The digitisation of financial services has brought with it convenience, and in 2018 machine learning promises even more in terms of security and advice.

What does it take for a finance brand to position themselves as fundamental to their customers’ lives? According to CX experts, the answer is a human touch.

Santander’s brand and corporate marketing director, Enrique Arribas reveals their global and local brand strategy and discusses future trends and challenges for finance marketers.

We know where we stand on the cricket field but who’s ahead in the content marketing game?

Google competes with Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook’s Discover/Stories products with the unveiling of AMP Stories.

In an age of fake news and misinformation, instead of accepting defeat, the social behemoths have come out swinging.

Driven by the likes of Glassdoor, the consumer demand for transparency means finance brands no longer need to hold their cards so close to their chest.

Copywriters are producing tailored, targeted marketing content at an astonishing rate. The catch, they’re not human.

Pushed to demonstrate ingenuity and innovation beyond their four walls – experiential marketing is set to be the savior for traditional banks.

The average load time for Google AMP pages is less than one second, compared to 20 seconds for mobile responsive websites. But there's more for finance brands to consider than mobile load times.

We look at three impressive ideas that disprove the perception that finance brands need to play it safe and produce run-of-the-mill, boring content.

Fake news has reared its ugly head countless times and consumers are suspicious. So, how can finance brands avoid being tarred with the same brush?

When it comes to SEO, the goal posts are always changing. Here are 7 trends that finance brands need to adapt to in 2018.

Say bye-bye to old-school mass marketing. Personalised customer service is here and it’s built on big data.

Goodments’ CEO and co-founder, Tom Culver talks about the rise of conscious investing and how it’s changing the financial landscape.

In a year alone, Instagram's daily active users jumped from 150 million to 500 million. We look at the finance brands capitalising on the rising popularity of the platform.

A new trend in micro-investing is creating an appetite among Millenials to invest. So, how can finance brands capture these customers now and in the future?

Finance content won't deliver customers overnight. But if you plant the seed and nurture customers ongoing, the wait will pay dividends.

Which of the big social media players is leading the technology arms race, who's following the leader and who is the ultimate winner?

Marketing financial services can feel like you’re rolling a boulder up a mountain, in concrete boots. Here's how marketers can win the fight for creative.

Alibaba’s new tech-driven retail experiences scored them $25.3bn of Singles Day success. A great reminder for finance brands that experimenting with your offering can clearly pay off.

BRICKX CEO, Anthony Millet explains why a lack of financial literacy is preventing finance brands from gaining better, long-term customers.

With Millenials set to inherit the wealth of their baby boomer parents, banks need to realise that their primary customer is changing, and respond accordingly.

BRICKX CEO, Anthony Millet talks about building consumer trust and credibility when you’re a one-year-old fintech or an established finance brand.

AMP realised their customers don’t think in terms of needing products, but about achieving their life goals – so they shaped their content accordingly.

Adobe’s Tom Braybrook sings the praises of their content management solution, including some impressive case studies.

When it comes to engaging Millennials with banking, research shows assumptions have been made, and banks should consider changing their approach.

Alexa is precisely where many companies would like to be – right in your living room. Here's how finance brands can make the most of this opportunity.

A gated content strategy certainly has its worth, provided your content is as valuable to your customers as you think.

In this Q&A, Buzzfeed's Simon Crerar tells what finance brands can do to make their content more addictive to their audiences.

As a financial services marketer, if you’re aware of your requirements from the outset, content that is creative, and compliant, is attainable.

The assessment of risk in the insurance industry is a complex and analytical process. Now, with the help of artificial intelligence, it could be as simple as snapping a selfie.

We researched leading Australian asset managers and found that Perpetual's website had the longest visit durations, most pages viewed per visit, and lowest bounce rate in the industry. Here’s why.

Google's banking industry manager, Natalie Invernizzi works with brands on YouTube every day. She talks strategy and shares how finance brands can access the top 5% of YouTube content.

It's predicted that drone powered solutions could soon be worth $6.8 billion in the insurance industry alone. We look at the benefits for the insurance brands whose drones are in full flight.

After almost 20 years, the Whirlpool forums have close to 800,000 members. We look at how a brand might have a presence within the Finance threads.

A Searchmetrics' whitepaper has revealed some surprising insights into the key factors that influence where financial services brands rank on Google.

As of April this year, Quora has a staggering average of 190 million monthly users. We explore how financial services marketers can reap the benefits.

