Franklin Templeton Investment
Franklin Templeton investment outlook and opportunities forum
Challenge
The summer months are typically a quiet period in the financial sector, both in the Greater Toronto Area and across the country. Franklin Templeton Investments (FT), one of the world’s largest mutual fund companies, uses this period to build relationships with and attract attention from financial advisors — its primary selling audience — and retail investors — its primary buying audience. The primary tool to reach these audiences was the 2008 Investment Outlook and Opportunities Forum — one of the largest financial forecasting and market overview events in Canada. FT asked for our help to make it bigger and better than ever before.
Solution
We saw an opportunity to extend the reach and impact of this event dramatically by targeting business and investment media – not just in Toronto, but across Canada. To prepare for the assignment, the FT/Argyle team conducted thorough research to identify recent coverage trends and potential issues, and interviewed portfolio managers to establish investment trends. Following the preparation, the team developed a media relations strategy with an attention-getting theme and strong visuals. We focused media relations around four portfolio managers representing four strategically selected funds, based in four different cities. For the Toronto-based media, we focused the attention on one signature event: a luncheon that gave them open access to these four “star” managers.
Results
The campaign reached an audience of more than 13 million and generated 89 stories, exceeding the previous year’s record of 75 stories by 18.7%. 37 journalists attended the 2008 media luncheon.
