American Century Investments
Marketing a mutual fund.
American Century Investments asked Eve to write a four-page marketing
brochure for their Equity Income Fund. Eve was the ideal choice because
she knows the fund well; she has been writing its shareholder report commentary
since the beginning of 2007.
Goldman Sachs Asset Management
Marketing a brand new mutual fund.
When a company launches a mutual fund, it needs to create marketing material - often on a tight deadline. Goldman Sachs' investment management division asked Eve to help them write a brochure about their new equity dividend and premium fund. In a matter of days, she wrote an eight-page brochure that explained the mutual fund to the average investor, including easy-to-understand language about its options-writing feature. She also recommended several charts and graphs. The final draft featured scenarios that might lead people to invest in the fund.
"Thanks so much for the very quick turnaround! We are really happy . . . great job."
Vicky Hayes
Investment Management Division
Goldman, Sachs & Co.
New York, NY, USA
Goldman Sachs Asset Management
Introducing a new mutual fund.
From time to time, marketing and communications departments find themselves overextended. Goldman Sachs Asset Management called on Eve to help them create a client publication about a new mutual fund. Using materials provided by the firm as well as her own knowledge of the financial markets, Eve created a marketing piece that included information about the fund's objectives, described its strategy and its place in the Goldman Sachs mutual fund family, and explained the investment philosophy and process.
GoldmanWalker Group
Articulating the unique character of a financial management business.
Advice is just part of the story for some investment advisors. The two principals of a financial advisory business wanted to develop a corporate image brochure that showcased their investment approach. Eve spoke with them both at length, discussing their business model and investment philosophy. She also spoke with their business coach to obtain his insights. Then, she wrote four different introductions - "themes" - that were designed to identify the core messages of the brochure. After additional conversations about their research and investment process, Eve wrote the brochure, which passed compliance review with almost no changes.
"[Eve's] skill set is outstanding as a writer, interviewer, listener and sounding board. She took the time to get to know us and to help us discern the message we wanted to deliver. . . . we firmly believe [the brochure] will be the catalyst for significant growth in our business."
Richard C. Goldman
Principal
GoldmanWalker Group, LLC
Scottsdale, AZ, USA
J.P. Morgan Funds
Promoting mutual funds to financial advisors.
A multi-stage marketing effort can be an effective way
to promote a new mutual fund offering. JPMorgan Funds asked Eve
to write three brochures and three companion emails about one of its top-performing
international strategies, which was being added to the separately
managed accounts program of a major broker-dealer. The goal was to introduce
the strategy to financial advisors and show them how it could benefit their
high net worth clients. Eve took a different tack on each brochure
and email to highlight specific elements of the strategy.
Kaplan, Litwin, Kaplan & Associates
Helping a family partnership describe their investment approach.
Finding the right word can be a challenge. A team of financial advisors - a family partnership - asked Eve to help them refine their promotional message. Kaplan, Litwin, Kaplan & Associates were using Paragon Resources' Story Builder workbook to develop language for a marketing brochure. Because they knew they were not fully articulating their value, they asked Eve for assistance. Eve spoke with key team members to find out what the partnership had to offer. As a first step, she strengthened the existing copy but after further conversations, she was able to expand and enhance their story, bringing their marketing message into focus by showcasing their commitment to clients.
"Thank you for all of your time and efforts. We are very proud of [our brochure]."
Howard Kaplan
Kaplan, Litwin, Kaplan & Associates
Cincinnati, OH, USA
MTB Investment Advisors
Showcasing a fascinating investment process.
What do you get when you put together innovative ideas, meticulous analysis and a team of talented professionals? MTB Investment Advisors (MTBIA). Eve was asked to write a brochure detailing MTBIA's unique investment process. She met with financial analysts, planners, fund managers, and investment professionals to learn all she could. Then she worked in partnership with Carla Hall Design Group to create a dynamic combination of words and images that captured the intelligence and creativity of these people as well as the power of their work.
"When I first contacted Eve, we were in a jam. Way behind on our brochure for MTB Investment Advisors, the original writer wasn't making it jell. We were impressed by Eve's industry knowledge, unflappability, and willingness to dive in. . . . She did a beautiful job of capturing our messages and corporate positioning."
Jane S. Kennedy
Vice President
Strategy/Marketing, M&T Investment Group
Baltimore, MD, USA
M&T Investment Group
Positioning private client services for affluent individuals and families.
To appeal to clients with differing needs, a flexible approach is required. M&T Investment Group's clients ranged from the newly affluent to the very wealthy. Its sales force - wealth managers, financial consultants and bank financial advisors - had varied degrees of expertise, and they could not all be expert in every one of the firm's Private Client Services. To make it easier to understand what the firm had to offer, Eve wrote a marketing brochure structured as a handbook with discrete sections. Wealthier prospects could see the advantages of M&T Investment Group's comprehensive and integrated services. Others could consider what they needed à la carte.
MetLife Insurance Co.
