Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
Banking Communications
Subsectors: Insurance
Credit, Leasing and Finance
Accountancy
Financial Advice
Description
Financial services, more than any other sector, uses marketing to connect with consumers and communicate
messages. On the retail side, look around and you’ll see these brand messages crop up across every media channel
– the TV, newspapers, posters, the Internet, cinema, mail, bus stops, sporting venues… the list is endless. With so
much competition in the financial sector and new distribution channels appearing constantly, jobs involve developing
a public image, or ‘brand’, that’s distinctive and conveys the right meaning. Ultimately, these marketing activities will
try and persuade customers to switch or buy a new product.
Marketing jobs exist also on the business-to-business side, particularly in insurance and investments. Here marketing
people focus more on promoting services to brokers and affinity partners, developing sales support tools and
promotional materials, making it easier for them to sell your company’s products.
There’s a huge variety of roles to suit every personality and talent. PR people are focused on spotting newsworthy
opportunities and getting journalists to cover a story. Internal communications people update Intranets, write
newsletters and coordinate management roadshows to keep employees informed. Brand and account managers
liaise with creative agencies to come up with new campaigns. Writers create the words. Some marketing people
focus on developing new products or analysing and predicting consumer behaviours. Negotiating and running
sponsorship deals, especially sporting events, is big business too in financial services. Through direct mail packs,
brochures, exhibitions, press activities, websites and other communication forms, your task will be to engage
customers and keep the sales rolling in.
Knowledge
An employer will not always require the candidate has this knowledge when entering the profession, although they
will expect that it will be acquired it through training and qualifications:
Commercial awareness of the financial services sector they operate on.
Knowledge of what competitors are doing in their sector.
Knowledge of new marketing channels, techniques and concepts being developed.
An understanding of human behaviour and what triggers consumers buy certain products.
Excellent IT skills and prior knowledge of using databases and Excel spreadsheets, plus some experience of
handling large budgets, are an advantage.
Hours of work
Marketing professionals generally work standard office hours from Monday to Friday. Like many jobs with tight
deadlines, additional hours are worked to ensure that targets are met. Part time work and job sharing may be
possible once experienced.
As with many occupations within financial services, marketing roles can be entered with a vocational qualification.
This could be a general vocational qualification such as a BTEC, NVQ or specialist Diploma (for example the Diploma
in Creative and Media).
General education:
Marketing people need to have an understanding of numbers for budgeting and be able to communicate clearly in
person, make presentations and write reports. It is therefore useful to have GCSEs, Standard Grades or equivalent in
English and Maths. Good IT skills are also important. For graduate entry schemes, a 2 :2 or 2 :1 degree is usualy
required. Since competition for marketing roles is high, studying a creative, marketing, PR or business subject, or a
degree with a marketing element, can be an advantage.
Professional qualifications:
The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) and the Institute of
Sales and Marketing Management (ISMM) offer a range of professional qualifications for marketing and
communications practitioners. These range from introductory right up to a postgraduate diploma and full chartered
status, including:
Level 2
ISMM Certificate in Sales and Marketing.
NVQ in Marketing – providing a broad introduction.
Level 3
CIM Introductory Certificate in Marketing.
CIPR Foundation Award in PR.
ISMM Certificate in Advanced Sales and Marketing.
NVQ in Marketing – assessing the knowledge and skills of experienced marketing professionals.
Level 4
CIM Professional Certificate in Marketing.
NVQ in Marketing - assessing advanced aspects of the marketing profession.
Level 5
CIPR Advanced Certificate in PR.
More specialist communications qualifications include :
CAM Diploma in Marketing Communications, available through the CIM, covering different communication
methods from advertising and PR, to branding and direct marketing.
CIM e-Marketing Award, looking at digitial mediums, including the web, as research and sales tools.
CIPR Internal Communication Certificate
Some employers may also require marketing professionals to demonstrate their understanding of financial services
and undertake specialist technical qualifications, such as those offered by the ifs School of Finance, the Chartered
Insurance Institute, the Securities and Investment Institute or the Institute of Credit Management.
Additional qualifications
Apprenticeship :
Foundation and Advanced Marketing and Marketing Communications apprenticeships are available (is there ?), but
are not common in financial services. Graduate schemes and fast track training programmes for internal staff are
more typical routes into jobs. Please see apprenticeship section for more information.
Higher Education
There are many progression routes onto learning at a higher level from vocational and professional courses.
Foundation degrees in marketing and PR are available which can be studied part time whilst working or full time at a
university or college. This could lead to studying a:
Level 6 BA (Hons) degree in marketing, PR, international marketing or joint honours degree, combining
marketing with other subjects like business, accounting and finance.
Level 6 CIM Professional Diploma in Marketing, for people in mid-marketing positions.
Level 6 CIPR Diploma, for experienced PR professionals that are ready to play a more strategic role.
Level 7 Professional Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing, for marketers working or aspiring to work at a
strategic level.
See the UCAS website for more detail, although each university sets its own entry requirements.
Typical employers
Large retail and clearing banks and insurance companies usually have specialist teams of marketers, promoting very
specific brands, products and services. Central marketing functions also exist in investment companies, accountancy
firms and financial advice companies, although teams tend to be much smaller. Creative jobs also exist within
agencies that provide marketing, advertising and PR support to the financial services sector.
Global dimension
Very large financial firms with global offices based in the UK may have a global marketing and PR team who work
closely with UK teams. Although based in the UK, overseas posts and secondments occasionally arise and duties
may require some international travel.
Related professions
Advertising, Brand Management, Client Relationship Management , Market Research , Market Strategy, Sales
Product Management
Additional links
British Association of Communicators in Business (CiB): www.cib.uk.com
Chartered Institute of Marketing: www.cim.co.uk
Chartered Institute of Public Relations: www.cipr.co.uk
Chartered Insurance Institute: www.insurancecareers.cii.co.uk
Creative & Cultural Skills: www.ccskills.org.uk
The Institute of Direct Marketing: www.theidm.com
The Institute of Sales and Marketing Management: www.ismm.co.uk
ifs School of Finance: www.ifslearning.ac.uk
The Marketing Society: www.marketing-society.org.uk
TARGETjobs: www.targetjobs.co.uk/marketing/
www.marketingmagazine.co.uk
www.marketingweek.co.uk
www.brandrepublic.com/campaign
www.mad.co.uk
www.themarketer.co.uk (online version of the CIM magazine)
www.prweek.com