It is often said that the financial services sector moves first when economic headwinds are gathering.
Two years ago, we started to see this in the City of London. All financial sub-sectors (with the exception of reinsurance and risk) started to consolidate or restructure workforces. Marketing teams were a standout casualty – both in headcount and in budget allocation terms.
But new figures from the UK’s Office of National Statistics suggest that financial services may indicate what is to follow in the broader economy.
While many consumer sectors remain in the doldrums (and many restructures and redundancy programmes are just getting going), statistics from the last quarter of 2024 suggest that financial services productivity is actually on the up.
Before we start salivating at the prospect of a return to the budget-is-no-object good times, we need to understand that the job role of the in-house CMO, and senior marketers more broadly, has now changed.
When the rationalisation programmes kicked off at the tail end of 2022, CEOs cited economic headwinds, regulatory changes and technological advancements as the reasons for doing so, with their focus on protecting or growing margins for shareholders.
At Rhotic, we lived this transition with our in-house marketing peers.
They have been asked to measure more of what they did and their work has become much closer to sales than what you would quantify as traditional marketing. Teams have been increasingly assessed on how well, and how frequently, they could fill a room with potential clients.
Don’t get me wrong, data has always been important. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. But the task set for senior marketers in the boardroom now goes far beyond the traditional expectations of MQLs.
Today’s CMO must be able to build segmented books of buyers while managing brand distinction and oversee corporate reputation while simultaneously directing the crafting of ultra-personalised lead gen, at scale. For competent practitioners, all of this is achievable. But even with technological leaps, they need a solid team with them.
There is some irony that the very same people who asked senior marketers to pick up some legacy business development duties are also those who lobbied to have marketing teams hollowed out. Now is the time for CMOs to be heard.
Yes, it is possible for all of the above to be achieved, even with a smaller in-house team, but strategic marketers need agencies, secondments and freelancers. While headcount spend may be restricted, that may mean that adhoc budgets need to loosen in the interim. There is only so much that can be done with restricted spend by even the most creative and competent marketer.
CMOs should absolutely be developing their agency black book to ensure competent strategic planning and asset execution is possible. After all, the very invention of Financial Promoter was to support senior marketers during this changing market dynamic. FP Live! offers a chance to meet suppliers and learn best practice, while the FP Awards shine a spotlight on the very best marcomms execution, offering external validation to all stakeholders where a job has been well done. Our magazine and website exist to keep check of the industry pulse.
But our work at Rhotic – the agency – has evolved too. We don’t operate in isolation. And, I invite all readers to have deep conversations with their agencies to see how they can help. You might be surprised.
In anticipation, we are about to embark on our own campaign. In the months ahead, we will be sharing stories of the many problems we’ve solved for some of the world’s largest financial brands.
As the market increasingly demands great value campaigns, training, content and, crucially, competence, we look forward to remaining the go-to agency that can deliver.
Because, when in-house marketers and agency partnerships work well, that’s where productivity can truly rocket.
Joe McGrath is the Founder and CEO of Rhotic Media