Opening remarks from Managing Director of The Financial Services Forum, David Cowan

We are delighted to be joined by Raj Kumar, Brand and Reputation Director at Aviva, sharing his view on how marketing technology is changing our world as we know it. Raj will be in conversation with Adrian Barrick Group, Editorial Director at Incisive Media, discussing the martech landscape in 2021 and beyond, the challenges and joys of implementation, and where we could see FS marketing in years to come.

Raj Kumar, Group Brand and Reputation Director, Aviva
Adrian Barrick, Group Editorial Director, Incisive Media

Here’s an alarming statistic: marketers use only 58% of their marketing technology’s full capabilities. Gartner note that “this signals a huge resource drain in tools and add-on capabilities that ultimately go unused”. Yet, in screen tapping 2021, matching organisational strategy with appropriate technology is fundamental to success. This session focuses upon the foundations of martech strategy. We’ll be sharing how to navigate 000s of possible martech choices to arrive at the tech that’s right for your situation. We’ll outline what to spend plus successfully leaping from purchase decision to benefit attainment. Finally, you’ll leave with a handy takeaway summary to kick start-your success.

Lee Allan, Global CTO, Indicia
Emmeline Kite, Head of Planning and Strategy, Indicia

When bringing data together from across the business, martech can offer great insights which can be transformative for both marketing strategy, and for that of the wider business. But, how can you encourage other parts of the business to put their trust in martech? This session will look at trust, data and building those all-important relationships. We will explore:

• The importance of building trusting relationships, particularly in our new virtual environments
• The challenges posed by fragmented datasets and tools
• Creating a data-centric collaborative culture

Nick Factor, Industry Director, Banks & Financial Services, Introhive

A chance to stretch your legs and grab a cup of tea

Customer experience has increasingly become a key differentiator in business, and especially in the financial services industry. With more varied and complex customer journeys, how can you ensure your tech is delivering the best experience possible? In this session we will consider:

• The importance of the Human Experience in FS marketing: making experiences personal and reflective of your purpose
• The evolution of the role of the CMO: today’s marketing leaders are growth and experience drivers
• The convergence of data, tech, and digital capabilities in today’s FS marketing
• Utilising your tech stack to deliver meaningful CX

Deborah Womack, Director, Deloitte Digital
Richard Love, Head of Customer Experience (Alliances), Deloitte Digital

2021 is a world of volatility, where customers' behaviours are erratic and changing rapidly. Many businesses in financial services are struggling to understand these new digital-savvy customers and are driving business decisions based on historic assumptions. However, leading finance companies no longer rely on assumptions, but rather gather evidence from their customers using experimentation, gaining certainty in the outcome of their investments. Join Optimizely's Elizabeth Gabster as she details the power that experimentation unlocks for finance, with lessons from leading brands on how we can maximize learnings, pivot quickly, and improve customer-centricity, to ultimately reduce risk and drive more revenue for FS.

Elizabeth Gabster, Global Lead Consultant, Strategy and Value, Optimizely

A frequent issue marketeers face is resistance to change, not only in the marketing department, but across the wider business. Your martech stack can be a fantastic tool to innovate marketing, and when embraced across departments, can also accelerate overall business growth and change. This session will explore:

• The infrastructural challenges of integrating martech with established working patterns, for example fragmented toolsets and data. How you can go about this better and more efficiently?
• With the correct martech tools, could you encourage better collaboration business-wide?
• How can martech be used to strengthen the relationship between sales and marketing teams?
• The impact of martech on culture and the changing role of the marketer
• Selling the value of martech to the non-marketers of your organisation

Chair: Izzie Rivers, Founder & CEO, Realm 

Colin Bennett, Head of Digital Distribution, Global, GAM Investments

Morgan Reavey, Head of Performance Marketing, TSB

Alan Thorpe, Sales & Marketing Director, Indicia

Deborah Womack, Director, Deloitte Digital

Closing remarks from David Cowan, Managing Director of The Financial Services Forum