve their business performance with better communication practices. As advisor to many of these firms, we are often asked what companies can do to improve.
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Consider all your audiences Communication with staff, clients, investors, media, analysts all requires specific skills and experience as well as proactive and reactive plans. Build your internal competence Communication is such a fundamental skill and function that few companies can afford not to have it internally. Whilst external help and counsel is usually worthwhile, any third party you engage should be working to improve the competence and connections of your firm as part of their brief. Turn weaknesses into strengths The events of this year will have exposed some gaping weaknesses in several areas of many firms. The opportunity now exists to use these expensive lessons to improve your business as a whole. Whether stories were written about you that weren’t accurate, or you missed the opportunity to take a leadership role on a particular issue, each should be evaluated and addressed for the longer term benefit of the company. Use communication as your most powerful weapon Particularly with the rise of new technologies, the opportunity to use good communication to seriously improve your business has never been stronger. When times get tough, improve your communication and marketing. Do more of it, but do it better. It is not expensive but requires thought and input from the senior heads in the organization. Often the marketing function is not closely enough aligned with the business heads to be able to execute communication initiatives in isolation. Now is the time for people who run the businesses to define their strategy, crystallize their thoughts and ensure it is communicated internally and externally, regularly and thoroughly. Good communication builds understanding, support and loyalty, and, properly handled, it is some of the best investment any company will ever make.
News Cognito Moves On Up… Downtown October 2008 saw Cognito moving to new premises in New York. Cognito is now based in the Financial District on the second floor of One Battery Park Plaza. Cognito has grown fivefold since coming to New York in 2005 and this move is designed to provide a larger platform for our continued expansion. Dan Simon, Managing Director, Cognito New York, comments; “Cognito’s focus is exclusively on PR and Marketing in Finance and Financial Technology and we are very excited to be relocating to the heart of the Financial District in New York. The future for us here is very exciting.” To find out more contact Daniel.Simon@cognitomedia.com Telephone: +1 646 395 6300
Despite difficult market conditions, 2008 has seen Cognito grow in both Europe and the US and we are working on more projects in Asia. 2009 will be more challenging than ever but we look forward to working with our clients through these difficult markets and helping them to build better businesses.
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case study
Q&A
George Cadbury, President, PCE Investors Why Cognito? Cognito specializes in financial services with a strong emphasis on technology – it is a fantastic outlet for us. Since working with Cognito, I am most pleased with their high level of response. I understand that they have bigger clients but they are always responsive and always available.
Can you tell us a little more about PCE Investors? PCE Investors is a unique business which offers a complementary suite of back and middle office services to independent emerging and established hedge funds – essentially PCE is an infrastructure platform for hedge funds. PCE removes the elements of running a fund business, whether it is an already established fund or a start up, and ensures it gets the fund manager to where he/she wants to be. PCE offers support in the following areas: Experienced in-house operational support Assistance with marketing Technology: data vendor services, trading systems etc. Risk management: PCE helps managers frame risk expectations for their investors and ensures their exposures remain consistent with the framework they have set Compliance: PCE takes full responsibility for the design and implementation of all compliance processes and their monitoring.
They manage our presence in the public domain as well as helping us with brochures and other marketing initiatives. What have been your highlights since working with Cognito? Since working with Cognito the biggest highlight is that we are now considered a recognized source for referrals – reporters approach us for comment. We are regularly covered in our target publications and only recently we were featured on the BBC website with comment relating to the recent losses by hedge fund bosses of £13bn on the Volkswagen shares deal. We also recently produced a report for KPMG analyzing hedge funds and their cost structures. Cognito had good input into what should be included and also helped us to release it to our target audience.
Founded in 1998 and headquartered in London, PCE Investors currently supports 20 separate funds with total assets under management of more than $2bn. How much value do you place on PR? PR is very important to me. PCE’s message is unique but is sometimes the hardest thing to sell. PR helps us build up client confidence in what we offer.
What does the future hold for hedge funds and PCE? The hedge fund business is going through a seismic change in perception. Where as before hedge funds were seen as a secretive asset class, they are now much more mainstream and the public’s perception of them is not always favourable.
What was PCE looking for in an agency? Prior to Cognito, PCE had worked with two agencies in a matter of a year so I was surprised that nothing was written about PCE or its business in our target media – to me this was a huge flaw. The second of these agencies was competent and hard working but did not have the resources to get as much exposure as we wanted. In addition, their knowledge of our space was not as good as it could have been. We were looking for an agency with competence in the financial services market, specifically hedge funds, who could deliver us results.
