The Top Wealth Management Advertising Campaigns for Banks in 2023

Purpose of This Research

Track competitor ad spend for Private Wealth campaigns to see what’s performing and understand what changes have been made over time from January 2023 to December 2023.

• ‍Identify top-performing private wealth campaigns amongst competitors.
• ‍Identify changes in spend, platforms and ad formats over time.
• ‍Analyze tactics that surface as brands optimize their strategies.

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Advertising Content Definitions

• Link Post: Features a link and an assigned image as its creative.
• Image Post: Features a single image as the creative but doesn’t link to any external landing pages—it keeps viewers on-site by directing them to an owned account, for example.
  The main difference between these two is that Link Posts are an image with a link and Image Posts are an image without a link.
• Video Post: Features video media as the creative with a landing page of the advertiser’s choosing attached.
• Carousel Post: Features a series of media as the creative with a landing page of the advertiser’s choosing attached.
• Status Post*: Features the landing page link directly in the text, the ad creative becomes the SEO-assigned imagery for the landing page.
• HTML5: Features Display ads that use HTML5 files created in Google Web Designer to create attention-catching, interactive ads.
• Story Post**: Features ads that appear as users are watching stories on Facebook and Instagram.
• Reel Post**: Features ads that are sponsored short-form videos that appear between organic content.

*This form of ad is outdated as of 2023.
**Story and Reel post examples cannot be captured at this point in time. 

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Messaging Category Definitions

• ‍Investment: Messaging aimed towards an affluent demographic with investments of over $100K and high incomes. This group looks to strategies for optimizing and growing their investments, which sometimes includes speaking with financial advisors.
• ‍Tax Strategy: Features messaging aimed to help customers preserve their wealth and increase the money they can save by reducing their taxes paid.  
• ‍Wealth Transfer: Messaging that addresses complex arrangements including succession planning, charitable giving, estate planning, wills, and assets or beneficiaries located across or outside of Canada. 

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Key Takeaways

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Competitors increased Wealth ad spend from Q3 to Q4 by +72%. Image, HTML5 and Video posts (+230%) are growing ad formats. TikTok, Instagram and Facebook (+527%) are growing ad platforms.

• Recommendations
  (i) Increase spending in Q3 & Q4 but leverage early Q1 to capture people thinking about tax season.
  (ii) Develop ad creative across Images and Videos. 
  (iii) Experiment on TikTok and Instagram and continue to focus on Facebook.

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INVESTMENT

Competitors align Investment advertising to communicate Financial Security, Resources & Aid and Future Planning.

• Recommendations
  (i) Ads should be borderline boastful. Put confidence behind your investment products and tools to show prospects that you can help grow their money. 
  (ii) Speak to common ambitions like comfortable retirements and trips. Connect those to the ability to achieve that with a hands-off but straightforward offering.

Facebook, Display, Instagram & TikTok saw the most growth YoY.

• Recommendations
  (i) Focus Investment messaging on YouTube, Facebook & Display while experimenting on Instagram & TikTok.

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TAX STRATEGY

Competitors align Tax Strategy advertising to communicate Active Applications, Tax Benefits and Homeownership.

• Recommendations
  (i) Ads should be affirmative and energetic. Create an ad for each pain point a prospect has about taxes.
  (ii) Note the speed of reaching goals (i.e. ‘don’t stay in debt forever’), and how prospects can use your tax-saving strategy to prepare for what’s ahead (i.e. ‘buy time for your future’).  

TikTok and Instagram saw the highest YoY spending growth.

• Recommendations
  (i) Focus Tax Strategy messaging on Instagram and Paid Search while experimenting on TikTok.
  

Competitors align Wealth Transfer advertising to communicate Will Education and Family Security.

• Recommendations
  (i) Ads should be informative and encouraging. People don’t want to think about their death. 
  (ii) Make a sad topic more approachable. Offer new perspectives and statistics to show your prospects they are not alone.

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WEALTH TRANSFER

Display and Paid Search platforms saw spending growth YoY.

• Recommendations
  (i) Advertise on Display and Search but experiment on YouTube and Instagram where there is white space.
  

*Average YoY ad spend growth of mentioned entities.

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Competitors Analyzed

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Wealth Planning ad spend in 2023 ($15.8M) focused on Investment Messaging (85%) with spikes in January, August, September and October.

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All competitors invested in more ad spend in Q3 & Q4 2023.

RBC Wealth Management had a spike at the beginning of the year aligned with tax season deadlines.

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60% of brands saw ad spend increases YoY.

Edward Jones decreased their spend the most, while Questrade saw the largest YoY surge in ad spend.

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Questrade leads in spend for advertising related to Private Wealth.

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Focus on Video posts. They have the largest share of spend by format.

There’s an opportunity to invest in HTML, and Image formats, having seen the most overall growth since 2022.

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TikTok, Instagram and Facebook saw the most YoY growth.

Focus on the top channels, Facebook and YouTube, while experimenting with Instagram and TikTok.

