How speed dating a money expert will be part of Hearst UK’s brand extension

 

Image: Hearst

 

In September this year, Hearst UK will host the first event of its new Financially Fabulous campaign, 'Speed date a money expert'. The event will be a brand extension of Hearst UK’s titles such as Good Housekeeping, Red, Prima, House Beautiful and Country Living. While Hearst UK’s finance editor, Kalpana Fitzpatrick, says the finer details are still being worked on, the series of events will allow readers to sign up and meet various experts in the field of personal finance in a round-robin ‘dating-like’ event to provide advice from budgeting and saving to mortgages, investments, pensions and credit cards.

The ‘Speed Date a Money Expert’ events, of which venues and dates still need to be announced, will be one component of the new Financially Fabulous campaign, which will also offer regular financial content online and in print, as well as further brand extension projects via books, guides and vlogs. It also includes a fortnightly email, which launched in the second week of June after thousands of women responded to online and print calls to become part of the Financially Fabulous community.  

Fitzpatrick says recent research showed that finance was an area that readers indicated they would value more content on – “so it makes sense for us to cater to that need in the unique way that we can”. While the brands involved have had some money content in the past, the level of engagement started to sky-rocket last year, she explains. “So we are now making it an area of focus as part of Hearst UK’s commitment to constantly strive to create as many authentic and wanted brand extensions as possible”.

 

 

Specialist events and content does bring with it the potential to create diversified revenue streams but at this stage Fitzpatrick says the focus of the events will be on making these events “the best they can be for our consumers”. If it does make sense to host an event with (paying) financial services providers, only then will they take that opportunity. 

She follows the same approach when it comes to integrating financial content into print and digital products. “We’ve dabbled in financial content before, and as always, our articles are expertly researched and fact checked. With myself on board as Finance Editor, alongside our brilliant consumer affairs team, we will create consumer friendly financial content. We’ll also be drawing on financial partners to help with both editorial and commercial content.”

The first Financially Fabulous fortnightly email stands as an overview of what can be expected from the campaign. It carries links to a feature about help-to-buy schemes for first-time buyers, an article on mobile banking safety with a link to National Fraud and Cyber Crime Reporting Centre ActionFraud, three ‘money rules’ worth sharing and a 37 second vlog featuring Fitzpatrick introducing viewers to the Financially Fabulous campaign.

 

 

The ‘must read’ click through section of the newsletter links to financial features all linked to the websites of participating titles, such as ‘Three pension scams to avoid’ on the Good Housekeeping website with the Financially Fabulous landing page linking to subscriber offers from participating titles.

On launching the campaign, Sharon Douglas, chief brand officer for Hearst UK, said its research with female consumers showed concise and trusted financial advice is missing from their lives. “That’s unacceptable and we want to change that. Women are living longer, tend to have more gaps in their work history, and also have average lower pay throughout their careers, so quite rightly they want to be armed with the knowledge to make smart investment choices. As the UK’s biggest and most influential publisher in women’s lifestyle we want to empower women to feel confident about their finances, which is why we are providing them with a go-to resource.

“Our deep rooted and trusted relationship with women offers financial service providers, the opportunity to access our vast audience through a lens of trust and positivity. I’m really excited about this new campaign, and hope that alongside trusted financial partners, we can offer consumers the great financial content they crave.”

 

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