Investors are increasingly being driven towards how hedge fund businesses operate as opposed to the initial interest in the investment opportunity. Now is a great time for PCE to support independent hedge funds with their PCE Investors daily business operations, allowing them to focus on trading and increasing performance. n
PCE Investors
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PCE Investors
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Case Study Deutsche Bank SIBOS 2008
D
ecember 2007 and Cognito travelled to Frankfurt to initiate the project and to get a full understanding of the brief. With a clear view of Deutsche Bank’s key deliverables and messages, Cognito set about developing a concept that would meet Deutsche Bank’s criteria to: Maximize Deutsche Bank GTB’s profile at Sibos 2008 Promote key messages and product lines Go paperless Increase booth traffic and engagement of delegates Promote Deutsche Bank GTB as both an innovator and technology leader Increase effectiveness of, and engagement with marketing material Provide strong identity Engage, educate and entertain delegates Provide atmosphere and interactivity rather than a stale, static environment.
Deutsche Bank stands out from the competition Sibos 2007 and the conversations begin. Meeting at Deutsche Bank’s stand in Boston, Christoph Woermann, Head of Marketing & Communications, Global Transaction Banking (GTB), Deutsche Bank informed Cognito that Deutsche Bank wanted to raise the bar at Sibos 2008. They wanted to create a concept that would ‘excite and delight’.
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Cognito prides itself on keeping up to speed with the latest technologies, not just in terms of financial technology, but also with regard to creative technology. Claire Skaptason, Marketing Services Manager, comments; “as a full service agency we need to be on top of our game to enable us to offer the most innovative solutions to our customers.” After much research and creative brainstorming, Cognito presented a proposal based on surface technology whereby Deutsche Bank would have interactive surfaces on their stand to offer an engaging and educational experience to any delegate. Through using such technology in this industry sector, Deutsche Bank would almost certainly stand out in the crowd and be seen as a true innovator and technology leader. Green for Go After presenting the initial idea to Deutsche Bank, they agreed that the concept was innovative and, if delivered in the right way, would certainly create the desired results. Cognito introduced Mindstorm as the technology company able to fulfil the brief. Mindstorm, based in London, is an awardwinning software company that transforms otherwise static surfaces into intelligent displays, and passive customers into active participants. Q1 2008 and members of Deutsche Bank’s GTB team travelled to Mindstorm’s offices in London to experience the interactive technology first hand. What they saw were Mindstorm’s iBars – quite literally bars that you would find at a bar or club that demonstrate an interactive experience using surface technology. Deutsche Bank knew immediately that this kind of technology was perfect to raise their profile at Sibos.
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case study
The Project Gets Underway In April 2008 the project began in earnest with Deutsche Bank, Cognito and Mindstorm scoping out exactly what would be delivered. The plan was to have two iBars, each with three individual surfaces, incorporated into Deutsche Bank’s stand that would demonstrate the surface technology. With a view to ‘going paperless’, and with four business units within Global Transaction Banking, Cognito and Mindstorm had to create a way of presenting the relevant information for each unit in an easy to navigate fashion that would allow delegates to view and download information. The information in each business unit consisted of presentations, brochures, articles, press releases and videos. The ‘Carousel’ concept was developed which would ultimately enable delegates to browse marketing literature within each business unit in a carousel of documents – allowing the user to engage in an entertaining interactive experience as well as being educated. Once approved, Cognito developed story boards to present exactly how the surface would appear and diagrams to explain which documents would be incorporated into the Carousel. Cognito worked on the overall look and feel of the surface while Mindstorm developed the technology behind the Carousel – something they had not done before. The final result would be three levels: Level 1: Interactive surface using the Deutsche Bank wave in motion which, when touched with a finger, would activate many Deutsche Bank logos. When moving your finger around the surface the logos would continue to be activated following the route of your finger. Level 2: An introduction to the six business units with key lead questions and messages for each business unit appearing across the surface.