In the current state of housing unaffordability for first home buyers, banks need to rethink their marketing message if they want to be heard.

If superannuation brands want younger generations to actively engage and become advocates for the brand, they need to bring tech into the equation.

LinkedIn’s head of marketing ANZ, Ben Eatwell, shares what content works best for finance brands.

Where email fails, Facebook Messenger prevails. HubSpot shares how a financial brand might use Messenger to reach 1.2 billion monthly users.

Outbrain’s head of amplify platform for APAC shares tips to get your content in front of the right people.

How Wikipedia works, and the options finance brands have to massage their page and maintain control of their brand.

Executive creative director of The Dubs, Tristan Fawley, talks content distribution, testing, measurement and what’s worked for our clients.

With trust in business on the decline globally, financial brands need to counteract and rebuild customer trust, with the help of LinkedIn.

Social media is playing a greater role than ever in financial services – first, interactive chatbots, and now, even transferring money via Facebook.

We showcase insurance brands who are using gamification to achieve benefits for the business and their customers.

Facebook has signed a deal to double down on video content. Here’s why finance brands should sit up and take notice.

We asked Hubspot to share the three biggest mistakes financial content marketers make with inbound marketing.

St.George Bank saw past the gaming stereotypes and seized the opportunity to get in front of a 16 million-strong audience.

Personalised videos are no longer the stuff of science fiction. Nigel Lester from Pitney Bowes tells us how the tech can work for brands.

We spoke to Reddit to find out how finance brands can get even closer to consumers in their 270 million strong global community.

In our continuing investigation into AI and the banking industry, we interview Jake Tyler, CEO of Vancouver-based fintech startup finn.ai.

The marketing automation market is expected to be worth $16.06 billion by 2022, and for good reason - it's effective and it works fast.

We take a look at just how Prudential has dominated a traditionally difficult commercial landscape with courageous, customer-focused content.

Financial brands in the UK have traditionally been a little slower to embrace content marketing, compared to their trail-blazing US counterparts. But that's changing.

How can brands keep and, importantly, restore customer confidence? Start humanising your content strategy, says Julie Lellis, co-author of The Zombie Business Cure.

We talk to Leon Bombotas about Newsroom.ly, the content marketing tech platform he founded, and his mission to allow storytellers to easily measure content performance.

Flipboard’s head of PR Christel van der Boom explains how the news aggregator reinvented itself using AI to drive personalisation and better UX.

NewsWhip content strategist Gabriele Boland reveals how to break through the digital noise on social media in an age where reaching and engaging your audience is becoming harder.

With the introduction of Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa, and OK Google, voice recognition is increasingly sophisticated and is already impacting how consumers interact with brands.

Taryn Williams, founder and CEO of TheRight.fit shares her tips for genuine and successful influencer marketing campaigns.

Following his trip to SXSW, Teachers Mutual Bank’s Head of Digital, Gerard Smith, offers a glimpse into the future of how finance brands will increasingly use artificial intelligence.

When combined with real-time data, online video is a powerful storytelling medium that is expected to dominate all content consumed on the internet

Financial institutions are embracing social media to communicate their corporate social responsibility efforts. But who’s doing it best and why?

In the third instalment of our content marketing smackdown series, we put online banks ING Direct Australia and ME Bank into the ring. Find out who comes out swinging.

Data Scientist is a business intelligence role that has seen its profile skyrocket - and businesses serious about content strategy are capitalising on their insights to predict and profit.

With innumerable pieces of content published online each day, companies can't longer afford to put generic fare in front of their audience. Enter the era of personalisation.

Articles may form the bulk of content marketing calendars but we’re about to see a shift as the growing uptake of wearable technology drives demand for different types of content – and not necessarily written.

ANZ BlueNotes’ managing editor Andrew Cornell reveals what it takes to build a successful branded newsroom.

We asked the Content Marketing Institute's Joe Pulizzi to weigh in on the increasingly blurred lines between content marketing and advertising agencies.

With the spotlight shining ever-brighter on Millenial money, marketers seem to have overlooked a significant portion of potential customers - Generation X.

Through a ground breaking initiative called Youtube Labs, Google is now playing matchmaker between big brands and content creators. What does this mean for finance companies? And how will it affect the traditional brand-influencer relationship?

Climate change is mobilising capital for green ventures, renewables and clean technology, but is green finance sustainable?

