TD Ameritrade, Fidelity aim ad campaigns at RIAs

TD Ameritrade Institutional and Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services are introducing new branding campaigns aimed at RIAs. TD's new campaign, titled “Human Finance,” talks about the importance of people and their dreams, while poking fun at an industry driven by numbers. “Numbers don't have dreams, fears or kids to put through college. People do,” reads one of the ad spots . The message was “inspired by advisers themselves,” said Kate Healy, the managing director of marketing at TD Ameritrade Institutional. “In conversations with advisers, it always came down to the relationships they have with their clients,” she said. The campaign, which kicked off last week, has no end date at this point, said Ms. Healy, who declined to say how much was being spent on the effort. Fidelity's campaign , launched two weeks ago and running through the end of the year, makes a call to advisers to “Be Greater.” The advertising spots ask: “Are you on the path to being a high-performing firm?” Fidelity officials say the campaign is based on the firm's experience in working with advisers. The company is offering help with the five key steps advisers need to take for growth: finding the right business model, committing to a plan, harnessing technology, engaging clients, and building strong teams and partnerships. Ross Ozer, a senior vice president of marketing for Fidelity's custody unit, declined to comment on the cost of the campaign. In a related move, Fidelity announced that it was distributing a marketing tool kit for advisers. The kit, called “Building an Action Plan to Drive Growth Within Your Practice,” includes a marketing guide and best practices for organic growth that is focused around client referrals and working with centers of influence. “At the very least, advisers need to come up with a [unique marketing] story, and monitor client satisfaction,” Mr. Ozer said. Citing a study by Advisor Impact, Mr. Ozer said 58% of clients gave a referral because a friend described a problem that the client's advisers were in a position to solve. Only 2% said they gave a referral because the adviser asked them. TD Ameritrade spokesman Joe Giannone said the custody unit had recruited 310 breakaway brokers to its platform over the nine months ended June. The firm custodies more than $200 billion for 4,500 advisers. Fidelity has $600 billion in custody for 3,200 firms, as of June 2013. The firm includes third-party administrators and trust companies in those totals. It does not disclose individual breakaway numbers.