Here’s what we’re thinking about

Fewer, Bigger, Better - How Financial Services Marketing Will Evolve in 2025

With 2024 heralded a year of change by the latest Financial Narrative survey of financial services marketing and communications leaders, we brought together communications leaders to debate the findings and discuss the year ahead.

Elspeth Rothwell, EMEA CEO

International Financial Comms and Marketing Agency Network Launches

A new international network of independent marketing and communications consultancies, specialising in financial services, has launched.

Elizabeth Wiredu, News Reporter

Gramercy Financial Marketers' Forum: AI and the Future of Financial Marketing

Read the summary from David Simpson's panel discussion on 'AI and the Future of Financial Marketing'.

David Simpson, Managing Director

Podcasts Could Become the New Secret Weapon in Boardroom Battles

Elliott Investment Management is using an unconventional podcast series to influence Southwest Airlines’ boardroom battle, directly engaging investors and reshaping corporate communication strategies in the process.

George Pitt, Director

Effective Marketing: Making Financial Services Valuable to Millennials and Gen Z

Millennials and Gen Z grew up in unusual and rapidly changing financial times. Learn how to market financial services to the younger, but increasingly influential, generations.

Jill McConaghie, Contributing Writer

UK Buy-Now-Pay-Later: The State of Play

Explore the current state of the Buy-Now-Pay-Later (BNPL) sector in the UK, its growing influence, upcoming regulations, and challenges for new market entrants.

Matt Village, Director

The Influencer Effect: Benefits, Strategies and Considerations for Influencer Marketing

Explore "The Influencer Effect" and discover how influencer marketing can elevate your financial services brand.

Chad Schmidt & Phil McMahon, Vice Presidents

Driving Positive Change in Financial Services

Explore insights from industry changemakers who shared their inspiring journeys at Financial Narrative's recent event in London.

Caitlin Ellis, Account Executive

Comms Lessons From the Paramount-Skydance Merger

A closer look at the impacts that the M&A process can have on employees and culture.

Sean Devlin, Editor

Tips for Communicating with Employees During a Spin-Off, Demerger or Divestiture

Vested Managing Director Ted Birkhahn shares the importance of employee communications when it comes to spin-offs.

Justin Joffe, Editor in Chief

Becoming B Corp Certified as a Wealth & Asset Manager

Bailard, a top wealth and asset management firm and long time Vested client, has officially received their B Corp certification after completing the process earlier this year.

Marian Daniells, Director

Comms Lessons from Paramount’s Leadership Upheaval

When there’s a shakeup at the top of an organization, the impact cascades through the organization, creating ripple effects well beyond the executive level.

Sean Devlin, Editor

Changing the World of Finance

In partnership with Financial Narrative, Vested UK hosted three industry trailblazers, talking about the change they were making institutionally and individually within the financial services sector.

Elspeth Rothwell, EMEA CEO

Proactive Strategies for Communicating About Activist Investors

Recent proxy battles offer insights into how communications can get out in front of the drama.

Justin Joffe, Editor in Chief

Consumer Confidence Amid Uncertainty

With inflation in the UK at a standstill and global elections looming, consumer confidence takes a dip.

Sophie Paterson, Associate Director

The Post-ChatGPT Playbook: Key Learnings about Communicating GenAI

Key learnings from Vested's experiences on consulting with and advising our clients on generative AI.

Austin Rae Downey, Account Manager

Bank Branding: Ideas, Inspiration & Best Practices

Discover the impact of branding for financial services companies, particularly banking institutions.

Chad Schmidt, Vice President

The Impact of Marketing Automation for Financial Services

Discover the impact of marketing automation for financial services brands, including key benefits and use cases for the finance sector.

Ibby Hussain, Vice President

There’s No Such Thing as Over Preparing: Looking Ahead to 2024

Vested partnered with Trajectory for the MoneyMinds trends research that explores lag-flation, the economic power divide, and sustained -ability.

Paul Flatters, Co-Founder, Trajectory Partnership

Navigating the UK’s Evolving Media Landscape

In today's evolving media landscape, news consumption is moving from traditional broadcast TV, newspapers and broadsheets to social media platforms.