Less than two years after launching its publisher branded content arm, The Guardian has created a new way for advertisers to tap into the newspaper website’s native traffic.

Insurance companies and super funds become more cool and relevant as they embrace the mobile market with a host of new apps.

REA Group recently joined forces with NAB to develop an integrated digital home loan experience on their flagship website, realestate.com.au, hoping to catch a share of the mortgage market in Australia.

Up next in our Content Marketing Smackdown series are two newer players in the finance industry: NerdWallet and LendingTree.

Until recently, Facebook Messenger was a way to exchange private messages among friends. However that is changing as brands and publishers infiltrate your messages with the help of Messenger Bots.

In a prediction from Gartner, by 2018 20% of business content will be “authored by machines”. Is this really a tangible possibility or mere science fiction?

Is our website mobile-friendly? That should be the question businesses ask as Google moves into a new phase of indexing, showing preference to websites optimised for mobile devices in search results.

The term Big Data has been noise on the internet for years but, like many popular catchphrases, what it actually means to brands remains somewhat muddied. We clear the waters.

In an industry awash with evermore confusing terminology and acronyms, it’s hard to distinguish between just another buzzword and something that perhaps has a little more bite. So where does current favourite ‘growth hacking’ fit in?

Anyone crafting brand content has been hit with two demands that make them want to tear their hair out: “Make the logo bigger” and “Write about the product”. The thing is - your audience probably doesn’t care.

You’ve got the budget which is great news, then the reality of deciding what to do with it sets in. There are a few lenses you can use that will shine a light on how the money is best spent.

Knowing how to manage a campaign budget can look like an art form but it should be rooted in science. Today’s business world demands it.

After years of minimal ad sales and few advertiser relationships, Reddit is now opening itself up and encouraging brands to target specific communities and start two-way discussions with its users.

Credit Suisse and UBS have both entered the content marketing arena. Glenn Mitchell unpacks their efforts and crowns the winner in the next phase of contention between the age-old rivals.

No, it’s not a new hipster snack: Acorns and Cheddar are finance products changing the way Millennials invest.

Authenticity is one of those buzzwords that’s easy to spout but hard to execute. The Dubs Susi Jenkinson offers some starting points for creating something so real you can touch it.

Digital lore has long-dictated that shorter is better. But this is increasingly not the case. We take a look at the backlash against brevity and the rise of serialised content, which is finally discovering with TV has always known.

The Dubs grilled Lindsey Hoad, BT Financial’s Group Senior Manager, Consumer Marketing Strategy and Channel Development and asked her to retrace her steps in implementing the finance brand’s first major content strategy, GetMoving.

Next year is nearly here – again – so what trends are coming down the pipeline? Cross our palms with silver as we gaze into our crystal ball, or at least find out what the pundits, including ours, are saying.

The BBC and soccer website Goal.com have swept the pool when it comes to most shared articles on social media this year. Here’s how these two very different brands have built their social media empires.

What is the magic viral content formula every publisher, brand or otherwise, wants to know? The Dubs Dalia Dakkak has the answer.

In 2009, four friends were making video content in a backyard. Now, they are the largest broadcast entity in the world. Where do you go from there? Onwards and upwards, apparently.

What do you get when you cross big data with intuitive programming? Cognitive tech. Here’s what it can do.

So you want to add video to your content marketing mix? Here are some basics you need to know before you get ready for your close up.

Which platforms are gaining – and waning – in importance in the increasingly complex social media ecosystem in 2017? Hint: Facebook is king!

Six hundred times more vast than the regular web, the dark web is best known as a haven for sinister activities, but does it have any legitimate business applications? Glenn Mitchell goes deep into the most nefarious regions of cyberspace to find out.

The mourners may have been gathering at the bedside for several years, but TV advertising is not dead – it’s just going to become more audience friendly.

Dubs intern Caitlin is a stone’s throw from finishing her marketing degree, so we asked her to tell us if the dream matches the reality.

Want to use content marketing to reach Millennials? Then you need to know they don’t have it as easy as you might think, with many facing an uncertain future.

Marketing maven Louise Kelly explains why understanding how your target audiences feels is more important than what they think.

These five content marketing stories reveal the high standards to which the rest of us are now being held.

You’ve done the hard work, put in the hours of research to ensure your content is the best it can be and your blog post is now ready to go live. Or is it?

