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. This included the vice president of communications for Mastercard in Europe, Suman Hughes, the head of marketing for Impax Asset Management in EMEA and APAC, Neville Vyas, and Jordan Wood, research director from Opinium which runs the research.

So first of all, was 2024 really a year of change? We kicked off with a call out to the room and as nearly every hand raised in response, we had our starting point. We heard about strategy changes to focus on new audiences, the opening of new offices, acquisitions, and of course the inevitable restructures that come with such change. But most of all, we reflected that in our roles, change is of course always a constant and that the renewed focus and energies it provides will propel us into 2025.

Looking ahead, the expectation is that 2025 will be a year of delivering and demonstrating impact. The research shows that building brand, increasing market share and ROI are topping the list. The refrain from our panel is that it will be a year of “Fewer, Bigger, Better.” We talked about the value that comes from focus, clear briefs, and from really stepping back and thinking about what a brand and organisation want to stand for and understanding what their audiences really need.

When it comes to ROI – the debate as ever was hot – but I was enthused by the thinking in the room and the progress that we are making. Whether that is more sophisticated measures of reputational impact or starting to think about the true cost of a meeting. One thing was clear, that we are getting better at helping stakeholders understand the impact of the work by asking the right questions and showing real impact.

While the work is of course our everyday, it wouldn’t happen without our teams. In an environment where the latest Financial Narrative Salary Survey shows the industry is challenged on salaries and bonuses, finding, retaining and growing good people is of course key. For our panellists that meant using our own creativity skills for our team’s sake – whether that is helping them learn through upskilling, finding additional projects and opportunities within the business or by leading the charge on working patterns that support their needs. 

Finally, we discussed building understanding and influence. Outside team relationships, the panellists encouraged the audience to support their team in building relationships with the business they are representing – whether sitting with them in an open plan office space, or joining them in sales meetings. And ensuring that as financial services marketing and communications leaders we are in the right conversations, that our ‘seat at the table’ is respected and that our critical role as change agents in changing times is admired.