Elizabeth Murray, Account Manager

Sustainability & Authentic Storytelling

Our MoneyMinds insights explore the biggest trends impacting the financial services landscape in 2024. The third trend looked at the long-term sustainability agenda and the role of the financial services industry in driving this forward.

Gian Marco Candolo, Account Manager

Vested MoneyMinds Insights: 2024 Trends

Leaders in the financial services marketing and communications space gathered for discussion about Vested's MoneyMinds insights, which breaks down the key trends brands need to aware of in 2024.

Katie Spreadbury, Managing Director

Dear Marketing and Comms Pros - Your Job Is to Continue Learning About Your Target Audience

With a growing economic power divide, audiences are segmenting at a faster rate. Account Manager Tolani Idris explores how brands can serve these different audiences with more relevant messaging.

Tolani Idris, Account Manager

MoneyMinds: Building Trust While Grappling with Lag-flation

Account Manager Elizabeth Murray delves into lag-flation (the long lasting impact of inflation), one of the trends discovered in the MoneyMinds research.

Elizabeth Murray, Account Manager

New MoneyMinds Insight: Opportunities in a Volatile Environment

Vested and Trajectory partnered to conduct in-depth trends analysis, identifying the key themes set to impact the financial services sector in 2024.

Sophie Paterson, Associate Director

The Complete Guide to Public Relations for Financial Services

Managing Director Eric Hazard shares the complete guide to public relations for financial services.

Eriz Hazard, Managing Director

Dr. Claudia Goldin: 2023 Nobel Memorial Prize Winner in Economic Sciences

Dr. Claudia Goldin, Harvard professor and trailblazer, won the 2023 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.

Caroline McMullan, Senior Marketing Strategist

Gen Z Favors Word of Mouth Over Marketing

Group Vested CEO Binna Kim shares her thoughts on the Netflix factor and what the younger generation expects out of their banking experience in this piece with American Banker.

John Reosti, Reporter

Threads Is Huge. Sew What?

Meta’s Threads has been out only a few weeks, but it already has become a major player in the social space. But is it the Twitter killer everyone was anticipating?

Bryan Aungst, Contributing Writer

What AI Can’t Replace: The Power of Authentic Storytelling

As artificial intelligence continues to dominate the news cycle, Vested Account Executive Geri Cheng examines the authenticity and strategic storytelling that only humans can bring to the PR and communications world.

Geri Cheng, Account Executive

Breakfast & Brainfood: B2B Marketing in the New Digital Era

The Vested UK team hosted a Breakfast & Brainfood event with LinkedIn and BlackRock with discussion about how marketers are engaging with institutional investment audiences in the new post-pandemic digital era.

Sophie Paterson, Associate Director

Breakfast & Brainfood with Signal AI: Mastering the Art of Meaningful Metrics

The Vested UK team hosted an event in partnership with Signal AI focused on the innovative ways companies are looking at PR and marketing measurement.

Lizzie Murray, Senior Account Executive

How Will Recent Bank Failures Impact the Economy?

Chief Economist Milton Ezrati joins KNX Radio to discuss whether the American banking system is really safe and if the economy will be impacted.

Milton Ezrati, Chief Economist

Silicon Valley Bank, Rising Interest Rates and Banks

Silicon Valley Bank has failed. Chief Economist Milton Ezrati analyzes how we get here, the Fed's action, and what it means for banks moving forward.

Milton Ezrati, Chief Economist

ChatGPT Wrote My Article For Me

Vested Chairman Dan Simon uses ChatGPT to write a whole article for him promoting Qwoted, Vested's tech platform.

Dan Simon, Chairman

The Role of Reputation in Uncertain Markets

With market fluctuation and economic uncertainty at a high, brands are under increased pressure to manage their reputations. Director Jo Field examines how increased scrutiny impacts communications strategies.

Jo Field, Director

Song of Sam

Vested Chief Economist Milton Ezrati weighs in on the FTX collapse, Sam Bankman-Fried, and how we got here in the first place.

Milton Ezrati, Chief Economist

Three Trends for Communication Professionals in 2023

At the final Breakfast & Brainfood event of the year, marketing leaders met to discuss the third annual Financial Narrative, Financial Marketers’ Index. They reviewed key learnings from 2022 and looked ahead to the challenges and opportunities we expect to face in 2023.