Happiness has become a buzzword in content marketing. But how are you supposed to sell it if you can’t even find the bloody thing? Having a bad day – or year – at the salt mines? These five podcasts can help. And – if that doesn’t work – see number three.

The children of the baby boom at the birth of the 21st century are becoming old enough to vote, and that’s not the only way we will feel their influence.

Does the number of followers you have actually impact your bottom line? How do you assign value to your social media presence? We take a look at some of the metrics that can help you answer these questions.

The attention economy is the beating heart of content marketing – pivoting on the ability to land eyeball time without asking for a cent in return for an experience or information. And Pokemon Go has nailed it.

Not sure how to get the most out of your sponsored content? LinkedIn's Sarah demystifies the process of getting the most out of your next campaign.

With big-name brands becoming the world’s biggest publishers, many are launching their own newsrooms. Here are five of the most valiant efforts in this arena.

Want to tell better stories? Screenwriter Allen Palmer says the key to reaching audiences is to acknowledge that life is hard and life is shitty…

Content marketing is an increasingly important part of every marketer’s toolkit. So how are we looking as we approach the midway point of the year?

We take a look at the most ingenious Internet conceptions of 2015 and examine how - and why - they epitomise the digital age.

Humans are visual creatures, wired to respond to pictures before words, so choosing strong images is essential in the online world.

With technology developing at a rapid rate, what will the Internet as we know it look like by 2050? We're thinking something straight out of The Matrix.

She's as notorious for her vitriolic criticisms and online feuds as she is for her music, but is Azealia Banks a Twitter troll or a marketing genius?

It looks like Facebook wants to set up its own blogging platform. But why?

Our appetite for mildly entertaining yet pointless websites is insatiable. Is this indicative of the devolution of our species? Or merely the precursor to a new genre of art?

What does dancing in the dark have to do with good content marketing? Well, quite a lot, actually.

The advent of on-demand telly is changing our viewing habits. Or is it? Will we always want to gather round "the watercooler" and talk TV?

Music, books, film and television can survive the deregulation of the publishing industry without any loss of integrity. News, however, cannot. What will happen if serious journalism is superseded by blogging and social media?

Why haven't they created a realistic robot woman yet? What exactly is the hold up? We take a look at where robotics engineers have been focussing their attentions, and just how close they've come.

When you say “content”, are you devaluing somebody’s article, video or design? Are you reducing it to a commodity? Maybe we need to rethink the lingo.

Do you frequently find yourself utterly discombobulated by the incomprehensibility of business-speak? Join the club. We take a look at why it doesn’t work and we’d all be better off talking like we’re having a beer with our mates down the pub.

Despite the ever-increasing amount of high volume, low cost subscription-based platforms, music piracy is still rife. So why are we still making excuses to listen for free?

She's online, she's on billboards, she's in brochures and shop windows from Singapore to Sydney. So what's the story on this woman they call 'The Overexposed Stock Image Model'?

Most use it recreationally, but for some Instagram has become more like - well, let's be frank - an addiction. See how one millennial attempted to overcome her Instagram problem by going full cold turkey for a week.

The Dubs' social media director Andrew Frith demonstrates the power of imagery by turning his passion for photography into an active online community.

Is the long wait over? Is virtual reality here? It's certainly on the march, from Google's humble Cardboard to brave new offerings from Samsung, Sony and Microsoft... and it presents major opportunities for marketers.

With more and more freelance writers in the market, writers' fees are increasingly easy to beat down. But in the end you'll pay for it in ways you'd much rather avoid.

TV is still king when it comes to uber entertainment hits but don't underestimate the power of content marketing. When TV loses its throne, who are the new players primed to lob in and reign supreme?

When it comes to buying really cool-looking, wickedly functioning new gadgets, let's not kid ourselves it's about need.

Given online gaming is such a massive market globally you'd think marketers would be all over it. No so! We take a look at what's going on in this space and dispel some myths about who gamers are.

When it's business as usual I reckon that's a good sign it's time to get your sneakers on and RUN FORREST RUN!

Looking forward to a future where everyone's swiping the air randomly and watching videos nobody else can see? That's Google Glass world and it's coming, probably.

Katy Perry is President and 'Beliebers' are overtaking the human race. The end is nigh!

Content marketing is evolving fast with almost every brand now an online publisher in some way. What's lifting some players above the pack is episodic shortform documentaries, and these examples in particular.