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Investment messaging has seasonal peaks from August to October and again in January as tax deadlines approach. 

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Facebook, Display, Instagram and TikTok saw the most growth YoY.

Image, Link and HTML5 formats saw the highest YoY growth for Investment messaging.

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Investment Ad Copy Trends

How to Hit Home with Your Audience

Themes & Messaging

• ‍Financial Security: Let customers know you can help them find financial confidence and smart decision-making.
• ‍Resources: Leverage opportunities by providing tools to aid in financial growth.
• ‍Future Planning: Help prospects set up their futures in a predominantly self-directed manner.

How to Get Your Audience to Take Action

Calls to Action

• ‍Initiating Action: Use CTAs like “Get” or “Start” to encourage the use of your products.
• ‍Investing & Purchasing: Show product options to incentivize conversion on an investment.
• ‍Exploration & Discovery: Leave room for prospects to learn more about your services with “Explore” or “Find Out” CTAs.

How to Talk to Your Audience

Copy & Taglines

• ‍Promotion: “The market: 😬 You: Looking like a genius because you got $2,000 for moving to Wealthsimple.” 
• ‍Have it All: “With RBC InvestEase, invest without compromise.”
• ‍Growth: “Your money should work harder than this.”
• ‍Personalization: “BMO offers an all-in-one investment solution and easy access to a professionally managed portfolio or ETFs.”
• ‍To the Point: ”New! BMO Global Enhanced Income Fund - ETF Series. Learn More”

How to Approach Your Audience

Sentiment

• Ads should be borderline boastful. Put confidence behind your investment products and tools to show prospects that you can help grow their money. Speak to common ambitions like comfortable retirements and trips. Connect those to the ability to achieve that with a hands-off but straightforward offering.

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Tailor investment plans to client desires.

What kind of growth will investing with you help them achieve?

• Stress the ability to tailor investment plans to meet customer desires for personalized financial solutions. 
• ‍This image conveys a sense of victory and happiness, which can inspire viewers to take control of their financial futures with BMO. They present investment planning as a rewarding journey. 
• ‍This ad creatively showcases investment planning options using a dinner menu style, illustrating three distinct paths to tailor financial strategies to individual tastes and goals. 
• ‍Keep the logo front and center. Featuring the BMO logo builds trust and lends credibility to the custom plan offering.

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Position GICs as a secure financial growth tactic.

• ‍Target people looking for specific outcomes. Competitors are advertising with the message of GICs being perfect for when prospects are:
  (i) Ready to save a long time for something in particular (a down payment). 
  (ii) Have disposable income that can be grown and invested.
• ‍Use imagery to link security with possibility. RBC advertises GICs in a 6-second video alongside an image of the beach. This represents both:
  (i) The idea that prospects use their grown capital to go on vacation and; 
  (ii) The comfort that RBC can provide their investment journey.

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Emphasize a self-directed investing environment with support if needed.

• The campaign emphasizes the bank’s capability to guide clients toward steady financial progress, even in volatile downward-trending markets.
• A clear $10,000 minimum investment message targets a specific segment of investors, making the service seem attainable and exclusive.
• The adviceDirect plan by BMO equips clients with personalized trading advice and real-time alerts, providing the feeling of security by having a seasoned investment professional on their team.
• Promote financial advisor or technology-based tools you offer that provide instant recommendations based on client data.

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Tax Strategy messaging peaked between July and September 2023, and again in December 2023 as the fiscal year ended. 

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TikTok and Instagram saw the highest YoY spending growth.

Video and Image posts were the only formats prioritized in 2023.

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Tax Strategy Ad Copy Trends

How to Hit Home with Your Audience

Themes & Messaging

• ‍Active Approach: Urge viewers to participate in tax strategies by opening accounts and taking advantage of offerings.
• ‍Tax Benefits: Emphasize the benefits of participating in tax strategies with your bank.
• ‍Homeownership: FHSA overwhelms tax strategy ad content because of its timeliness.

How to Get Your Audience to Take Action

Calls to Action

• ‍Financial Steps: Use CTAs like “Opening Accounts” or “Investing”. 
• ‍Information Seeking: Give prospects insight into how your offering/strategy can help them in other financial situations.
• ‍Benefits: Use CTAs that highlight benefits like “Saving”, “100% Tax-Free” or “Discover new opportunities”.

How to Talk to Your Audience

Copy & Taglines

• ‍Identify: “Discover the First Home Savings Account” 
• ‍Reach Goals: “Save for your first home faster.”
• ‍Buy Time: “Not ready to buy a home? You can still benefit from opening an FHSA!”
• ‍Compiled Advantages: “Why open an FHSA? Get tax benefits from BOTH the TFSA and the RRSP. Read our FHSA 101 to learn more!”
• ‍Ahead of the Curb: Many Canadians still don't even know this tax-free investment account exists.

How to Approach Your Audience

Sentiment

• Ads should be affirmative and energetic. Create an ad for each pain point or fear a prospect has (pulled from FHSA examples). Note the speed of reaching goals (i.e. ‘don’t stay in debt forever’), and how prospects can use your tax-saving strategy to prepare for what’s ahead (i.e. ‘buy time for your future’).  

