Lost in translation: Scottish financial services companies can better communicate their positive impact

 

Money is an emotive topic.

Whether you’re rich, poor or somewhere in-between, money impacts every aspect of our lives, from our house and worldly possessions to our diet, lifestyle and even length of life.

It also means that financial services firms, from banks and insurers to investors and pension providers, are a critical part of our lives, as well as being integral to the Scottish economy.

The Scottish financial services industry is worth £14.3bn GVA to the UK. But beyond this contribution, we’ve seen financial services businesses do more to prioritise purpose over profit in recent years, supporting social causes, building financial resilience across the country, and financing our transition to net zero.

However, the question remains whether these efforts have hit home with the general public. To find out, we teamed up with Scottish Financial Enterprise (SFE) to commission research into how our sector is currently perceived.

Only two fifths of people we asked said they felt positively about financial services, mostly because of the sector’s economic contribution, alongside its role as a major employer. Those that felt negatively cited executive pay and elitism as the biggest reasons for their concerns.

These are perhaps unsurprising results. But they were by no means the most striking thing we learnt.

A third of people said they felt positively about the financial services industry because it employs people from all walks of life, while a fifth said they would feel more positive about the sector if they saw more firms do this. Meanwhile, a quarter said they would feel more positive about the industry if they saw more evidence it was helping tackle climate change, something fewer than one in 10 said was currently shaping their positive perception of the sector.

This tells us there is a significant opportunity for financial service firms in Scotland to do more to communicate their positive impact on society, the economy and environment – an opportunity we then explored in depth at an event with executives from across the industry, co-run again with SFE.

The discussion led to a number of interesting conclusions.

Firstly, it is clear that the sector has a right and even, perhaps, a responsibility, to provide reassurance in an age of increasing public uncertainty. Fake news is endemic, exacerbated by AI and the rapid dissemination of content across social media platforms.

Rising misinformation undermines people’s faith in public institutions, creating a vacuum for leadership that businesses and trusted brands can occupy. Financial services companies have an opportunity to cut through the misinformation and support people to navigate uncertainty. ​And the best way to do this is to focus on issues that are relevant to real people.

The Take Five campaign is a great example of this action in practice. ​Led by the industry group UK Finance, it raises awareness of different kinds of fraud, offering plain-speaking, impartial advice to help consumers protect themselves. This campaign shows the power the sector can have when it comes together, and perhaps offers a template for joint action in other areas like household financial resilience or small business growth.

Secondly, financial services brands can learn from other sectors – and develop some unexpected partnerships – as they sharpen their communications on key issues and connect with their audiences in a clear, authentic way.

Take environmental sustainability. Regulators, industry bodies and the media are rightly alert to the issue of corporate ‘greenwashing’. But while some businesses have responded by keeping quiet about their environmental activities to avoid scrutiny, others have recognised the importance of still talking about their commitments to building a more sustainable future and have taken creative approaches to campaigns that demonstrate their credentials without relying on pledges and targets.

An interesting recent example of this is eBay’s partnership with Love Island.  Alongside a series of substantive commitments to support and promote sustainable fashion, the business used its tie-in with one of the nation’s favourite TV programmes to reach Gen-Z in ways it couldn’t do alone. The partnership has led to a massive surge in interest in pre-loved fashion amongst younger consumers, delivering environmental impact and boosting eBay’s reputation to boot.

Another example comes from Trainline’s ‘I came by train’ campaign, which aimed to build awareness of the positive environmental impact people could have by choosing to travel by rail. The campaign’s activation included partnering with this year’s Glastonbury Festival to encourage train travel to the event, and featuring attendees who came by train as ‘climate heroes’ as part of a subsequent advertising campaign.

By adopting a similarly creative approach, financial services brands can communicate their positive impact on society in a responsible, meaningful and informative way.

Thirdly, businesses must adapt to an increasingly complex media landscape; one in which non-traditional forms of influence, from podcasts to social media and citizen journalism, are continuing to grow in prominence alongside more traditional news outlets.

This means financial service firms need to take a multi-layered approach to the way they communicate their impact, using the voices and stories of customer advocates to make their work relevant to local, regional or specialist media. It also means being braver about who can speak for the company, to draw on the power of local employees more likely to resonate with the diverse audiences the business is seeking to reach.

This will not be achieved overnight. But at a time when the Scottish public are seeking reassurance and hope after years of social and economic challenge, the financial service sector has a real opportunity to show leadership and inspire advocacy. To do so it must be more creative and targeted to communicate how it can help Scotland’s consumers, businesses and communities build resilience and thrive in the coming years.

 

By Jamie Williamson, Associate Director

Originally published in the Scotsman