Name: Mélanie Bosboom
Job Title & Company: Co-founder, Female x Finance
Social: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/m%C3%A9lanie-bosboom-38bb9b145/
Instagram: @melanie_bosboom
What attracted you to becoming a judge for the FP Awards 2026?
At Female x Finance, we’re building the media company powering ambitious women’s careers. We work at the intersection of content, culture and finance, helping companies reach and engage a highly valuable audience of women working across the industry and beyond.
That perspective made the judging opportunity especially interesting to me. I’m excited to recognise the teams creating work that genuinely understands its audience, and to learn from the strongest campaigns shaping financial services marketing in the UK.
Why are programmes like the FP awards important for the industry?
There’s so much good work happening in financial services that people outside the industry rarely get to see. It’s still a sector that can feel closed off, traditional and difficult to understand, especially when it comes to things like insurance and pensions. There’s also a lot of misinformation out there, which makes clear and responsible communication even more important.
At the same time, the audience for these products is changing. More women are in the workforce than ever, and a huge intergenerational wealth transfer to women is underway, yet women were rarely the main audience for pensions, insurance or investment products in the past.
Financial companies now have to think seriously about how they make those products relevant to them. That’s why awards like these matter. They recognise the teams finding better ways to explain finance, reach new audiences and build trust, while giving the wider industry a chance to learn from what’s working.
What excites you most about judging this year’s awards?
I’m curious to see which brands have really understood the people they are speaking to. The strongest work usually starts with a very simple thing: listening properly.
I’m excited to see the campaigns that have found a fresh way into the conversation and created something people actually wanted to pay attention to. There are always so many smart ideas hiding behind one final campaign.
What separates a good entry from a great entry?
A great entry has a clear story and human insight at its core. You understand the problem, the audience and why the idea was the right answer.
The results matter, of course, but I also want to understand the thinking that got you there. The best entries feel specific. They do not look as though the same campaign could have been made for any brand or any audience.
What role does creativity play in financial services marketing?
A huge one. Finance can easily become technical, distant or a bit interchangeable. A lot of people simply don’t understand the language the industry uses, so creativity plays a big role in translating complex products and technical terms into something a much wider audience can actually follow. It’s also what makes financial services feel culturally relevant and
human. You can explain a product perfectly and still fail to create a connection. Creativity is often the difference between people switching off and actually stopping, understanding and caring.
If you could give entrants once piece of advice what would it be?
Don’t overcomplicate it.
Tell us what the challenge was, what you understood about the audience, what you did and what changed because of it. And be honest.
The strongest case is not always the one with the biggest numbers. Sometimes it is the one with the clearest thinking and the most meaningful result.
What does the future of financial services marketing look like to you?
More human, more specific and much closer to culture. People do not experience finance in isolation. It is connected to their work, identity, relationships and plans for the future.
Marketing needs to reflect that. I also think brands will need to build relationships over time through content, events, creators and communities, rather than relying on one campaign to do all the work.
Finally, what’s one word you hope describes this year’s winners?
Relevant. Because the best work understands what matters to people now.
Any other comments?
There is a huge opportunity for financial brands to connect with ambitious women in a much more meaningful way.
They are an incredibly valuable audience, but they are still often approached with outdated assumptions or generic messaging.
The brands that take the time to understand them properly will build stronger relationships and create better work. I’m excited to see the campaigns that are already doing that.
Are you a judge or a sponsor and would like to get involved?
Please email Megan McCabe, Marketing Manager, at megan.mccabe@rhoticmedia.com.