Many businesses underestimate just how competitive the landscape is for financial institutions. Despite the recent decline brought on by market saturation and the current consolidation trend, there are still nearly 18,000 financial institutions in the United States. This figure is dropping by the year, bringing the challenge of staying relevant and reaching the right audience.
Your solution? A solid public media marketing strategy.
A public media sponsorship campaign can help your financial institution reach an engaged audience more likely to be in the market for your services. Here, we explore how your financial institution can benefit from a public media marketing strategy.
Public Radio Has an Affluent Audience
The affluent mass market is a top priority for big players with a potential of millions of attractive customers, accounting for as much as 25% of net banking income.
Affluent listeners have disposable income that they're more willing to invest. When you partner with public media, you connect with an audience more likely to have assets to invest in your brand.
Public Radio Listeners Are Key Decision-makers, Personally and Professionally
Another dominant trait of public radio listeners is their ability to make critical decisions that people in the community are likely to follow. This extends into both their personal and professional lives, further expanding your consumer reach.
They're highly influential in their personal networks, often taking charge and bettering the community in ways that earn trust and credibility. Partnering with public media shines a halo on your financial institution (by association and with the help of messaging).
Public media listeners are also more likely to hold upper management positions. This means that they don't just make key decisions in their personal lives but also have highly regarded opinions in their place of business. They are more likely to influence the purchase of banking services and be involved in purchasing decisions worth $1 million or more. If you reach and resonate with this audience, there's a good chance that their word-of-mouth and referrals will be taken seriously by those around them.
Public Radio Listeners Value Education
It's important to note that public media listeners also value education in everything they do. Many hold graduate degrees and dive deep into research before making investments or lending their support to a product or brand.
Consumers are 131% more likely to buy from a brand immediately after consuming early-stage educational content. In comparison, 64% of consumers immediately trusted the brand, and 73% found the brand trustworthy after one week.
The non-commercial nature of public media and the format of sponsorship messages lends itself to straightforward information presented in a concise, clear and sincere manner that listeners appreciate, and therefore trust.
Listeners Trust Public Radio
Any business – including financial institutions – can benefit more from trust by association. Public radio has earned trust from its listeners by making positive contributions to their livelihoods and communities.
This trust extends to your brand because listeners respect the opinions and recommendations of public media. So, when you sponsor public radio, the audience confers that trust to you — this is known as the Halo Effect.
Trust is essential when it comes to finances. Between 2020 and 2021, 13% of U.S. adults said their trust in financial services companies had grown in the past year, while 17% said it had declined. Public media sponsorship is an excellent opportunity to link your institution in with the '13%.'
Set Your Financial Institution Apart from the Competition
The beauty of a well-executed public radio marketing strategy is that it can help your financial institution stand out from the competition. Work with a public media partner to craft the right message, and reap the benefits of consumer trust.