Delivering the Information With six business units there was a lot of information that had to be incorporated into the individual Carousels in the right order. Each file delivered had to be given a consistently designed cover and converted into the correct format. Claire Skaptason comments; “this was a timely part of the project but one that proceeded without much pain due to Deutsche Bank’s efficiency and high level of organization in terms of its marketing literature. We received the majority of the information in time, but due to the flexibilities that Mindstorm had built into the technology, we were still able to take certain documents, e.g. press releases and articles, right up to the start of the event.” Communication is Key With Deutsche Bank’s GTB team sitting in Frankfurt and Cognito and Mindstorm both in London, regular reporting was essential to ensure the project ran without problems. Weekly planning calls were held which included members from Deutsche Bank, Cognito, Mindstorm, Zweikant (the stand architects) and Fullscreeners (the stand builders). It was essential to have Zweikant and Fullscreeners involved as it would be them who would ultimately be responsible for ensuring the iBars would fit into the stand design and built to the specifications required by Mindstorm. In order for Deutsche Bank to view the continued progress of the technology, Mindstorm took videos of the developed technology for Deutsche Bank’s review and comments. Sibos Approaches With Sibos just around the corner it was essential that each member of the Deutsche Bank GTB team knew what to expect from the stand. Even though the Carousel concept created was
“ This project was a huge success. No one else had used such technology at the event, and we received such positive feedback from our clients, prospects and indeed anyone who visited our stand.” Level 3: The Carousel enabling delegates to select any one business unit and enter its Carousel of documents. The project progressed and it soon became clear that the two iBars would not be enough and the vertical wall was introduced. Two walls in fact that would use the same technology as the iBars but would create the extra WOW factor for any delegate passing the stand. The vertical walls would also encompass speakers enabling Deutsche Bank to show videos with clear sound.
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incredibly intuitive and user friendly it was still important for the Deutsche Bank representatives to know how to use it. Cognito developed a simple training session which was then delivered in Frankfurt over two days. Maria Senior, Marketing & Communications, Global Transaction Banking, Deutsche Bank, comments; “This was a perfect opportunity for the GTB team to see exactly what we had been working on with Cognito and Mindstorm, to receive feedback and to make changes where necessary.”
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The Day of Reckoning Having spent the weekend prior to Sibos installing the software into the iBars and vertical walls and testing everything, Mindstorm and Cognito were happy that the brief would be met. Monday morning and the iBars and vertical walls were switched on. The buzz started and people started coming onto the Deutsche Bank stand to see what this technology did. Everyone was impressed. They were impressed with the technology, they were impressed with the fact that they could download documents onto a USB stick and take that home instead of a bundle of brochures, but most of all they were impressed that Deutsche Bank had taken the risk to use such technology at such a forum – a risk that paid off. If the technology wasn’t enough to pull delegates to the stand, Deutsche Bank gave away an iPod Touch everyday from Monday to Thursday. Using a promotional mailer designed by Cognito, that in itself brought an interactive feeling, delegates were encouraged to come to the stand between 3p.m. and 4p.m. each day to try to win an iPod. By selecting any USB stick and inserting it into any port they were trying their luck. The lucky winner would see a winning message informing them that they had won – we had four happy delegates through the course of the week. Data Capture It was essential that Deutsche Bank could measure the impact of this technology post Sibos, not just in terms of comments, but also in terms of who had downloaded what information from each business unit. Mindstorm had built in USB ports into each surface section of the iBars and into the
vertical wall surfaces. Next to each port was a slot for a business card. During the event when a person wished to download information, a Deutsche Bank representative requested their business card and simply wrote the time at which the delegate inserted the USB stick into the port onto the back of the business card. This in turn created a start session which would enable Deutsche Bank to view exactly who downloaded what. Following the event Cognito took the log files from each iBar or wall, matched up the user sessions with the business cards and presented the information to Deutsche Bank.
Interactive Surface: What is it?
