Q] Mutual fund marketing operates under a different trust equation from banking or payments because returns are uncertain. How do you create attention without creating unrealistic expectations?
When I look back at some of the campaigns we have created at Franklin Templeton, what stands out is our effort to make investing relevant to people’s lives rather than simply talk about products. ‘Invest for Progress’ and ‘Marathon of Life’ approached investing through a human lens of aspirations, progress, perseverance and different life stages. The aim was to make the subject engaging without suggesting that investing is a shortcut to wealth or that markets move predictably. The trick is to make the story compelling while keeping the promise honest. We can create aspirations around financial progress, but we cannot manufacture certainty around investment outcomes.
After more than a decade in the industry, I believe the strongest brand promise in mutual funds is not a promise of returns, but the confidence that we will remain a trusted partner through the investment journey and whatever lies ahead.
Q] If trust is built through consistency rather than campaigns, what should marketing teams measure beyond leads, app downloads and AUM-linked acquisition?
I think of brand-building like building a relationship. One campaign may introduce you to someone, but it takes repeated interactions and consistent experiences for that person to remember you, trust you and eventually recommend you.
Beyond leads and conversions, I would look at brand recall, consideration, trust, advocacy, engagement quality and the effectiveness of investor-education initiatives. I would also pay attention to whether our communication is creating conversations that continue beyond the campaign itself. Top-of-the-mind recall is built by showing up consistently, with something meaningful to say. In financial services, that consistency eventually turns a brand into a trusted name.
Q] How far should an asset manager go with personalisation before it starts influencing investors based on assumptions they may not fully understand?
Technology helps tailor communication to language, financial familiarity, interests and information needs. That matters in a complex category like mutual funds. But digital behaviour does not reveal everything about financial needs or risk appetite. Technology should make information more accessible and relevant, not make decisions for investors.
Q] As India’s next MF investors come from Bharat, is the bigger challenge reach or creating financial content they can act on?
Our ‘Change The Soch Drive’ showed us that interest in financial security is not limited to metros. We met fisherwomen, farmers, factory workers, students and teachers, and saw that the barriers were often unfamiliarity or lack of trusted information. Financial inclusion is not just about taking information to people. It is about understanding their context, speaking in a familiar language and creating space for questions.
Bharat doesn’t lack aspiration. Our role as marketers is to make financial participation simple, relatable and accessible enough to turn that aspiration into confidence and action.
