Merrill trumpets advisers in massive ad campaign

Merrill Lynch Wealth Management this week will kick off a multimillion-dollar marketing and advertising campaign that will appear everywhere from The New Yorker magazine to Yahoo Finance to ad spots at Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park. “We're employing a full channel strategy,” said Joan Khoury, head of marketing for Merrill Lynch Wealth Management. The theme of the campaign —“The Power of the Right Advisor” —was developed with the help of advertising firm Hill Holliday and could involve up to $20 million in spending through the rest of the year. It is intended to capitalize on what Ms. Khoury said is an increased desire from investors for greater access to and service from their advisers. “In the last couple of years, there's been a shift in the mind-set of people and how they want to engage with financial firms,” said Ms. Khoury. “It used to be ‘set it [the relationship] and forget it.' Investors are now looking for closer connectivity with their advisers. They want more dialogue and they're looking for more content.” The campaign is based on feedback from clients and advisers on the most important issues facing investors. The four major issues identified in the research were: 1. Retirement planning — the No. 1 priority for investors. 2. Liquidity — investors have become more conservative. 3. Balancing life goals— investors need help balancing the demands of retirement, college planning for children, and other financial objectives. 4. Risk — Considering how clients think about risk and how much they are willing to take. The marketing blitz is not just directed at potential clients and prospects, but also at financial advisers, said Ms. Khoury. “We'll be doing a similar program for recruitment as we increase our advisory force,” she said. The adviser part of the campaign will involve advertising and using recruitment tools on career-oriented websites like CareerBuilder and LinkedIn and eventually using a Twitter handle to post job openings at Merrill Lynch.