Freeze Frame

The relationship that finance companies have with the media can be crucial to how they are portrayed in the press. The sheer scale of the media machine can be the difference between an adoring public and a critical one.

Like any relationship, communication in key, but what if the communication is all one way?

It’s like heading for a night out hoping to meet the partner of your dreams. You get to the bar and work the room but within an hour you retreat to your group of friends. Yet you see others so casually walk up to the fairer sex, strike up a conversation and engage their audiences with so much ease it’s infuriating.

What are they doing that you are not?

Wouldn’t it be great to be able to freeze time and interview each member of the group – were they interested in what was being said? How did your offer fail where this one succeeded?

In much the same way, the relationship finance companies have with the media is a tentative one.  Why does UBank get so much media attention with such simple product offers and (relatively) small funds under management?

Being able to understand the relationship from the other party’s perspective – in this case journalists – delivers an insight that can boost your media presence and thus the public’s perception of your business.

CoreData produces an annual research report titled ‘Invisible Government’ which asks journalists to provide feedback on the companies they have sought comment from throughout the year.

This year’s respondents rated ME Bank as having the best overall score (based on the rollup of all categories in the MEDIA Index – Media Access, Exclusivity, Delivery, Insight and Access Frequency), slightly ahead of UBank.

Overall the big four rated reasonably well with NAB leading the banks – clearly nourishing this relationship in the lead up to its Valentine’s Day ‘dumping’ of the other three banks.

So how’s your relationship with the media?

Are your pickup lines crisp, interesting and appealing? Or will you end up alone at the bar?

*The CoreData ‘Invisible Government’ research covers banking institutions, fund managers and financial advice groups and is available now – for more information contact CoreData on 02 9376 9600.