As artificial intelligence continues to reshape marketing and communications, agencies serving financial services firms are facing a new challenge: balancing technological efficiency with human judgment.
For Grace Keith Rodriguez, CEO of Caliber Corporate Advisers, that balance is becoming one of the defining issues for the communications industry.
“AI has gone from a buzzword to a daily fixture in countless workplaces and industries, including PR and communications, and its value is undeniable,” Rodriguez tells Financial Promoter.
However, she believes the industry is at risk of overestimating the technology’s capabilities, particularly in highly regulated sectors such as financial services.
“In every industry, and especially in financial PR and communications, judgement requires interpretation, empathy and lived experience,” she says.
“AI can serve as a great starting point for our work, but human oversight and perspective will always be key to achieving great results.”
From economics graduate to agency CEO
Rodriguez’s path into communications was not a conventional one. With an undergraduate background in economics, she discovered public relations early in her career and quickly developed a passion for the profession.
Over nearly two decades, she has built extensive experience across fintech and financial services communications, including roles managing PR for the Financial & Risk business at Thomson Reuters and serving as PR manager at OTC Markets Group.
She joined Caliber Corporate Advisers at the invitation of founder and Chief Innovation Officer Harvey Hudes, progressing through leadership roles before becoming the agency’s first president and, ultimately, CEO in 2024.
Today, Rodriguez is responsible for setting the agency’s strategic direction, overseeing service innovation and ensuring alignment between client outcomes, company culture and employee experience.
Supporting high-stakes moments for financial brands
Operating exclusively within financial services, fintech, insurtech, proptech and real estate, Rodriguez sees the agency’s role as helping clients navigate some of the most significant moments in their business journeys.
“Whether the client is a 100-year-old financial institution or a growth-stage fintech, the mission is the same,” she explains.
“Build the right narrative with them, and make sure the right people hear it, across every channel that matters.”
That often means supporting organisations through acquisitions, IPOs, leadership transitions or unexpected market challenges.
For Rodriguez, successful communications goes beyond visibility. It requires helping businesses define who they are, what they stand for and how they communicate that consistently to investors, customers, partners and other stakeholders.
Clients increasingly demand measurable impact
Like many areas of financial marketing, communications is becoming more accountable to commercial outcomes.
Rodriguez says clients increasingly expect clear evidence that communications activity is contributing to business objectives rather than simply generating activity metrics.
“Clients are increasingly looking for tangible ROI and clear indicators of their marketing efforts’ impact on the bottom line,” she says.
That shift is encouraging agencies to stay closely aligned with client goals and define success more carefully from the outset.
“What success looks like for one company isn’t going to be the same for another,” Rodriguez explains.
“Get that definition right up front, and you can build the metrics around it. That’s how marketing demonstrates real value rather than just reporting activity.”
She believes growing scrutiny around measurement is ultimately positive for the industry, pushing agencies to develop more sophisticated ways of demonstrating value.
Building trust through consistency
In highly regulated sectors, trust remains one of the most valuable assets a brand can build.
For Rodriguez, credibility is created through consistency rather than speed.
“Trust isn’t built through speed, but consistency over time,” she says.
That begins with establishing a clear narrative framework that aligns messaging, visuals and tone of voice across every channel, from media interviews and social content to client communications and executive thought leadership.
“It doesn’t mean sounding scripted or repetitive,” Rodriguez explains.
“It means having a strong point of view that shows up consistently.”
She also highlights the importance of maintaining that consistency as organisations evolve. In regulated industries, she argues, even minor inconsistencies can create confusion and quickly erode trust.
“When change is necessary, transparency is critical,” she says. “You need to explain what’s changing and why, so growth feels additive rather than disruptive.”
Proactivity as a competitive differentiator
Looking ahead, Rodriguez believes agencies that provide strategic counsel during difficult periods will be best positioned to differentiate themselves.
“It’s easy to show up when business is good,” she says.
“The harder thing, and the thing clients remember, is being present when it’s difficult.”
That means moving beyond execution and acting as trusted advisers when clients face uncertainty or difficult decisions.
Another area where she sees significant opportunity is proactivity.
“One of the most common things we hear from companies coming to us is that their previous agency just waited to be told what to do,” Rodriguez says.
“The agencies that stand out are the ones always looking around the corner for opportunities and risks before they become obvious and bringing ideas to the table before they’re asked.”
Communications takes a seat at the leadership table
What excites Rodriguez most about the future of the industry is the growing recognition that communications is no longer a support function but a strategic leadership discipline.
“Companies are increasingly recognising that communications needs to be in the room when decisions are being made,” she says.
She also sees significant implications from the way AI-powered search tools are changing information discovery.
“When someone asks ChatGPT or Gemini about a company or a topic, what comes back is built on earned media,” Rodriguez says.
“That puts a real premium on where and how you’re showing up in credible publications and conversations.”
At the same time, executives are increasingly becoming the public face of their organisations, creating new opportunities for leadership visibility and thought leadership.
Combined with growing demands for measurement and accountability, Rodriguez believes these developments are creating an important inflection point for the industry.
“All of this is forcing a long-overdue conversation about measurement,” she says.
“Clients want to know what a headline is worth and whether a placement is reaching the right audience. That’s a good pressure to have because it pushes the industry to ask tougher questions and build better answers.”
For Rodriguez, the future of financial communications will belong to organisations that combine technological innovation with human expertise, while remaining trusted strategic partners through both opportunities and challenges.