Artificial intelligence (AI) is beginning to transform the financial industry. AI tools such as chatbots have been around for several years. But it wasn’t until 2016 that leading banks and wealth management companies began introducing chatbots to automate certain services. This was just the start of the AI revolution.
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Reaching new audiences in the world’s second largest economy.
If you’re reading this in China, chances are you’ll have an app called WeChat on your phone. A few years back, 90% of its users were based in the PRC, after all. Now it’s spreading its wings – and its digital ambitions. Today, this all-conquering smartphone ‘SuperApp’ offers so much more than chat... and with the right content strategy could be a valuable gateway to connecting with a young, increasingly affluent and mobile-savvy audience in the world’s second largest consumer market.
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In our latest Law Firm Ratings, we discuss the potential of brand intelligence for law firms. Equally important to brand is digital acumen, and the thoughtful use of a law firm’s digital footprint will help amplify their brand.
In a sector where evidence is critical, our latest Law Firm Ratings show that the leading firms use their websites to deliver to their target audiences issues-based insights, case studies, tools and well-structured people pages, written with one client-first tone of voice and available in a variety of media, not just endless screens of text. However, these law firms are the few amongst the many, with the vast majority serving up bland cookie cutter and indistinguishable content that fails to engage or inspire.
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Establishing a positive brand perception has never been more important. Often a client’s first brand experience is a visit to a website, therefore the digital expression of law firm’s brand intelligence is paramount in building the right kind of connection with a user.
Creating a more influential digital experience requires careful attention to the way a brand behaves, speaks and presents itself visually. Cohesion and consistency are key in achieving this along with a mode of communicating that is distinctive and proprietary to that brand.
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Our latest Living Ratings report on the world's leading asset managers shows that competition within the digital arena is on fire in 2018, with the vast majority of firms making significant changes to their dotcom and social media investments. This year’s report highlights major moves from amongst players of all sizes. And even companies who have increased their individual scores have slipped in the rankings, as the competition has heated up. Fiercely.
Brains, brawn and branding
Bulge bracket firms J.P. Morgan and Deutsche Bank (37th and 78th in 2017, respectively) saw their asset management businesses skyrocket into the Top 10 this year. And proving once again that you don’t need AUM muscle to be a smart marketer, smaller asset managers like Russell Investments, GAM, Ballie Gifford, Putnam and Macquarie – none of whom make the cut for the IPE Top 50 – all scored in our Ratings’ Top 20.
We appear to be living in mercurial times. What worked before no longer does and our appetite for fresh experiences is seemingly insatiable. Trends still pervade our daily lives and often dissipate as swiftly as they emerged but new methods in which we interact with our world are changing the paradigm of 21st century life. How people think and what they want from brands is more important than ever, this cannot be underestimated in a highly competitive brand landscape.
Working with professional service brands we’ve observed a sort of paralysis of conformity. Many clients promote the same values and personalities which results in homogeny in corporate brand identity. Audiences have no real discernible choice and brands have no distinctly identifiable voice. Law firms in particular, typically display superficial differences in brand image and voice. Of course firms can still maintain a healthy balance sheet without a particularly engaging brand, but it only takes a bold move from one firm to capture the imagination of the legal landscape and seriously shift the balance of power.
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