The Yardstick Agency

Every week, our team recognise and reward colleagues who go above and beyond by nominating them to receive a little prize and a lot of kudos 🥰 Congratulations to Kayleigh and Grace! After Wednesday, any mention of the B-word to our team is far scarier than any trick you could pull out of your pumpkin 🎃 Over the last few weeks, financial services firms up and down the country have been opting in to our post-Budget article, offering a clear and thorough outline of the key announcements from the Chancellor's speech. It was, by far, the biggest Budget opt-in we've had to date. In total, Kay, Grace, and a big gaggle of other Yardstick team members ensured that 189,445 people received a timely, comprehensive, and professional update from their financial adviser/planner. To give that some context, we could have sent the newsletter to every single person who lives in Oxford, and still have almost twenty thousand left to go 💌 An unbelievable effort from our team. One that we're incredibly proud of. So, to add to the wonderful feedback they received, there's a Lego advent calendar and a Cineworld gift box winging their way to Kay and Grace 🎁 Have a lovely relaxing weekend... we know we will be! 🫠

They say you should never meet your heroes, but Marcus Sheridan, author of They Ask, You Answer, was our webinar guest last week 🤝 In a value-packed hour, Marcus shared some incredibly insightful ideas while calling out the “BS” that can hold back your marketing. Whether you were able to join us or not, Phil Bray💡The Financial Services Marketing Guy💡 encourages you to rewatch the webinar in full. We've put the link in the comments below 👇 However, he also wanted to share his top takeaways that will immediately improve your marketing. Head to the link in the comments to dive in!

No tricks here, just the (data-driven) treat of keeping your clients informed, engaged, and educated every single month 🎃 To learn more about how our blogs/newsletter service can maintain regular, value-adding touchpoints with your clients, prospects, and professional connections, email our witches and wizards at hi@theyardstickagency.co.uk. PS. In other news, swipe to see how much Phil Bray💡The Financial Services Marketing Guy💡 suits a pointy hat! 🧙♀️

On our webinar last week, Marcus Sheridan told you how important reviews are for your business. Yes, but there's another big benefit too 🤗 They make all your hard work feel worthwhile! Here's Leanne Greenfield's review in full: "We engaged Yardstick this year to rebuild our marketing foundations, and it has been one of the best decisions we've made in the last 12 months. From the outset, the team at Yardstick has been fantastic. Every step of the process has been thoroughly explained and broken down, allowing us to effectively manage alongside the day-to-day running of our company. Their professionalism, expertise, and clear communication have made the entire experience seamless and highly productive. We couldn't be happier with the results and highly recommend Yardstick to any business looking to strengthen their marketing strategy." We can't wait to watch Broom Consultants Ltd grow from here 🤝

Join us on November 20 at 10:00am for our next free webinar where we're delighted to speak with Joe Glover, co-founder of The Marketing Meetup - the UK’s largest marketing networking community. At the Marketing Meetup, marketers meet and learn from like-minded people in a kind and positive environment. We aim to provide the same with financial services twist! 💰 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻? On this webinar, we’ll explore: • Building engaged communities • Techniques for building audiences • Running successful face-to-face events • Using social media to engage more target clients • Practical ways to use AI to improve your marketing • Why reviews from clients are important and how to get more of them. 𝗪𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱? 👇 > Click on the event page below > Hit “Attending” once on the page > Make sure you register through the Zoom link* * Registering through the Zoom link is crucial. If you don’t, you won’t receive the personalised invite you need, and you’ll be knocking on our virtual door at 12:59pm on Wednesday 20 November.

It’s autumn, which means Madeleine is rewatching Gilmore Girls again 🍂 It started in 2020. Months into lockdown, her sister recommended an American long-form romantic comedy show, Gilmore Girls, as “easy watching” and Maddie blew through all seven seasons in a matter of weeks. Her sister was right – it was easy watching – but it also invoked a sense of childhood nostalgia, made Maddie laugh, made her cry, and made her want to visit the fictional town, Stars Hollow, in which the main characters live. Fast forward to 2024, and Maddie still watches all seven seasons of Gilmore Girls from start to finish every single autumn. There are plenty of new shows on Netflix, more than she could ever get through, but each year she's drawn back to the comforting world of Lorelai and Rory Gilmore, absorbing the twists and turns of their story as if it’s the first time 📺 The point is: sometimes reliable predictability wins over new tricks and fast thrills. In the uncertainty of today’s world, having something to rely on – be it your favourite TV show, a friend, or a service you return to time and time again – might be at the top of your clients’ lists as well as Maddie's. So, if you’re a financial adviser/planner trying to retain your loyal clientele amid a slew of similar, even cheaper alternatives pulling them away, Maddie is going to tell you why reliability should be at the centre of your marketing strategy. Head to the link in the comments to keep reading 🍂

