Advisor | May 2022
It was Ennio Doris, as usual, the first, the precursor, the visionary, the unforgettable. In 2000, he put himself out there, sitting on a red leather Frau armchair, model 909, also known as Vanity Fair. In the commercial, an orange seems to levitate. Then, Ennio Doris says: “Here is a bank. If you remove unnecessary costs (the peel), you have Mediolanum, a bank made only of substance”.
Then, Doris traces a circle with a stick around himself on the dry waters of the Salt Lake in South Africa, encouraging clients to move to Banca Mediolanum, “the bank built around you”.
Massimo Doris, together with his team, has become the protagonist of the Mediolanum commercials, with three commercials featuring a family banker, a private banker, and a wealth advisor.
Similarly, some of Fideuram’s best financial professionals appeared in a beautiful commercial celebrating its fiftieth birthday: “For over fifty years, we have been investing in the future”. Then, a photo of five private accompanied by their names “Nevia, Flavio, Laura, Sandro, Francesco”.
A few days ago, Fineco launched the Ambassador club selecting, within its financial network, the 26 best private bankers, who stood out for their excellent interpretation of the bank’s service model.
The Ambassadors will testify to Fineco’s founding values and principles. Their engagement will contribute to spreading, from within the financial network itself, a shared culture based on transparency and respect for the client.
Other examples of messages built around the figure of the financial advisor are those created by Allianz Bank, Azimut, BNL Life Banker, CheBanca! and Widiba.
In the past, one of the bank managers of Banca Intesa Sanpaolo appeared in one of their commercials. However, banks tend to be more reluctant to include their managers and employees in their commercial messages.
How and what banks and financial networks communicate says a lot about them and their strategy. A banks centering around the figure of the financial advisor cannot exempt itself from electing them brand ambassadors.
Banks, with few exceptions, tend to communicate in a more impersonal way, featuring products and services or using images of people functional to the product or service itself: e.g., a young couple buying a home through mortgage; a happy and insured family.
Undoubtedly, different needs and strategies correspond to different messages. However, it is also true that the empathy inspired by a real poster person has a double value.
First of all, real poster people from the bank inspire a higher level of empathy than actors would.
Secondly, it is gratifying for financial professionals to see a colleague in a commercial. It contributes to giving the right level of attention to figures who are also a point of reference for younger colleagues, strengthening the sense of belonging and identification with the bank, which is often the key to success.
So, why not including the best financial professionals and even satisfied clients in commercials, as in the past?
Nicola Ronchetti