The Verdict Christoph Woermann, Head of Marketing & Communications, Global Transaction Banking, Deutsche Bank, comments; “This project was a huge success. No one else had used such technology at the event, and we received such positive feedback from our clients, prospects and indeed anyone who visited our stand. Traffic had increased from the previous year and we certainly raised our game. We look forward to continuing our relationship with Cognito and Mindstorm and raising our game even further in Hong Kong in 2009.” n An interactive surface is a large scale surface which has been turned into a gigantic touch screen by use of special camera tracking technology and sophisticated software algorithms. It’s not a conventional touch screen though. Unlike normal touch screens, interactive surfaces have the capability to detect literally hundreds of touch points per section. This makes completely new applications possible and moves screens away from the typical ‘Kiosk’ scenario where only one individual user can operate the screen at a time. Being a projection based technology, interactive surfaces can be shaped and sized in any number of unique ways and allow a design freedom and creativity that standard rectangular shaped screens cannot offer. The software is based on special predictive mathematics and is also able to detect the shape of objects placed on the surface. As such it can react differently and uniquely depending on what type of object touches the surface. Another unique characteristic is that interactive surfaces do not make use of conventional touch film overlays. They are therefore much more durable and the top layer is easy and cost effective to replace. This makes deploying interactive surfaces in rough environments such as trade shows, bars, restaurants, retail stores, etc much more practical. n
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Word of Mouth | Issue 12
PR News
Mining Financial Communications Opportunities When “Crisis” Is (and Is Not) the Daily Norm
Worst of Times, Best of Times T
o get a sense of just how unprecedented the current financial situation is, consider the ages of some of the recent Wall Street casualties: Bear Stearns was founded in 1923 and lived through the Wall Street Crash of ‘29 without a single lay-off. Lehman Brothers began life as a cotton trading operation in 1850. The remaining three granddaddies of investment banking, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs have all either been acquired or turned themselves into commercial banks to avoid insolvency. Clearly the financial services industry is currently living through its most unusual cycle for over a generation. To make matters worse, the panic has now spread to Main Street, further exacerbating Wall Street’s woes, as consumers and investors literally begin to see the mattress as a viable alternative to their checking account or 401(k). Combine this with the daily roller coaster ride that is the stock, commodities and currency markets and it is easy to see how communications professionals in the financial industry are facing a truly unparalleled set of challenges. Even those practitioners skilled in crisis communications never expected a world in which crisis was the daily norm. For those in the position to drive their firms’ communication strategies, however, there is also opportunity to be found amid this crisis. The sheer levels of market uncertainty have left consumers crying out for reliable information and with such a high level of turbulence many, traditionally vocal, financial institutions have been shocked into near-total paralysis. The sudden rise in popularity of financial pundits like Suzy Orman and Jim Cramer speak to the market’s need for clarity and an authoritative voice at this time. For banks, brokers, asset managers and hedge funds that are brave enough to step into the void there is a ready pool of prospective customers and investors, waiting to be directed.
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Turning crisis into opportunity, however, depends on a firm’s ability to manage a number of communications elements: 1) Don’t pretend there isn’t a problem – Even if ‘no comment’ has been the policy since time immemorial, in today’s shaken and untrusting world it sounds too much like you have something to hide. Ensure senior executives are highly visible and available and avoid anything that could be construed as either negligence or nonchalance. In July 2007, Bear Stearn’s CEO James Cayne was away at a bridge tournament when one of the firm’s leading hedge funds blew up. Forgivable once but in March this year, as Bear Stearns was on the verge of bankruptcy, Cayne was at another bridge tournament in Detroit. By May 2008, Bear Stearns was owned by JPMorgan. For better or worse, permanent crisis now requires permanent crisis communications. 2) Engage but don’t overreact – When Dick Fuld, the CEO of Lehman Bros, joined the company’s penultimate investor conference call having been notoriously absent in the past his presence contributed to the rumours that something was seriously wrong at the firm and did more harm than good. Sadly this illustrates how there is really no substitute for having robust communications practices in place even before a crisis. Once in the eye of the storm every action falls under a new level of scrutiny. However, if changing the communications strategy in response to the current market, at least ensure that the change doesn’t create more problems than it solves. 3) Stop panicking – It sounds trite but it’s incredibly difficult to do when the Dow takes an 800-point dive in a single afternoon. Everyone is shaken up and the air of uncertainty that permeates the broader market is twice as bad within the actual financial
institutions themselves. If financial communicators wish to be the ones to deliver strategic solutions then they have to be the first to take their eyes off the Bloomberg terminal. 4) Have a story to tell – Performance is no longer the differentiator it was two years ago and those firms whose narrative has amounted to no more than “we deliver XX% return” are going to be among the first to suffer and suffer very badly. This is especially true for the hedge funds which have, almost without exception, relied exclusively on their uncorrelated performance to distinguish themselves. It is unsurprising then that recent research suggests the hedge fund industry could contract by more than 50%. Many financial firms now urgently need to reframe the debate to play to their strengths: be that sector expertise, farsightedness or superior management. 5) Become a resource – As part of this effort firms need to actively support their new positioning with credible substance. If expertise is the message, demonstrate expertise; if far-sightedness, demonstrate far-sightedness. White papers, original research, articles, Q&As and seminars will not only help reinforce a firm’s positioning but to the earlier point will meet a pressing current need for actionable market intelligence. Investors and consumers expect poor performance and have moved on from using this as a decision criterion. They are now making their selections based on who they feel they can trust. Those organizations able to win that trust through effective communications will be the better positioned once the inevitable upturn begins. n
Article originally published in PRNews
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Asia Communication Challenges
Understanding cultural differences is crucial in delivering an effective communications strategy for businesses expanding into the Asia Pacific regions. We find out why.