We reckon that our team are Yardstick’s greatest strength. Before working with us on your marketing, it's only fair you meet them and find out why. Sarah is our Graphic Designer 👩💻 With broad experience in the Graphic Design industry, she also has a background in contemporary art. Utilising this unique skillset, she loves taking every opportunity to think outside the box when it comes to being creative with our content. Having worked in financial services for several years now, if you’re after a new logo, an animation, or a snazzy new brochure, she’s well equipped to navigate that journey with you. Sarah is a keen hockey player, loves visiting new places and try new foods, but at any chance, will head back to visit her hometown in Liverpool ❤️ Sarah is part of our branding team. Put simply, they make your business beautiful. Some days they’re helping a new start firm come up with a name and visual identity for their exciting new adventure. Other days they might be working on stationary, designing a slide deck, or jazzing up a terms of business. They’re a dab hand at animations too! Basically, if you want something to sparkle, whether digitally or printed, Sarah and the rest of the branding team can help. Email us at hi@theyardstickagency.co.uk - we’d love to help bring your vision to life 🤝

Phil Bray💡The Financial Services Marketing Guy💡 reckons the financial planning world loves its acronyms and technical jargon. Do you agree? From UFPLUS to PCLS, accumulation to crystallisation, the list is endless and does nothing to help consumers engage with advisers and planners 🫠 The same is true in the world of marketing. Our profession uses jargon as much as yours. Unfortunately, it leads to two issues 👇 1. Advisers and planners get turned off by it and switch off from marketing 2. It can cause confusion, leading to mistakes and poor decision-making. So, in this mini-series with FT Adviser, Phil explains in simple terms what some jargon we marketers like to use actually means. Head to the link in the comments to cut through the confusion ✂️

Despite being a constant in Euan’s Netflix recommendations for some time, he finally got round to watching Mindhunter recently, and he’s glad he did. The series, based on true events and set in the late 1970s, follows FBI agents Holden Ford and Bill Tench on their groundbreaking journey to explore the minds of serial killers 🚔 Through interviews with these violent offenders, they pioneer “criminal profiling”, a revolutionary technique that forever changed the way investigations are conducted. At first glance, criminal profiling and copywriting might seem worlds apart. After all, one focuses on understanding ruthless convicts, while the other is about crafting engaging content. Though, they do share a surprising connection, as both rely on the ability to understand a target (or, in this case, your audience) and figure out what drives them. Read Euan’s latest blog through the link in the comments to discover what Mindhunter can teach you about knowing your audience and tailoring content to their needs 🚨

When it comes to horror movies, people generally fall into two camps: those who thrive on the thrill of being scared and eagerly seek out the next terrifying cinematic experience, and those who avoid the genre at all costs 🎃 Despite the polarising nature of horror, its box office success remains unquestionable. Research by Statista found that it is the fourth most popular genre in the UK, behind only action, comedy, and animation. The success of a horror film hinges on many factors, but the marketing campaign is often the most crucial element. It sets the tone, builds anticipation, and draws audiences in before the first scream is heard. This year, Oz Perkins’ Longlegs became one of the most successful horror films in recent years, grossing almost $110 million against a budget of less than $10 million. Before the film was even released, critics and horror fanatics spoke highly of its masterful marketing tactics and promotional materials. The campaign comprised fake websites and case notes dedicated to the eponymous killer’s antics, a nail-biting trailer, and widely publicised festival reviews that gave it the much coveted 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes (though this didn’t hold up on the wider release). So, with Halloween upon us and the spooky season settling in, head to the link in the comments for Liam's three lessons you can learn from some of the most successful horror movie marketing campaigns of all time 👻