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Why there’s no longer any excuse not to know the latest in communications best practice – including online and social media – and what you can learn by raising your head from the Antipodean petrie dish and having a long hard look at the big wide world. Read on for these and other top communication tips fresh from the other hemisphere.
Last week I took a brief trip to London. There, rather than seeing the Queen, I met global financial services brands, several BlueChip alumni, a mentor and like-minded agency colleagues.
And I came away a little more realistic about our place in the world as financial services communicators working in Australia.
Much is made by Australians working in financial services of the complexity and sophistication of our market. We have the much lauded (and now recognised globally) superannuation savings system, a sophisticated and highly intermediated wealth management industry and a well educated population enjoying high living standards. Some of us pride ourselves on being as good or better than much of the rest of the world. And in ways we are, thanks to good luck, the foresight of previous government and some reasonable economic management.
On the other hand our relatively small population and market size, distance from major global markets and time zones conspire to make us a happy, sunny and sometimes insular, world apart.
I am always delighted to arrive back in Australia – even after a short trip such as last week’s brief London visit. I love it here. The landscape, the ease of life and the openness.
But sometimes small isn’t beautiful – it’s just small.
There is no doubt we suffer from relative isolation as financial services communication practitioners. There are pros and cons to this.
The pros include being able to learns from others, an ability to know more of the market (whether clients, consulting or media) and the chance to live well – as well as work hard!
The cons are that we don’t always get to work on projects of the size and depth offered in (say) New York, London or Shanghai.
Here are my top ten learnings from the trip.
People
1. Good people are always in demand and usually rise to the top, whether in house or in consultancy
2. Clients need capable people both in house and externally – working in partnership
3. The best communication and marketing people have a view of the market that extends beyond their own backyard – and are willing to learn from other markets
Social media
4. Social media is increasingly mainstream for PR agency teams, although not always their clients, the in house practitioners
PR firms
5. PR firms are no longer PR firms – they (and we at BlueChip) are media trainers, multi-media producers, social media consultants, and marketers…just for starters
6. Firm profitability is under pressure both here and in London – however good firms, well managed, still find a way to deliver great work for clients, profit share for their teams and decent shareholders returns
7. Whether in Australia or London day to day issues management typically needs to be done in house, while proactive brand-building and major issues are the areas most likely to require support from outside
The corporate affairs / PR profession
8. Our jobs are increasingly blending with those of other disciplines – our core skill set of communication strategy and influence have utility beyond the profession in an online world
9. Commercial discipline remains in too short a supply both here and in London – those who ‘get’ business and the financial services industry do better than those who don’t
10. Innovation is easier than ever. Technology and social media have made knowledge easy to find – there’s no excuse anymore to not know how to do something thanks to Google. The trick is to innovate or adapt to suit the exact circumstances of the challenge or opportunity before us. And then to execute well.
Finally, it sounds trite, but if you're an Australian living and working here, get out more! If we stay working in the petrie dish of our own financial services marketing and communication market, without global reference points, we’re robbing ourselves (and those we serve) of our best work.
