Awards & Press

What You Need to Know: Digital Marketing for Financial Services Summit

This week, we spent two days in New York at the Digital Marketing for Financial Services Summit. The event was an opportunity for Ovative Group to share our thoughts on how financial marketers can increase their ROAS by creating a consumer-centric digital media strategy. We also learned a lot more about the key challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for financial institutions as they prepare for 2019 and beyond.

During the summit, we attended each of the 25 sessions that included speakers from American Express, Bank of America, PayPal, First Republic Bank, IGM Financial, BNY Mellon, Transamerica and more.

Here’s what we heard, why it’s important and how we can help.

Banks, credit unions, insurance agents, and investors are pushing their internal teams and agencies to find ways their brands can stand out in an incredibly crowded market.

One way financial brands have started to more effectively engage consumers is by striking a proper balance between paid and owned media.

Dawn Merchand, Vice President of Marketing at Lawyers Financial, emphasized the importance of owned media, specifically the role of .com in the digital experience.

“Your site is your hub. It is your brand. If you are not A/B testing the content and usability of your site, you are missing out on a huge opportunity to learn, iterate and improve. This is especially applicable for your mobile experience.”

To further emphasize the importance of mobile, Tony Marlow of Infogroup said:

“Time spent on TV, radio, print and desktop is going down. Time spent on mobile continues to increase. People are spending 29% of their time on mobile, but marketers are only spending 26% of their budget on it. This represents a $7B opportunity.”

To stand out and deliver a meaningful experience to consumers, financial marketers should be clear about how each of their paid and owned media touchpoints are working together to deliver a cohesive experience for people – starting with mobile.

If you don’t deliver a great mobile experience, people will switch banks. According to research done by Reasonate, 50% of people believe a bank’s app is the most important part of the experience. However, 75% of people think the local branch is the most important part of their banking experience. Seemingly contradictory, this is just one more reason brands must be thinking about connecting their digital media efforts to in-store sales. Capital One’s Cafes are a great example of a new twist on local branches.

Whether it’s measuring digital media investments to in-store sales, understanding the incrementality of your media investments or calculating ROI of new customers through lifetime value, measurement continues to be a challenge for financial marketers.

Maria Belmessova from PayPal didn’t mince words:  

“It’s time to say no to non-measurable marketing spend. Marketers who get promoted the most are those who show the monetary value (ROI) of their investments. Marketing should be viewed as a revenue center, not a cost center.”

We agree.

The first step showing the monetary value of your marketing investments is to create a customer-centric digital media strategy. During our session at the conference, Jo Hamburge (Vice President, Strategy Consulting and Engagement Management) outlined the steps marketers need to take to increase their digital return on ad spend.

Standing out in a crowded market like financial services may be challenging, but the insights gained from the Digital Marketing for Financial Services Summit offer an actionable way forward for brands. Push your teams think critically about paid and owned media, explore ways to further engage consumers on mobile, thoughtfully connect and measure online-to-offline experiences and put the customer in the center of how you think about media planning in the future.


Dale Nitschke

Dale Nitschke

CEO & Founder

About the Author

Dale is the Founder and CEO of Ovative. After years of operating a large omni-channel business and leading a customer data initiative, Dale knew there was an opportunity to create a marketing firm that helped clients become more customer centric and drove better performance outcomes. A gap existed between business consultancies and advertising agencies that modern marketing approaches demand. He also believed that a strong, healthy culture could attract and develop smart, talented team members. In 2009, he formed Ovative to bring media, measurement, and consulting together under one roof to enable an enterprise approach that drives more revenue and grows clients’ customer base.

Prior to founding Ovative in 2009, Dale spent 23 years at Target Corporation where he served as President of Target.com and grew the ecommerce business from start-up stage to a $1 billion+ business and established the foundation of Target’s Guest database capabilities. Previously he served as SVP Merchandising at the Department Store Division of Dayton Hudson. Dale has advised retailers and brands globally on business, growth, marketing, and measurement transformation strategies.

Outside of Ovative, Dale is a leader on topics including business strategy, change management, and team leadership. He serves on the board of Allergy Amulet and on the Dean’s Advisory Board of the Wisconsin School of Business at UW-Madison.  He enjoys spending time with his family, up north in northern Wisconsin, playing golf, and cheering on Wisconsin sport teams.

Steve Benson

Steve Benson

Chief Financial Officer

About the Author

Steve is the Chief Financial Officer of Ovative. Steve is responsible for the company’s IT, corporate accounting, treasury, tax, financial planning and analysis, and Business Operations

Prior to joining Ovative, Steve provided finance and accounting advisory services to clients. Before that, he spent 23 years at Target Corporation, leading Finance and Accounting teams.

Steve enjoys distance running, woodworking, and traveling. Steve and his wife have two sons, and they enjoy escaping to the Minnesota north shore.

Annie Zipfel

Executive Vice President, Media

About the Author

Annie is the Executive Vice President of Media at Ovative. She oversees delivery and growth across paid and owned media (digital, traditional, and retail media) and creative services.

