Schwab Advisor Services will expand its “Independent Difference” advertising campaign, a multi-faceted initiative designed to generate awareness of the independent advice channel among high-net-worth investors, according to a news release.
The advertising campaign’s educational message to high-net-worth investors is that the RIA model is closely aligned with their needs.
In the second phase of Schwab’s advertising campaign, the firm will feature a custom content program in The Wall Street Journal that includes an interactive game and animated video. Both are custom-tailored to help HNW investors discover their financial blind spots and help them understand how an independent financial advisor can help.
With over 1 billion views and more than 2 million visitors to the www.FindYourIndependentAdvisor.com website, the “Independent Difference” campaign has had a significant impact since its launch. The site teaches investors about the independent model and allows them to search an advisor directory for local RIA firms.
More than 2,000 firms are currently listed in the directory, and investors have initiated more than 200,000 zip code searches. Three-quarters of the directory searches have resulted in a call, email, or visit to a firm’s website.
The addition of television spots in 2017 broadened the campaign’s influence.
Last year, Schwab ran two waves of ads on Bloomberg TV, the Golf Channel, CNBC and Fox Business. This year, Schwab ran a wave of ads during special Golf Channel coverage of The Players and The Masters in the spring.
This summer, Schwab sponsored the Golf Channel documentary, “Hogan.” The spots generated a 42% increase in visits to www.FindYourIndependentAdvisor.com and an 88% increase in advisor directory searches. The latest wave of TV spots will run through December.
Schwab is also leveraging print and digital advertising to reach investors. Print ads are running throughout the year in The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, The Economist, Golf Magazine, and more, while digital ads are hosted on sites such as Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal, CNN Business, CNBC, and more.