64 Media’s Julie Bennett and Pritchitt Partners’ Claudia Pritchitt

64 Media and Pritchitt Partners, two specialist communications firms in the financial services industry, have formed a strategic alliance to add further value to their client services.

The strategic alliance, The Value Alliance, will give both consultancies the ability to provide clients additional back-up, expand communication opportunities for them, offer additional specialist services and add synergy in areas such as crisis communication.  Each business will continue to operate separately, but The Value Alliance will allow joint approaches to client work in some areas, especially in new business development.

Both principals of the individual consultancies, Claudia Pritchitt (Pritchitt Partners) and Julie Bennett (64 Media), are highly regarded in financial services media relations.

While the expertise of the consultancies is very similar, each has some additional specialised services. Their clients include fund managers, financial planners, other financial services providers, mutual organisations, industry associations and professional firms.

The principals have already worked together over several years, but have formalised a joint arrangement to strengthen their relationship so as to provide additional client benefits.

As an example Ms Pritchitt points to the media training that 64 Media provides, using its specialist knowledge of financial services industry issues, opportunities and activities, as being useful for Pritchitt Partners clients. 

“Most media training is provided by generalists and focuses on handling foot-in-the-door journalists when an organisation has a problem,” Ms Pritchitt said.

“In media training, our clients need a trainer who understands their business and is capable of developing realistic scenarios that teach them how to take best advantage of the media opportunities we routinely create, so that they are better equipped to get across the points they wish to make.

“After clients have been given this knowledge, and used it in their ongoing media relations, they can then be prepared for any media crisis when required – and in the unlikely event it ever becomes necessary,” Ms Pritchitt said.

Ms Bennett added that having the opportunity for informal reviews and knowledge exchange will also add opportunities to overall client programs for each business.

“64 Media clients will also benefit from the new relationship in other ways,” she said.

“For example, Pritchitt Partners has developed a unique event approach that is included as an added benefit to client relations and which can be extended to include 64 Media clients.

“Claudia and I have been friends for a long time and provided each other with back-up and support in the past.  So it is exciting for us to formalise and extend this business relationship,” Ms Bennett said.

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I am currently attending the “AFA Conference’ on the Gold Coast, as a paying delegate of one of a number of Industry Bodies I belong to. The big news today is the proposed launch of a $5m advertising campaign by the AFA Membership to build a positive message of the value  of advice members give to their clients and the wider community. The proforma TV advertisements looked very impressive and consumer friendly.

In part, this is to counter the estimated $20m a year advertising campaign of the Industry Fund which was generally perceived to be ‘anti -advice’. The funding of this is to come from the membership with a suggestion of a 1% levy on turnover which in practice is similar to our professional indemnity premiums. It remains to be seen whether other Industry Bodies will follow suit or even join forces.

My first  question of the week to practicing advisors is therefore “will you be prepared to financially support this kind of initiative to improve consumers understanding of what we do”?  As for me my cheque is in the mail.

Till next week

Tony

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The Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) has issued a rally call to members to support ‘Make a Plan’ – a multi-media advertising, public relations and online campaign designed to win the hearts and minds of consumers.

Speaking to delegates at the AFA’s National Conference on the Gold Coast this afternoon, AFA CEO Richard Klipin said that while AFA’s Back to Basic research revealed that consumers who have a relationship with an adviser see the value of that relationship, there are a large number of people who still have a poor perception of financial advisers.

“Over the past few years the advice industry has experienced a stream of media reporting on the need for financial reform and a concentrated industry funds advertising campaign that discredits advisers,” he said. “This has fuelled an unfair perception that financial advisers are opaque and self-motivated and worse, untrustworthy.”

To combat this perception, Mr Klipin said the advice industry needs to not only help drive the right reforms that improve the standard of financial advice in Australia but also better articulate the real value of what they do for consumers.

“We need to show that advisers are open, honest, really care about their clients and provide enormous value to them,” he said. “In essence, we need to win back the hearts and minds of disaffected consumers. The Make a Plan Campaign is designed to help us do that.”

The Make a Plan Campaign will include:

• Television, radio and print advertisements that clearly articulate the value of good advice both in financial and peace-of-mind terms while delivering a powerful consumer call to action
• A corresponding public relations campaign
• A dedicated AFA Make a Plan consumer website

The ultimate goals of the campaign are to:

• Create an overarching positioning that AFA members deliver great advice
• Provide a platform for a more consumer-focused AFA
• Create a framework for future specific messaging around important issues, such as Australia’s under-insurance and inadequate savings levels

However, Mr Klipin also said that the campaign cannot go ahead without the financial support and commitment of AFA advisers and called on members to complete a pledge card to help fund the campaign.

”Now is the time for advisers to show their commitment to their own profession and put their money where their mouths are,” he said. “In return we believe they will reap the benefits. At a big picture level, the campaign will help them win back the respect of consumers and at a practice level, they will secure new leads and re-kindle greater respect from any disaffected current clients.”

To make a pledge, advisers are encouraged to complete the pledge cards available from the AFA.

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