Former Wall Street Journal editor Dave Kansas is the head of the financial PR services group at DeVito/Verdi. In this role, he will be working with organizations and companies – public and private – to amplify their achievements and work to get them the recognition and exposure they rightfully deserve.
About Dave Kansas
Dave Kansas has deep experience in the financial and investing field. He worked as a writer and editor for The Wall Street Journal for nearly 15 years in New York, London and Tokyo. He oversaw all Money & Investing coverage at The WSJ and was the WSJ’s Chief Market Commentator. He has appeared frequently on television to talk about financial matters, including on CNBC, Fox News, NBC, BBC, Fox Business, ABC, Bloomberg and others.
What financial services companies are doing wrong in the arena of PR:
1. DROWNING IN THE NUMBERS
While numbers – stock movements and performance, for instance – are important, an overemphasis on numbers can simply get lost in the ocean of numbers that everyone else is using. To stand out from the crowd, a financial services firm needs to have good stories to tell. People remember stories, numbers not so much.
2. Don’t so quickly bow to compliance.
YOU are the client, and certainly compliance is vitally important. Too often, however, PR and marketing professionals surrender to quickly to compliance. Instead, stick to your guns about the story you want to tell and challenge compliance to help you make it work in a way that will attract the notice and attention you want.
3. DON’T MIMIC
Don’t mimic the standard writing and presentation style of other financial services firms. There is safety in numbers and safety in being a bit boring. Pursuing that path, however, leaves you just lost in the same old crowd. Try to channel different thinking. Sports writing or Travel writing, for instance. These genres tend toward the interesting, packed with good pace and clever nuggets. This might require finding some different talent, but such talent will help you escape the seeming safety of the crowd.
4. Ignoring psychic notes.
Investing and financial services presentations are often quite dry, as noted above. But these topics are psychically very important to your customers and potential customers, as well as to those who would write or promote your organization. If your communication can touch more directly on this reality (“we know this has been a tough week”), it will help you stand out from the crowd.
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