Case Studies

Revitalizing fund communications

The brief

Close Investments were finding it difficult to promote their mainstream equity based products in the downturn. Fundamentals were asked to work with the Close team to identify the right door opener for the times.

The solution

A campaign to promote the under promoted – Freehold Income Trust. The fund was given a new proposition and communications material which reflected the needs of investors. The main headline was deliberately tongue-in-cheek to emphasise the qualities of this ugly duckling turned swan. The work helped to galvanise the business development team and played an important role in meeting product sales objectives

Meeting investment objectives

The brief

Close Investments wanted to revitalise the sales campaign for the Freehold Income Trust which had received marketing investment. Fundamentals were asked to focus on an investor programme aimed at IFAs, Wealth Managers, Stockbrokers and Private Banks not currently being dealt with by Close.

The solution

Fundamentals identified 150 prime prospects from the agency database and developed a sales programme that involved sending a new mail shot and email followed by a telephone contact from Fundamentals. This generated 12 face to face meetings for Close and 40 new contacts to follow up.

Creating a new infrastructure proposition

The brief

A major player in the construction industry had been given a mandate to develop a new Infrastructure fund with a view to raising $1bn of investment. Fundamentals was brought in to work with the management team on developing and testing the propositions for market saliency.

The solution

Fundamentals undertook extensive desk research to help the team develop a clearer picture of the market opportunity. Following a number of workshops Fundamentals put together an in-depth research programme with major Pan European institutional investors to identify the appetite for different fund structures and approaches.

The agency assisted in the drafting of a major board paper. Our research was a central element and the project was given the green light by the board.

Revitalising a global brand

The brief

Salans has grown rapidly from a highly successful French law Firm to a global practice with established offices in 22 cities around the world. The marketing infrastructure did not match the firm’s position, and the newly appointed Global Chief Marketing Officer brought Fundamentals in to conduct a total review of the brand and marketing collateral. The Firm was keen to avoid a major investment but wanted to ensure that the public face of the firm adequately reflected their global position and stature. A previous strength, local independence had become a marketing nightmare.

The solution

Fundamentals conducted a review of the brand guidelines, a wide range of marketing material and competitor activity. We found that there was little or no compliance with the existing brand guidelines, creating a disparate look and feel for internal and external audiences. The brand guidelines also presented a rather dated look and there were issues with colour, images and logo usage.

Fundamentals undertook a brand refresh project which involved extensive consultation with partners and staff. We decided to leave the brand identity alone but focus on the styling and content of marketing collateral including advertising, brochures, website, reports and other many other items. The project has been given the full support of the main board of the firm, and the process and result widely praised. One positive legacy was the creation of a Brand Reference Group made up of senior partners from different practice areas and markets to ensure global buy in to new marketing initiatives.

Revitalising the Salans website

The brief

Salans were updating their website as part of an overall brand refresh. The site was no longer considered to be an appropriate reflection of the Salans brand and proposition. There were also considerable issues with accessibility, structure and navigation.

The solution

The agency was asked to liaise with the technical team in rebuilding the website. Our core responsibilities were overall website strategy, developing the key brand messages, refining content, designing the look and feel, liaising on architecture and navigation. The new site has been very well received throughout Salans’ global offices and is now a much more effective marketing tool.

Salans Global Distressed Situations Team

The brief

Salans recognized at an early stage that the recession presented an opportunity to promote a range of relevant services to companies facing distressed situations. Events were developing very rapidly and it was difficult to determine which company may be distressed and what service they required. Salans needed to build an effective new structure and process.

The solution

Fundamentals worked with Salans to identify and build a new global team of partners to cover all distressed possibilities; from restructuring to litigation and arbitration, corporate law, banking and finance as well as state aid and tax. We then developed the proposition and from that, a comprehensive brochure that included a range of inserts on each of the practices along with team biographies and case studies. This necessitated close liaison with senior partners to ensure their buy-in and commitment. The solution provided the platform for an effective business development programme.

