For years the only financial adviser anyone could remember seeing on the small screen was Richard Hillman, the serial killer on Coronation Street.
Finally, our industry is being served up not one but two multi-channel advertising campaigns aimed to encourage the general public to engage with your wonderful services.
This week it was announced that Unbiased’s advertising campaign will hit television screens in May and coincide with the rebranding of the IFA promoter.
Michael Ossei, head of adviser products at Unbiased, said the campaign was on an “unprecedented scale” for a company in this market.
Unbiased’s move into promoting advisers on television coincides with rival VouchedFor’s national televised advertising campaign that launched in April.
Vouchedfor’s adverts appear across Channel 4’s network and three quarters of the adverts air in the day with the remaining showing at peak viewing times later in the evening and at weekends.
While it is great to see any positive mention of this industry on television, Vouchedfor’s campaign focuses on how easy their service makes it to find a well-rated financial adviser who can help you sort out your finances.
With less than half a minute to grab your attention, these campaigns can’t push too many images.
But ultimately, Vouchedfor’s campaign does not push the true value of financial advice.
What we truly need is good examples of how a sensible bit of financial planning today could not just save you not only from hardship but make you lots of money and set you up for a fabulous, long life.
Shows pushing vouchers and shopping around to save two figure amounts on your car insurance are tedious.I am sick and tired of endless television shows claiming you can buy a run down property and quickly make a load of cash that don’t explain how you have to be able to restore the building, pay stamp duty, etc.
Equally, those shows pushing vouchers and shopping around to save two figure amounts on your car insurance are tedious.
In recent years, the most we have seen of financial advisers on television shows is where they help sort out people’s finances after a catastrophe or comment on the credit crunch, pension shortfalls, etc.
Rather than talking about how to fix things, it would be nice to see some examples of good common sense financial planning on the television that explains how people can make sure they don’t fall into hardship in the first place.
It would be nice to see a friendly adviser face, which shows you are not product pushers but someone who can navigate tax allowances and put clients on a path that means they will end up on a round-the-world cruise in their 60s rather than destitute in a care home.
Also, rather than endless shows explaining how you can save a few pennies by using vouchers or pushing you to pin your hopes on soaring property prices to make you feel wealthier, isn’t it time for sound financial planning tips?
A show like that would do so much to generate interest in this industry.
A show that explains the benefits of speaking to you.