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Use trusted voices to educate on Tax Strategies.

Tailor this to the demographic of the audience you want to reach.

We’ve seen RBC do this for other financial products, targeting Millennials with the HGTV Baeumler couple.

• Take offerings like the FHSA* and spin it as an overall tax-saving strategy to essentially ‘buy time and prepare your future self’.
• Introduce products like the FHSA in the context of well-known investment options (TFSA, RRSP).
• Start with a common concern (expensive housing) and offer the solution (FHSA) to effectively capture attention and position the product as a necessary tool for homebuyers.
• Showcase a quick setup process in the video to encourage the viewer to take immediate action (“it only takes 10 min”).

*FHSA overwhelms tax strategy ad content because of its timeliness being released by the government in April 2023.

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Pose questions with educational content that answers prospects’ most top-of-mind questions about taxes.

• ‍Offer practical and actionable advice on tax refunds — RBC directly addresses the common dilemma of saving versus splurging. This approach not only answers a pressing question for many clients but also positions RBC as a helpful advisor during the tax season.
• ‍Position yourself as a trusted resource for tax-related queries. Wealthsimple tackles the confusion that often surrounds tax season by presenting itself as an expert guide. 
• Employ a list-based blog post format to captivate readers like Wealthsimple. Use a format such as a listicle (i.e. “Six tax enigmas that confuse basically everyone”. It is appealing and easier to digest.
• ‍Use a strong value proposition like this Wealthsimple ad bold guarantee of getting the most money back to drive conversions.

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Wealth Transfer messaging was relatively stable throughout the year with a peak in December correlated to the fiscal year end. 

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Display and Paid Search platforms saw spending growth YoY. 

Image posts and Search ads are the only formats that saw growth in 2023.

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Wealth Transfer Ad Copy Trends

How to Hit Home with Your Audience

Themes & Messaging

• ‍Taking Action: Aim to help individuals plan their financial futures and manage their wealth.
• ‍Transfer Education: Emphasize the who, what, when, where and why of having a will or succession plan.
• ‍Security: Let prospects know they can be comfortable in their retirement and worry-free with your help.

How to Get Your Audience to Take Action

Calls to Action

• ‍Education: Use CTAs like “Learn”, “Read” or “Find Out”.
• ‍Starting & Planning: For conversion use “Start” and “Plan” to help viewers initiate the financial process.
• ‍Events: Invite viewers to “Register” for seminars and webinars for firsthand learning.

How to Talk to Your Audience

Copy & Taglines

• ‍Reimagining Wealth Transfer: “A new perspective on the meaning of wealth.” 
• ‍Stats & Figures: “Twenty-five percent of Canadians who don’t have a Will say it’s because they don’t know where to start.”
• ‍Community Engagement: “Doing money differently': November 29 Free Seminar Planning across generations.”
• ‍Examples & Application: “In a special edition of the Chatter That Matters podcast, Tony Chapman is joined by David Chilton, The Wealthy Barber. One key takeaway from their discussion is to have a Will, keep it updated, and never let a friend or family member be your executor. Why? Listen here to find out.”

How to Approach Your Audience

Sentiment

• Ads should be informative and encouraging. People don’t want to think about their death. Make a sad topic more approachable. Offer new perspectives and statistics to show your prospects they are not alone.

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Put family first to encourage conversation about Estate Planning.

Remind prospects that taking action means benefiting the future of your family.

• Use the emotional bond between pet owners and their pets to highlight the often-overlooked aspect of estate planning for pets.
• Leverage the familiar, relatable setting of a family conversation to make the daunting topic of estate planning more approachable.
• Use humor to ease tension. The light-hearted banter in RBC’s ad helps to diffuse the natural tension around estate planning discussions.
• Use popular financial figures such as Canadian author David Chilton, "The Wealthy Barber” to hook the audience’s attention. 

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Motivate prospects to develop Wills by answering questions.

• Use compelling statistics to highlight the gap in estate planning and the consensus of its importance. This will make prospects feel less along and create a sense of urgency to act.
• ‍Address common barriers to action such as not knowing where to start. Effectively identify with viewer challenges and present yourself as a solution provider.

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Simplify financial planning with user-friendly calculators or tools.

• ‍Make wealth transfer less daunting. Create a tool or checklist relevant to the needs of people calculating estate settlement needs or will execution.
• ‍Use a strong value proposition like RBC’s “Alfie” who is along for the ride to help executors get everything that needs to be done in their process.
• ‍Lean into over-educating. These ads are developed for a truly niche audience. RBC’s executor tool ad runs for 2 minutes.  
• Emphasize copy and messaging that offers to take the burden off the prospect’s shoulder. Even if that’s through a lead generation tool you develop like a blog article or checklist. 

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*Digital Advertising Data Source Caveat

*Includes data from BMO Private Wealth, RBC Wealth Management, Edward Jones, Questrade and Wealthsimple