Hollywood approach generates staggering 20+ mins on page
26 global financial brands profit from Sabio consumer experiences
The big idea
When you are looking for the best digital experiences from consumer culture, it is hard to go past JJ Abrams, the famous Hollywood producer of Lost and Star Wars fame.
Abrams had launched a new TV series, Almost Human promoted by the most amazing experience website we’d seen for a while, featuring a killer combination of animated graphics, video and story telling, all together in one place.
The UX was powered by a brand new digital animation software, and this provided the inspiration for AXIS.
Following our Sabio approach, we adopted the best in class from the world of consumer, but repurposed it for a high end financial services audience.
The results were startling;
- 20+ minutes dwell time on page (stats at the end of this article)
- Adoption by 26 global Asset Management brands
- Achieved at product price-points (not bespoke development budgets)
- 3+ year life cycle for the product
Scroll down to learn how AXIS worked.
The brief was simple … but not easy.
Create the digital equivalent of a glossy magazine for hard to please Fund Managers, showcasing their expertise, their investment philosophy and their track record.
This new digital marketing publication (AXIS) needed to be a cross between FT in terms of high end editorial content, and a popular consumer magazine in terms of slick user experience.
So we looked to the best in class – Hollywood – to find a strong consumer feel, that would deliver the digital experiences investors have come to expect in their day to day lives.
We adopted a best in class approach influenced by the latest TV series from JJ Abrams of LOST and Star Wars fame
Consumer Television was a good match for Financial Services with its focus on data, graphics, global stories and big stars. We decided to follow how they did it, and it worked!
Delivering a solution beyond industry norms
In our private lives, we all belong to the Netflix generation and expect high end consumer experiences. So as always, our core idea was to create a high end consumer styled digital experience, at a level well beyond the norm in the financial services industry.
As individuals, we are all used to receiving high end content experiences whether it be shopping, entertainment, sports etc. When we get into the office, we don’t drop our expectations to consume a bunch of boring corporate marketing.
A high end content approach that meets consumer expectations will attract attention, and encourage users to engage more heavily with the content than they otherwise would with a typical corporate offering.
AXIS proved to be a digital magazine style offering which delivered on all of that, including high end photography, advanced animation, video, interesting personalities, editorial viewpoints and infographics.
Critically the content was built on four perspectives; from the fund manager; a financial journalist; an independent reviewer as well as client viewpoints.
Core elements included
- Rapid capture of the core story in a TV style video interview with the Fund Manager(s)
- Financial news style article about the fund
- A rating of the fund from a highly respected independent reviewer
- Multiple client reviews – candid and unscripted
- Data journalism, via animated graphics
…. and all of this delivered via a high end digital experience platform. You can check out 24 examples of AXIS here, or scroll down to learn how telling the story from four very different perspectives drove high time on page.
AXIS includes 4 perspectives: from the fund manager, financial journalist, independent fund analyst and existing clients
Why the AXIS / Sabio approach is more cost effective
If delivered bespoke, such a high end story telling platform would be extremely expensive.
But via the Sabio product methodology, we used the same story telling platform for 26 global FS brands.
Production could be streamlined and costs per client kept well down, compared to the true costs of bespoke development for a single client.
Multiple perspectives bring the financial news feel
One of the main problems with corporate content marketing is it only includes one perspective – that of the PR department. But it’s clear that savvy professional audiences are unlikely to be swayed by one dimensional, corporate-controlled content.
We realised from the start that like any quality financial publication, AXIS would include multiple perspectives on a single investment theme.
- The Financial Journalist: What is the story here? What is new or interesting?
- The Fund Manager: What is the investment strategy? Why does this matter to professional investors?
- Independent Review: How does the fund rate on the data?
- The Investor: What is the reaction of actual customers?
Delivering multiple perspectives delivered far far more value to the audience. The content informed professional advisors not only as to the strategy as explained by the fund manager (always important), but also as to the wider investment context, the key data, and how the fund was seen by clients and the independent reviewer.
Furthermore the content was contained in different formats to suit varied tastes …
- Editorial article
- Data journalism
- Video
- Animated infographics
- Summary snapshots
… all in a single long form experience.
The result?
A long time spent consuming the content! Scroll down to learn more.
20+ mins on the page? Impossible!
When we launched AXIS and checked the analytics data, we were stunned even compared to our own high expectations.
The dwell times were extremely high … ten times what you might call “a great result” for a video or landing page.
It seems viewers did indeed treat this like a magazine experience, parking up, and consuming the four different content sections at their leisure.
Which just goes to prove what we keep saying …
In order to build brand affinity – and therefore create a well-loved, notable brand – businesses should create binge-worthy, long-form content that adds value to viewers’ lives and doesn’t just push them towards the next stage in the funnel.
AXIS set a new standard in the Financial Services industry and the product enjoyed a 3 year lifecycle from delivery, being adopted by 26 major global fund managers …from Schroders to Kames; HSBC to AXA (check the dwell times for the leading performers)
Key takeaway
Professional buyers are used to a world that is fully digital, mobile, customised and entertaining. They expect the Netflix experience. Not just in their consumer lives, but also in their work lives. By adopting the hottest “Star Wars” style experience from Hollywood, combined with best practice from financial news, we created a digital publication they truly wanted to explore, engage with and enjoy.
But we get that corporate content budgets can’t pay Hollywood prices. That is where our Sabio solution delivers you the latest consumer experiences without the bespoke price tag
AXIS delivered startling on page dwell times
