In financial services marketing, credibility has always mattered, but as technology becomes more complex, and more embedded in the very infrastructure of markets, the role of marketing has shifted from promotion to translation.
Jacqueline Genow, Director, Head of Marketing at Exegy, told Financial Promoter that shift has been central to her journey.
She stepped in as Head of Marketing two years ago, having previously led product marketing. Her background, she explained, has always been rooted close to the product itself: less brand-first, more systems-first.
“I’ve always come from the technical side,” she told Financial Promoter. “Understanding how things actually work has shaped how I think about marketing.”
Before joining Exegy, Genow was part of Enyx, a French firm specialising in trading technology, which was acquired in 2022. The move marked more than just a change in ownership; it was part of a broader expansion into the US market, where much of the firm’s customer base was concentrated.
That period of consolidation transformed Exegy. What had once been a relatively small, St. Louis-based company with a single flagship product quickly became something much larger: a global organisation spanning North America, Belfast, Paris, London and Asia-Pacific, with a significantly expanded product suite following multiple acquisitions, including Vela Trading Systems.
“It went from about 50 people to over 300, and from one core product to more than ten,” Genow said.
“That changes everything from a marketing perspective. You’re no longer telling a single story, you’re building a cohesive narrative across a much broader portfolio.”
That narrative, however, isn’t built in the same way as traditional SaaS marketing.
“In our space, you’re not just selling software,” she explained. “There’s always a technology or hardware component, and it’s often critical to how our clients operate day-to-day.”
Those clients, typically institutional firms, aren’t simply buying tools. They’re buying reliability, expertise and, ultimately, trust.
“We’re not just selling products,” Genow said. “We’re positioning ourselves as an extension of their internal teams.”
That positioning demands a different kind of marketing discipline. Reputation becomes as important as reach, and credibility must be continuously reinforced.
“There’s no room for fluffy language,” she added. “Everything has to be backed by something tangible: data, research, real outcomes.”
Thought leadership plays a central role here, but not in the superficial sense. For Exegy, it’s about producing quantitative, evidence-led insights that clients can actually use.
“It’s about showing, not telling, that you understand the problems they’re facing.”
Understanding those problems requires more than surface-level research. Genow describes a process that is closer to investigative work than traditional campaign planning.
“We spend a lot of time listening,” she said. “Looking at what major media outlets are covering, what industry leaders are saying, even digging into shareholder calls.”
The aim is to identify the forces shaping decision-making at the highest levels of client organisations and then align Exegy’s messaging accordingly.
“You have to understand what’s actually driving their business decisions,” she said. “Only then can you position your offering in a way that’s relevant.”
This insight feeds into campaigns that blend thought leadership with educational content, an approach designed to bridge a persistent gap within their audience.
“We’re often marketing to two sides at once,” she said.
On one side are the technical stakeholders: engineers and IT leaders who need to be convinced that a solution will perform at a granular level. On the other are business decision-makers, responsible for budgets and outcomes, who need to understand the commercial impact.
“The challenge is being able to speak both languages,” Genow noted. “You need to understand the technical detail but also translate that into clear business value.”
In practice, that means reframing complexity into clarity, without losing accuracy.
“It’s about answering a very simple question: how does this make your life easier?”
That same need for precision is shaping how Exegy approaches channels. Social media, for example, is less about scale and more about relationships.
“It’s a very relationship-driven space for us,” Genow said.
At the same time, the rise of AI-driven search is beginning to reshape discovery. Traditional SEO strategies are evolving, with newer formats, such as forum discussions and long-form community content, gaining visibility.
“We’re seeing more results coming from places like Reddit,” she said. “Channels that weren’t as central before are becoming more important.”
Email, meanwhile, presents a different challenge. Operating within the banking sector means navigating strict cybersecurity environments, where firewalls often block traditional marketing outreach.
“It’s a difficult channel for us,” she admitted. “We still use it, but much more selectively.”
Instead, Exegy leans on its sales teams to deliver more personalised, one-to-one communication, an approach that is both more direct and less likely to be filtered out.
“It becomes less about broad campaigns and more about targeted conversations.”
Interestingly, some of the most effective strategies are not new at all. Direct mail, often considered outdated, is seeing renewed success.
“With email saturation, people are actually more receptive to something physical,” Genow said. “As long as it’s thoughtful and personalised, it stands out.”
Whether it’s a tailored message or a small incentive linked to digital content, the goal is the same: meaningful engagement.
“It’s about giving someone a reason to pay attention.”
Events, too, are evolving. The traditional mode, large booths and badge scanning, is losing ground to more focused, high-value interactions.
“There’s been a shift away from just showing up with a stand,” she said.
Instead, Exegy is investing in speaking opportunities, roundtables and curated discussions, where deeper connections can be formed.
“It’s about quality over quantity.”
Brand visibility still matters, particularly following the company’s rebrand post-acquisition. But even here, the approach is more strategic, integrating branding into the wider event experience rather than relying solely on physical presence.
Across all of these changes, technology, channels, scale, one theme remains constant. Trust.
In a sector where the stakes are high and the systems are complex, marketing cannot rely on persuasion alone. It must be grounded in understanding, evidence and consistency.
For Genow, that’s the real challenge, and the real opportunity.
“If you can genuinely understand both the technology and the business problem,” she said, “you’re able to build something much more meaningful than a campaign. You’re building confidence.”