At the July 21 st FCS New York Spotlight luncheon, Andrea Brimmer, Chief Marketing & PR Officer at Ally and three-time winner of the FCS Financial Marketer of the Year, talked to Ellen Sheng, Executive Editor at The Trust, about why brands need to intersect with culture. The political climate is more polarized than ever, but Brimmer discussed how brands can, and should, show their values. Here are some highlights from the conversation: 

• Companies are asked to weigh in on many hot button issues these days, but any marketing messaging needs to make sense for the business and the industry, while aligning with the company's core values. When deciding whether or not to comment on an issue, Brimmer considers: “Would it do the world any good if my brand comments on this?” 

• Brimmer noted: Clear company values are especially important to Gen Z and Millennials, 71% of which consider reputation an important factor when choosing a financial services provider.

• A current example of Ally’s “deeds not words” adage is its “Watch the Game, Change the Game” campaign, which aims to create parity between men’s and women’s sports. Women’s sports are perpetually underfunded (getting only 4% of sports media spend), resulting in underpaid women athletes. At the same time, women’s sports get fewer, less desirable time slots making it hard to attract advertising dollars. Ally committed to break this vicious cycle by spending the same amount on men’s and women’s sports media. 

• Ally is committed to making financial literacy fun by reaching out to consumers where they are, including social media (e.g., TikTok) and online gaming (Animal Crossing, Minecraft).

The audience of 60+ greatly appreciated Brimmer's candor through her opening presentation and follow-up fireside chat with Sheng. The luncheon was sponsored by the Wall Street Journal | Barron's Group (programming partner) and FOX Business (event co-sponsor), along with Packed with Purpose, which staged a free raffle of a gift box and provided snacks for all guests.