Financial Services PR & Digital Marketing

As a specialist financial PR and digital marketing agency, Sapience can help financial services companies of all shapes and sizes to cut through the noise in an increasingly crowded and competitive space.

Public Relations for the Financial Industry

Digitalisation has dramatically changed the financial services industry, which is now a vibrant ecosystem populated by challenger banks, insurers, wealth management companies, and other newcomers, as well as the traditional players.

“Sapience Communications has been driving our brand awareness and strengthening our profile by being creative, media smart and proactive and helping our executives and partners showcase their market-leading expertise and experience in selling businesses across virtually all sectors of the economy.”

Charlotte Knight, Marketing Manager, Cavendish Corporate Finance

Why Sapience

We are experts in financial services communications, with our consultancy and consultants’ experience extending across multiple relevant sectors, including financial PR media. This institutional knowledge helps us to understand the industry, our clients and their needs. We track regulatory changes and incorporate these into the counsel we provide.

We have carefully selected a team whose skills and insight reflect the challenges our clients face. We pride ourselves on being highly nimble, responsive and utterly focused on delivering the right outcomes for our clients. Our achievements and long-standing relationships across the financial services communication’s spectrum are a testament to that.

Our team brings deep experience of strategic planning, crisis situation preparation and management, messaging, media counsel and quality content creation for blogging, social media, speeches and video, to by-lines, press releases and white papers.

Financial Sector Landscape

The financial services landscape is constantly evolving. Retail banks’ physical presence has shrunk while online alternatives have emerged. Insurtech has also shaken up the insurance sector in a significant way. Investment banking meanwhile has been dramatically impacted by the MiFID II legislation.

The global financial services sector has in recent years seen compliance and governance, data privacy and regulation, anti-money laundering and KYC processes, come to the fore, along with increased penalties for the mis-selling or selling of unlicensed products. These present significant areas of risk for financial services companies, which we can help you navigate successfully.

As the world becomes more unpredictable, multinational institutions are increasingly aware of cultural and political sensitivities. Having the right protocols and contingency plans in place to deal with potential issues are an important part of being able to manage and mitigate that risk. We can help you achieve this.

Financial PR Services

Sapience will work with you on a strategy to help drive success and provide a competitive edge, by enhancing your profile on the ESG issues which matter most to stakeholders. Our experts are highly skilled in providing a range of financial public relations and communications services for firms. Some of our most typical services include:

Our Approach

As a financial services PR and digital marketing agency, we work with clients on short-term tactical projects, as well as long-term retainer work. But we always start with an overarching strategy, framing all subsequent work to ensure consistency of message and focus, and to achieve the desired strategic objectives.

We specialise in financial PR and digital marketing campaigns, thought leadership, messaging and strategic communications, all of which are critical in giving clients a powerful voice. Clear communications has never been so important, and customers expect financial institutions to take positions on social issues that go beyond their core business.

We offer a suite of services to help financial services businesses navigate the challenges presented by the rapid changes in the industry. We look to work with organisations with a strong sense of purpose and look beyond purely commercial returns to the positive impact they can have on society and the environment.

Contact us

If you are looking to amplify your company’s voice in the financial services sector, please use the form below to get in touch for a free, confidential discussion. 

    FAQ – Financial Services

    Why should you work with Sapience?

    Sapience has deep financial services experience across multiple categories in the sector. The longevity of our client relationships says a lot about our ability to deliver high quality work on a consistent basis.

    How is pricing determined?

    We sit down with our clients to understand their exact needs and price transparently, based on the amount of time and the number of Sapience team members required to get the job done.

    What are some common PR challenges for Financial services organisations?

    • Senior executive buy-in is very important – without it, achieving the right outcomes becomes far more difficult. In the financial services sector, senior executives need to be visible and accessible.
    • Regulation is a major factor too, particularly in financial services where the fines meted out for breaches are very high. A good understanding of this is necessary, particularly if the work covers several different jurisdictions.
    • International organisations also need to be culturally sensitive. Missteps here can be calamitous for the business and reputation. Your PR agency needs to prevent such problems arising in the first place, but must be ready to find solutions at speed if a situation arises.

    How long does a financial public relations programme normally run for?

    A shorter project would typically be about three months. But a campaign can easily be multi-year. It comes down to factors including scope, vision, territories covered and budget.

    Can you write and distribute press releases as part of Financial PR campaigns?

    Absolutely. Press releases may be considered old-fashioned, but they remain a very effective way to reach large audiences and get to the top of search engines. Media appetite for press releases varies in different geographies, but they are useful statements for the record, can be a source of blogs, tweets and WeChat posts, and they can also be readily translated.

    Are Financial PR campaigns entirely online?

    While online channels are clearly very important, a good PR campaign would take a more holistic approach to include speaking events, media briefings, thought leadership programmes, exhibitions, face-to-face interviews, television etc. Depending on the nature of the campaign, there may be a need for advertising or sponsorship, a media tour or a press conference also.

    Should Financial PR activities take place continuously?

    In the very competitive world of asset management, investment and retail banking, insurance and other related financial services, an ongoing programme will likely prove both cost effective and more effective in getting results. The need for know-how and continuity with the institution’s communications are important to stay on top of the company’s news, thought leadership, personnel changes and other developments. But PR activities typically also extend to media monitoring about the company and about the industry which is important for flagging potential problems that need to be addressed or managed. Awareness of the latest regulation is also very important in the financial services sector. This is another reason a financial institution would ideally have a long-term retainer agreement with its financial PR agency.

    What is the primary task of financial public relations?

    To ensure the financial institution’s message is delivered accurately and in a compelling way to its key audiences. The role is also to protect and enhance the reputation of the client.

    Make an enquiry

    If you are looking to enhance your corporate comms and digital marketing efforts with engaging,
    relevant content, please get in touch for a free, confidential discussion.