Trends & Highlights

Article: April Trends & Highlights – Financial Education for Women of All Ages and GEICO’s Unique Marketing Campaign

In April, three financial firms in our Life Insurance Monitor coverage group released research on how women invest and save. The studies focused on affluent Hispanic moms, women in retirement plans and investment education for teenagers. Our P&C Insurance Monitor covered a book published under the auspices of the Geico Gecko. Finally, retirement plan websites added new interactive resources.

Article: March Trends & Highlights – March Madness Promotions, Social Media Campaigns and Mini Options

The tax-filing deadline began to loom in March, providing a common reason to promote tax planning content and IRAs. One life insurance firm offered a March Madness contest, while brokerages lowered their online trade commissions and rolled out a new options product.   Northwestern Mutual Bracket Challenge Last month, Northwestern Mutual offered users a chance to submit a bracket for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. The “Northwestern Mutual NCAA March Madness Bracket Challenge” provided contestants with a chance to win a trip to the 2014 NCAA Final Four.

Article: February Trends & Highlights – Social Media Sweepstakes, Tax Season Promotions & Online Rebranding

In February, a number of financial services firms across the industry introduced contests and sweepstakes to promote their products, online services and social media pages. Prizes included money, discounts, movie tickets and even vacation packages. February also saw Capital One complete the transition of ING Direct to Capital One 360  and Charles Schwab introduce a new commission-free ETF program.   Esurance Looks to the Final Frontier for Facebook “Likes” Continuing the trend of financial firm’s incentivizing users to “Like” their Facebook page, Esurance introduced a new sweepstakes that offered two tickets to the Star Trek Into Darkness movie premiere and $2,500 spending money. Entering the contest opened up additional movie content on the page, like a trailer, a Vulcan avatar tool and downloadable posters, icons and wallpapers. In January, MassMutual promoted a contest in which users entered to win $20,000 towards college loan debt by “Liking” the firm’s Facebook page.

Article: May Trends & Highlights - Financial Firms Discuss Facebook, Unveil New Apps and Revamp Websites

Corporate Insight's monthly Trends & Highlights analyze key online releases, updates and themes across the financial services industry. For past Trends & Highlights, please check the T&H Archive.  May Trends & Highlights Summary Financial firms shifted their attention to the initial public offering of Facebook this month, with 5 firms offering some form of messaging about the company’s IPO. Mobile apps remained a popular topic amongst firms in May, with 10 firms releasing new or significantly upgraded apps. Additionally, firms released a number of revamped sites and/or sections over the course of the month.

Article: Firms Unveil Helpful Features, Revamped Sites and More Mobile Capabilities

Financial firms focused on assisting clients in April, with 7 firms implementing customer service-related features. Firms also continued the trend of releasing new sites, with a number of private site revamps taking place. Similarly, firms chose to revamp product sections and homepages as well. Additionally, firms also continued to unveil and promote their mobile capabilities

Article: January Sees Firms Unveil New Tools and Mobile Apps

Financial firms unveiled a number of new tools, as well as mobile apps, social media promotions and websites this January. On a smaller scale, firms also announced impending changes and implemented security procedures to login processes.

Article: Encouraging Client Feedback and Customization Capabilities

Last month, some of the firms we track announced new options that will increase the say clients have in various product offerings, as well as in the design of their online accounts. In addition, Citibank introduced tablet banking, American Express launched a program with iDine and TD Ameritrade upgraded online account security. Private Homepage Customization Two firms – Scottrade and Wells Fargo – introduced new customization options on their respective private site homepages.

Article: Mobile Apps and More in June

Quite a few firms we track introduced applications for various mobile devices last month, proving that consumers’ obsessions with on-the-go convenience are no fleeting trend, even when it comes to trading stocks and creating ETF watchlists. In addition to mobile app launches, firms began the summer with new online resource centers, acquisitions and ventures.