Raymond James

Raymond James

Client: Raymond James
Industry: Banking/Brokerage/Insurance

Challenge:

Raymond James Financial wanted to execute a long-term brand equity study and evaluation to increase effectiveness in advertising.

Solution:

HCP Associates conducted various in-depth national telephonic, electronic, and direct mail studies for Raymond James Financial, a major Tampa Bay Area-headquartered financial institution. The research developed through collaboration with the RJ team and conducted by HCP Associates varies, from basic awareness questionnaires, studies of investor satisfaction, message testing, and advertising pre-and post-tests.

In 1999, this financial firm and a long-standing client of HCP Associates experienced severe competition within the financial marketplace. Raymond James needed to increase its awareness share within a fairly cluttered marketplace in terms of financial firms. The internal marketing team was planning for several major awareness-building initiatives. To measure the effectiveness of these efforts, HCP Associates worked with the team to develop various surveys that would measure baseline data from various groups, which was vital to the corporation’s success, its clients, its financial advisors, and potential clients within the marketplace.

With the assistance of HCP Associates, the client selected key markets across the country to study. The markets were selected to provide a national blueprint of the firm’s presence. These markets have served as the national sample in every survey and represented the main region of study until awareness levels increased.

As awareness improved against the original baseline level and markets gained strength, HCP Associates added a top markets subset for comparison against our national sample. These markets represent where Raymond James has a strong foothold in terms of investors and advisors. HCP Associates also helped the client to identify emerging markets and in these markets ran additional advertising flights. Over time, these emerging markets, or test markets, were tracked and gained strength, ultimately joining the Top 10 and creating a Top 15.

Although study subsets were periodically added for comparison against the base, the methodology and basic question framework remained the same. Due to the personal nature of the information, the age of respondents desired, the depth of the information collected, and the ability to ensure statistical representation through real-time monitoring of quotas by market, this study was repeated for several years.

Awareness levels for this client’s brand dramatically increased, and the study became more than just an awareness tool, but a measurement of investor attitudes, an advertising awareness tracker, and a tool that can effortlessly incorporate new initiatives.