Picking on the fat cats

If you work in investments, and specifically marketing, this year is panning out as an interesting one. With the upcoming initiative from the government to get people investing, the phenomenal levels of cash held by the British public and the thawing of the FCA’s guidance on risk wording. Hopefully this will lead to an influx of new investors.

We are already seeing plenty of businesses in the sector upping their marketing and targeting these potential new clients. And it looks like the trend is only going to gain momentum. In our view, any increase in communication has got to be a positive. The higher investment is up the agenda for the public the better.

However, I am a little worried about the tone in some cases. We did research that showed that over half the UK population feel negatively about their financial future. The emotions they are feeling are anxiety, fear and scepticism along with generally being overwhelmed.

Now don’t get me wrong I normally do like a brand that plays on a well understood industry problem to shout about how it is different. Think Octopus and quality customer service when most energy companies are rubbish, they really dial up how they buck the trend. But they don’t do it by pointing out the problem they just emphasise what they do right, how they’re different.

I am seeing a fair few investment sector ads talking about fat cats. Yes, there is an insight here that many might not trust the sector (although our research shows its less of a problem than many seem to think). My worry is that most people are already in a negative headspace about investing and are therefore disengaged. Playing so directly on one their fears intuitively feels counter productive at a brand and sector level.

Communication with people in a negative frame of mind is challenging and something we have been doing a lot of research into. From what we have seen amplifying those negative feelings seems risky. For those taking their first steps it might be better to take a gentler more reassuring approach.