- Majority of world's largest asset managers (58%) suffer
stagnant or declining brand awareness for the second year in a
row
- Managers saw huge fall in digital engagement, with LinkedIn
engagement at 26% of last year's average
- Study also includes a special report into the role of Culture
and Leadership in manager's responses to Covid-19, as 40% of
managers were unable to communicate any clear mission, vision or
values
NEW YORK, Nov. 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The majority of the
largest asset managers worldwide faced a second consecutive year of
declining interest in their corporate brands, according to
Peregrine Communications' second annual Global 100 report into
the integrated marketing communications (IMC) performance of the
asset management industry.
The report found that nearly six out of ten (58%) of the world's
largest asset managers saw no improvement or an outright decline in
organic Google search volumes for their brands during the research
period. In 2019, a similar proportion (61%) also suffered the same
phenomenon, showing that this is part of a longer-term trend and is
not purely driven by Covid-19.U.S. firms that lead the way included
16 of the top 20 managers by AUM and 15 of the top 20 firms ranked
by IMC scores.
It is notable, despite the urgent need to move communications
online and be agile in response to Covid-19, that many firms have
dialled back their digital activity. Average LinkedIn engagement,
for example, has declined significantly, standing at only 26% of
last year's average.
"In last year's Global 100, we laid out our case that the cosy
era of easy asset accumulation was drawing to a close for the asset
management industry. We could hardly have known, of course, that
just a few months later we would witness some of the most
disruptive events in living memory which would force managers to
accelerate their digital efforts and find new ways to communicate.
Worryingly though, the evidence suggests that many firms may be
suffering from 'Covid Content Overload' as well as 'Zoom fatigue'.
As online meetings have replaced in-person ones, average digital
engagement has fallen off a cliff", said Anthony Payne, CEO of Peregrine
Communications.
"Also, as with our research last year, we continue to find a
worrying number of firms whose brand awareness is stagnant or
declining and for whom 2020 has been yet another reminder of the
vital importance of revitalizing brands and corporate stories
within a defined IMC strategy. We hope that clients and the
wider industry will find our research and competitor comparison
tool useful as they head into their 2021 planning seasons,
particularly ahead of what looks like yet another challenging
year."
Collating over 12,000 data points across firms' core IMC
activities, the report weighs, scores and ranks each firm against
their industry peers, through 10 key metrics: Brand Awareness,
Brand Momentum, Share of Voice, Media Sentiment, Google Page 1,
Social Media, SEO, Paid Search, Paid Media, and Website
Effectiveness.
The report extends well beyond merely ranking firms against
their core strategic communications and marketing activities. It is
also intended to provide firms with a map of where they are
currently, and to help them benchmark against their peers. In
addition, the report is intended to provide a window into asset
management industry trends, while highlighting the most useful case
studies and emerging best practices.
Fidelity Investments replaced Blackrock (3rd) at the
top of the IMC ranking this year, with Vanguard Asset Management in
2nd and Invesco and T. Rowe
Price completing the top five. Despite the negative trend
overall, 19 of the top 20 'outperformers (those who punch well
above AUM weight in terms of their reach and engagement) grew AUM
over the year. Robeco was the strongest outperformer this year,
closely followed by Baillie Gifford & Co, BMO Global Asset
Management, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Lord, Abbett
& Co.
"The impact of the pandemic has created a renewed and increased
pressure on managers to articulate clear culture, leadership and
social purpose. Clearly, given the events of the past year, the
ability to explain your firm's mission and the impact this has on
your social purpose is becoming increasingly essential. The
alarming data showing that this is the second year in a row of
stagnating brand awareness levels for asset managers spotlights
that this is a vital focus for asset managers as they enter the
2021 planning season.", commented Max
Hilton, Managing Director, Peregrine
Communications.
PRESS ENQUIRIES
Josh Cole, Vice President, Head
of Analytics
Peregrine Communications
+44 (0) 20 3178 5439/ josh.cole@peregrinecommunications.com
Max Hilton, Managing Director
Peregrine Communications
+1 347 613 7560/ max.hilton@peregrinecommunications.com
Guy Taylor, Account Manager
Peregrine Communications
+44 (0) 20 3040
0867/ guy.taylor@peregrinecommunications.com
ABOUT THE GLOBAL 100 RESEARCH
This Global 100 report focuses on the marketing performance of
the world's largest asset management firms as ranked by AUM. The
firms selected were the top 100 independent brands in IPE's Top 500
Asset Management survey. Firms that are owned or operated by a
parent brand already included in the research group were excluded
from the analysis. The group is scored, ranked and analyzed
across a dataset of 12,000 data points collected between July and
September 2020. It builds on the
12,000 data points already collated by Peregrine in 2019. The
firm's overall scores are made up of their scores across ten
distinct IMC categories.
Peregrine's Global 100 report, interactive competitor
intelligence tool and more information about the report's
methodology, can be found here.
ABOUT PEREGRINE COMMUNICATIONS
Based in London and New York, Peregrine
Communications provides strategic communications, marketing, and
design solutions to the global financial services industry.
Peregrine clients range from start-ups to global investment firms
and leading service providers to asset managers.
peregrinecommunications.com
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