Megan Lloyd, Senior Account Manager

Plain Speaking Needed To Make Sense of E, S and G

Vested Associate Director Henry Adams examines the complexities of ESG and how leaders and businesses can be more specific about their agendas.

Henry Adams, Associate Director

What It Means to Win Awards

Elspeth Rothwell, CEO of Vested EMEA, reflects on what it means to win the CIPR Specialist Consultancy of the Year award.

Elspeth Rothwell, CEO, Vested EMEA

Eric Hazard Talks Financial Literacy and How to Manage Its Complexities

Vested managing director and CEO of Vested Ventures Eric Hazard joins NBC News Radio to discuss financial literacy and how people can get started on the path toward a more informed financial future.

Caroline McMullan, Agency Marketing Specialist

Milton Ezrati on the Economy, Housing Market and the Possibility of an Upcoming Recession

Vested Chief Economist Milton Ezrati joins managing director Jacqueline Gogel to discuss the current housing market and whether the economy is positioned for recession.

Caroline McMullan, Agency Marketing Specialist

PR Players Aim To Claim Their Space In the Metaverse

As brands fast-track their moves into the metaverse, industry watchers are urging communicators to proceed with caution. Vested's Binna Kim weighs in.

Diana Marszalek, Senior Reporter, PRovoke Media

Milton Ezrati on TD Ameritrade Network: Recession Is Coming, Inflation Is The Villain

Vested's Chief Economist Milton Ezrati joined TD Ameritrade Network's "Market on Close" to discuss how the Fed's fight against inflation, rising interest rates, and restrained credit could bring on a recession.

Caroline McMullan, Agency Marketing Specialist

Aon Names Vested as North America PR Partner

Aon's Head of Global Communications, Mike Marinello, announces that Vested has been named as its North American agency partner.

Vested Ventures Makes Strategic Investment in Fintech Startup, Qoins

Qoins is a financial planning app that helps users pay down debt and achieve financial goals through automation.

Bryan Aungst, Contributing Writer

Modern Comms is More Substance than Style - a Reminder from EVRi

Earlier this month, EVRi (formerly Hermes), one of the UK’s best known delivery companies announced a complete corporate rebrand in a likely bid to remove itself from its toxic brand identity.

Henry Adams, UK Associate Director

From the Frontlines of Ukraine: A Follow Up with Yuriy Matsarsky

Qwoted's Editor In Chief, Lou Carlozo conducts a follow-up interview on March 18 with Yuriy Matsarsky, the Ukrainian journalist-turned-soldier to get an update on the conditions in the war zone.

Keren Unrad, Head of Agency Marketing

Banks and Fintech May Miss the Expected 2022 Lending Surge

Vested's Chief Economist, Milton Ezrati, warns that the projected lending surge, may not be as promising as it appears.

Milton Ezrati, Chief Economist

Vested Ventures Provides Strategic Investment to Financial Planning Software Company Anasova

Vested Ventures funding will help the company develop their financial Anasova advance and promote their mission of minimizing the stress around finances through free financial planning tools.

Keren Unrad, Head of Agency Marketing

FinTech and the Regulators

Regulation is coming for the global FinTech industry, but how smoothly it goes over still remains to be seen.

Milton Ezrati, Chief Economist

Maya Angelou Quarters: Black History on U.S. Currency

It’s official! The new Maya Angelou quarters have entered circulation as of January 2022. Four other prominent women will also be featured on quarters later this year.

2022 Predictions from PR Experts

Top PR Execs, including Vested's Binna Kim, Give Their Predictions for 2022.

Erica Thompson, Director

It's A Wrap: 2021 Edition

It’s beginning to look a lot like… the end of an amazing / challenging / exhausting / exhilarating / incredible year! Take your pick, all and any of those words sum up the last 12 months for me and so much more.

Elspeth Rothwell, UK CEO

Vested Welcomes Red Lab Technologies

Acquisition strengthen's Vested's digital capabilities to better serve our clients.

Next Up on the Legislative Front: Infrastructure

Milton Ezrati, Chief Economist

The Rise of Contactless: A Penny for your Thoughts?

Jenny Dellupo, Junior Account Executive