Providing a range of integrated solutions to help pension plan sponsors manage risk.
Telling your story is critical when you are expanding your position in the marketplace. Eve wrote a marketing brochure and a series of product cards targeted at pension plan sponsors for MetLife's Structured Risk Solutions (SRS). She was invited to participate in the project by The Edelman Group, a New York-based graphic design firm. In addition to writing copy, Eve consulted on overall strategy. Her observations led to a change in focus for the division's principal capabilities brochure. Instead of SRS's products, the brochure concentrates on its relationship-building abilities and customized services. In all, Eve wrote five pieces for SRS, and worked with The Edelman Group to make sure they were consistent in their style and structure.
Peter Reinecke
Describing a financial advisor's business model.
To succeed in a competitive marketplace, you must be able to articulate what is distinctive about your business. Peter Reinecke asked Eve to help him create a marketing brochure for his independent financial advisory practice. She was recommended to him as someone who could identify what was unique about his business and put it on paper. When they began, Pete was focused on telling a story about his work as an investment manager and a financial planner. Eve encouraged him to highlight the enduring relationships he had formed with his clients - primarily small business owners and wealthy families.
"Eve guided me through a process to uncover the issues that differentiate me from my competitors, then translated our discoveries into brochure copy. . . . I am delighted with the result, proud of what Eve and I accomplished together and that my clients can recognize our working relationship in the final product."
Peter Reinecke, CPA, CFP
LPL Financial Services
St. Louis, MO, USA
Pitney Bowes
Promoting information management services provided by a familiar name.
Law firms must manage large amounts of data and information, and sometimes need instantaneous access to it. Pitney Bowes asked Eve for her help with a brochure that detailed the services of its Legal Solutions group. After learning about the group's capabilities, Eve asked to speak with specialists in order to find out how their work helped lawyers do their jobs more effectively. Then she wrote a brochure that described what Legal Solutions had to offer in terms that would resonate with the key decision-makers at law firms.
"Eve was a quick study and a skilled writer, but what I valued the most was her determination to focus on the benefits of our products and services rather than their specifications. At Pitney Bowes, we provide leading-edge technologies to help our customers with their mailstream so it can be tempting to talk about all the bells and whistles. Eve brought our customers' needs and goals front and center, concentrating the copy on the business value. She has brought a fresh perspective to our work."
Susan Gessner
Manager, Marketing Communications
Pitney Bowes Inc.
Stamford, CT, USA
Prudential International
Investments
Bringing out the best in a valuable program.
Sometimes the facts aren't enough. Instead of concentrating on the nuts and bolts of Prudential's Preference program the way its existing brochure did, Eve focused on the relationship between the client and the firm's skilled financial advisers. She also created a sales guide for Financial Advisers that explains the program's value and offers practical sales ideas, as well as tools such as a sample prospecting letter and telephone script.
"Ms. Rose was able to turn an ordinary product piece into a true marketing and sales-oriented brochure. She worked quickly under short timelines and with little direction or supervision. Her work was outstanding!"
Susan Scheader
Vice President, Marketing and Communications
Prudential International Investments
Newark, NJ, USA
TIAA-CREF Trust Company
Making the case for the firm's planned giving services.
Perhaps TIAA-CREF Trust Company was the "new kid on the block," but it offered capabilities and resources not provided by many more-established competitors. Eve spoke at length with senior management to identify where educational and not-for-profit organizations would find the most value. Then she wrote a brochure that told their story. The finished piece also included a checklist of trustee fundamentals, as well as case studies illustrating the impact of high-quality planned giving services.
UBS Global Asset Management
Marketing a REIT mutual fund.
Before investing their money, people want to understand the value of an opportunity. This can be particularly true when it comes to alternative investments like real estate investment trusts (REITs). When UBS Global Asset Management asked for help to promote a new REIT mutual fund, Eve met first with the firm's marketing and product teams to find out what was unique about the fund's investment approach. Then based on her findings, her existing knowledge of REIT investing, and her own research, Eve wrote a 12-page brochure that made the case for the asset class and explained the benefits of the investment process. She also recommended specific charts and callouts.
Wall Foss Financial, LLC
Proving a company has more to offer than traditional tax and accounting services.
When a company grows, so often do its services. But to get the word out . . . that's where a firm needs a helping hand. A Florida-based CPA firm had expanded its capabilities to include investment advisory services, financial planning, litigation support and business valuation services, and business consulting. Eve talked to the senior partners in depth and crafted a central message for their new company brochure, including thumbnail descriptions of services. She went on to write a series of "slicks" about the firm's specialized services that gave the firm the flexibility to customize their marketing.
"We wanted to focus our marketing message so that it would successfully communicate the scope of our services and how our clients benefited. . . . Eve worked with us to zero in on a central story for our business."
Lee Wall, CPA/PFS, CFP
Partner
Wall Foss Financial, LLC
Lakeland, FL, USA
Brochures