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he growth opportunities for businesses expanding into Asia-Pacific are enormous with around a third of the world’s consumers based in this region. Yet delivering an effective communication’s strategy across the region remains a perennial challenge.
It’s a similar story in Hong Kong where, immediately after a press conference, young reporters will huddle together and ‘agree’ on the line to take for their stories. These junior hacks, like their colleagues in Seoul, prefer safety in numbers.
For one, there is the language barrier. The region is home to a dozen country-specific languages. Relying on Englishlanguage media to connect with your target audience may prove ineffective. The Financial Times circulates around 50,000 copies a day in Asia-Pacific. That compares to 2.3 million a day for the Korean daily newspaper, The Chosun Ilsun. In China alone, there are around 1000 dailies with combined circulation of 98 million.
How about inviting reporters in Beijing to attend your press conference? Red packets of ‘travel money’ are routinely handed out at the end of briefing to cover out-of-pocket expenses. Anywhere from 50-500 RMB ($7-$70 USD) is the norm, otherwise, stories are seldom written. That’s thankfully a practice which is slowing being phased out, much to the relief of Western compliance officers.
Then again, trying to secure coverage in local language publications, even after carefully translating your wellcrafted press release, can prove an interesting cultural learning experience.
Further south in Singapore, a city state with progovernment domestic media, reporters may even act as de-facto censors. A visiting executive’s comments which harshly criticize an institution, law or regulation are often unlikely to find their way into print. Compare that to Australia, where institutional criticism is the norm, and the contrast couldn’t be wider.
In Japan, press releases are hand delivered to individual reporters’ ‘pigeon holes’ at the various Tokyo press clubs. E-mailing through an announcement to a reporter, even in tech-savvy Japan, simply doesn’t work. Fancy handing an exclusive story about a product launch to a favoured reporter in South Korea? You may well find a dozen rival publications turn up to your one-on-one briefing. Korean reporters are known to reject exclusives in favour of allowing competitors to also access the story.
Yet it’s not just public relations which present challenges in Asia. Advertising is another hurdle. Aside from language, you better make sure the image – and text – conveys the right meaning. You’ll see a picture of an owl used in western financial-related advertising campaigns to signify wisdom. Try that in India and you’ll send potential customers fleeing, as the owl means bad luck.
In Japan, commercials to Western eyes may lack meaning. On TV, you won’t find a customer reading a car magazine, then walking down to the Toyota dealer and driving off smiling in a new Camry. That’s way too literal. Japanese are taught from a young age to read meaning into sentences. TV ads are routinely 10-15 seconds as there is no need for additional content. In Greater China markets, it’s celebrity endorsements that sell. That applies to everything from washing machines to currency-linked deposits. Even companies who pursue an English media campaign will be hitting a limited, albeit wealthy, audience. There are a little more than a dozen financialrelated trade magazines in English across the region. Most have circulation of less than 5,000 a month. The reporters can also be picky as they are inundated with many story ideas each day from foreign firms. Ultimately, the success of a communications strategy in Asia relies on a deep understanding of the complex markets, strong contacts and plenty of patience. Anything less, invites failure. n Damien Ryan, Consultant in Asia Based in Hong Kong, Damien has more than a decade’s experience as a business journalist, television anchor and producer with broadcasters including Bloomberg. He has also interviewed some of the world’s leading chief executives, policy makers and government leaders.
ABOUT COGNITO Founded in 1999, with offices in London, New York and California, and clients across every time zone, Cognito is a full service, results focussed communications agency working exclusively for finance and financial technology companies. Whether delivering retained PR or innovative design and marketing projects, Cognito’s clients benefit from creative and strategic thinking, professional delivery and a commitment to exceeding expectations. From global institutions to niche players,Cognito’s experience has been gained through working with many of the leading players in the financial sector including ABN AMRO, Neonet, Linedata and Calypso. WoM is written and designed by Cognito. London: +44 (0)20 7438 1100 | NewYork: +1 646 395 6300 | California: +1 310 246 9530 | Email: info@cognitomedia.com | Web: www.cognitomedia.com | Blog: www.marcoms.cognitiomedia.com/blog