Candover

The brief

As a leading private equity house, Candover needed to identify potential managers and management teams for new acquisitions and make them aware of the firm. Such individuals are hard to target and we developed a range of initiatives to attract them, at different stages of their decision-making processes.

The solution

We ran ‘job’ advertisements in the well-read quality press which on closer inspection encouraged readers to visit the Candover website. We designed landing pages so we could identify where we were generating interest, so we could ensure that visitors to the site, who came from the advertising, were encouraged to take the most appropriate journeys. And having visited the site, we encouraged them to contact us by offering a specially-commissioned short business programme, interviewing the managers of successful Candover buy-outs on the do’s and don’ts of private equity transactions. The campaign generated an excellent quality of response and three series of the business programme were ultimately commissioned.

Premier Asset Management

The brief

Premier Asset Management had a co-operative arrangement with Renn Capital Group (Dallas) to distribute their small cap fund – The Premier US Emerging Growth Fund (“PRUSEG”). This essentially invested in US based companies where the original proprietor retained a significant stakeholding in the business. The fund was significantly outperforming the market and Premier asked Fundamentals to assist with distribution.

The solution

We recommended approaching Asset Managers, Private Banks and top end Stockbrokers and developed a bespoke database of 160 companies. The creative route was designed to reflect the fund’s origins in the BIG Country and the larger than life Fund Manager. The mailing was an outsize A3 letter with supporting larger than life business card and FT style ‘tear out’ that ranked the US small cap funds showing PRUSEG at the top. The subsequent calling programme delivered over 20 meetings and 33 companies that wished to ‘keep in touch’.

Ready2invest

The brief

Ready2invest (“R2i”) specialized in property developments in Bulgaria, Croatia and Montenegro. These were supported by a range of property funds. At the outset R2i required a range of marketing material to support the Prospectus Pack and enhanced presentations.

The solution

R2i had a very compelling investment proposition that was obscured by a lengthy, elaborate Prospectus Pack. We therefore created an entirely new investment ‘pack’. The Prospectus was reduced in length and we developed an Investment Guide that focused solely on the investment opportunity. In addition we developed a Country Overview brochure and ‘simple to navigate’ application form. Compliance was carried out by the law firm representing R2i and the final result was regarded very highly by all parties involved.

Expanding distribution outside IFAs

The brief

Brooks Macdonald had achieved good distribution among IFAs for their Structured Growth Fund but limited distribution elsewhere. Fundamentals were appointed to explore opportunities for the fund among Wealth Managers and Private Banks.

The solution

Fundamentals identified key targets from our database and these were de-duped against existing contacts of Brooks Macdonald. This was followed by a phased mailing programme that highlighted the benefits of the fund. Contact was then made by telephone to establish the potential interest and further information provided by email where relevant. The programme resulted in a series of meetings with new decision maker contacts a number of other prospects have requested to receive update on the fund. Awareness of the product among key target groups has increased and this will lead to incremental investment.

Shaping fund marketing strategy

The brief

Fundamentals were commissioned by Schroders to conduct a pan-European research project with two sample groups:

• Institutions
• Wholesale fund distributors

The candidate markets included:

• UK
• Germany
• Switzerland
• Italy
• Spain
• Netherlands

This project was seeking to gain in-depth insights from CIOs across Europe about their appetite for a particular category of funds, their anticipated allocations and what type of structures were favoured.

The solution

Fundamentals provided a combination of qualitative and quantitative research insights which enabled Schroders to understand both perceptions and behaviour of fund distributors and institutional investors. The work was carried out in the language of the candidates using our network of local moderators across Europe.

This work formed an important part of strategic policy making for Schroder’s European fund strategy and marketing programmes.

Attracting HNWs to a new Wealth Manager

The brief

Fundamentals was appointed by Odey to work on the launch of Odey Wealth Management, making the robust thinking and successful track record of Crispin Odey and his team available to private investors.

The solution

Fundamentals devised a positioning for the brand which sharply differentiates it from the many competitors in this space. This positioning was then developed both online and offline into a user-friendly website and an advertising and direct mail programme to attract new investors.

The results speak for themselves.