Annie has more than 30 years of experience in media, brand management, insights/analytics, marketing, and product. She has also developed large, high-performing teams and built new measurement capabilities. Annie led the marketing team at Andersen Windows & Doors, leading the digital, social, content, customer insights, and creative functions. Prior to that, Annie served in multiple marketing leadership roles at Starbucks, REI, Target, and General Mills, with a keen focus on brand, media, insights, analytics, and measurement.

Annie is an industry leader in brand management, customer insights, e-commerce, social media, and analytics. She enjoys hiking, traveling, cooking, fishing, and spending time with her sweet dog and two sons.

Bonnie Gross

Executive Vice President, Talent Services

About the Author

Bonnie is the Executive Vice President of Talent Services at Ovative. She is responsible for attracting and retaining top talent and creating a culture in which our team thrives personally and professionally. Under Bonnie’s leadership, Ovative has defined an industry leading leadership and development program and transformed our approach to talent recruitment with a focus on diversity, equality and inclusion. Prior to her current role, Bonnie led Ovative’s Client and Business Development team overseeing client satisfaction and new growth opportunities.

Before joining Ovative in 2014, Bonnie spent 13 years at Target Corporate as the VP of digital and Digital Marketing where she led the launch of Cartwheel, an industry-leading social shopping application. Bonnie was the VP of Marketing for Fingerhut for 15 years prior to joining Target.

Steve Baxter

Steve Baxter

Executive Vice President, Strategic Initiatives

About the Author

Steve is the Executive Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at Ovative. Steve has been with the company since 2010 and launched Ovative’s media practice in 2012.

Prior to joining Ovative, Steve worked at Target for 8 years where he led development of Target’s CRM initiatives, Digital media analytics and Target’s Media Network. In 2005, Steve developed Target’s proprietary in-house capabilities to both measure in-store sales impact from digital brand investments and personalize marketing messages across both digital and non-digital channels.

Steve is an industry leader on topics including marketing, advanced measurement, ecommerce, and monetization. Steve enjoys fishing, camping, golfing and trying to stay competitive in any sport with his three boys. Steve enjoys escaping to the MN north shore with his wife, boys and dog whenever possible.

Lindsy Steinberger

Sr. Manager, Paid Search

About the Author

Lindsy is a Sr. Manager on the Paid Search team at Ovative.

Tyler Spiwak

Analyst, Measurement Solutions

About the Author

Tyler is an Analyst on the Measurement Solutions team at Ovative.

Lillian Smith

Senior Analyst, Paid Social

About the Author

Lillian is a Senior Analyst on the Paid Social team at Ovative.

Beth McKigney

Senior Vice President, Measurement

About the Author

Beth is the Senior Vice President of Measurement at Ovative. She is responsible for developing, implementing, and supporting proprietary technology products that enable clients to unlock insights across marketing channels and devices. Since joining Ovative in 2013, Beth built Ovative’s Site Analytics & Optimization practice and Ovative’s unified marketing measurement tool, MAP. She is spearheading development of new technology products focused on advanced analytics, testing and reporting.

Prior to joining Ovative, Beth spent 9 years at Target in multiple digital and marketing analytics roles. She defined and delivered Target’s email and mobile marketing strategies, identified and defined Target.com guest-facing technology enhancements, and managed site-wide promotional marketing plans.

Beth is a thought leader in advanced analytics and optimization strategies. She regularly advises clients on strategies to improve their marketing effectiveness and is a published thought leader. She lives in Brooklyn Park with her husband, two boys and dog, Sota.  Beth’s an avid University of Minnesota sports fan (especially football – Row the Boat!) and enjoys downhill skiing, biking, hunting and fishing.

Dianne Anderson

Senior Vice President, Media

About the Author

Dianne is the Senior Vice President of Media at Ovative. She is responsible for delivery and growth across paid digital media, traditional media, marketplaces, and creative services. Since joining the company in 2013, Dianne has been a key leader in establishing new channel practices, a strategic voice in media and marketing strategy and a driver scaling best in class teams. She regularly advises clients on ecommerce, retail, digital media and measurement strategies.

Prior to joining Ovative, Dianne spent 8 years at Target leading strategy and activation of digital e-comm and brand marketing initiatives.

Dianne is passionate about music, leading ukulele lessons for the team and participating in office musical collaborations.  Her happy places are Northern Wisconsin, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where she enjoys making memories with her family.

More Awards & Press

AWARD

Ovative Group Named Google Premier Partner Winner for Online Sales

Ovative Group is a Google Premier Partner Awards winner in Online Sales and a finalist in Lead Generation. The... Read More »


Ovative

Insights Team

AWARD

Ovative Group Named to Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal’s Fast 50 List

For the seventh time, Ovative Group was included on Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal’s (MSPBJ) Fast 50 list... Read More »


Ovative

Insights Team

NEW VP

New Ovative VP to Maximize Paid Media Capabilities and Strategic Partnerships

Ovative named their newest Vice President of Paid Media, Andy Pierce, overseeing the firm's Paid Social channel practices.... Read More »


Ovative

Insights Team

accent bar