Better Financial Services Targeting, Less Compliance Risk

Delivering personalized messages and offers is every marketer's dream. In financial services, though, that dream comes with compliance strings attached. With regulatory frameworks like GDPR, CCPA, and more tightening their grip, achieving personalization without crossing legal lines is becoming a herculean task. While this post doesn't serve as legal advice, it does introduce contextual targeting as a game-changing solution for compliant yet effective marketing for those looking to drive awareness in financial services.

While we can’t offer legal advice or regulatory guidance, we propose that marketers in the financial sector should broaden their targeting methods beyond traditional personal data, cookies, and tags. Contextual targeting is a viable solution that allows for increased reach and performance, even in an increasingly regulated environment.

The Regulatory Maze

Beyond FCRA, GLB and regulations that govern disparate impact, regulatory frameworks like GDPR and CCPA strictly dictate the ways in which personal information can be used for targeting consumers. Recent guidelines have further tightened these restrictions, affecting commonly used online tracking technologies.

With the increasing number of data breaches and high-profile cases involving financial institution misconduct, both policymakers and privacy watchdogs are more vigilant than ever.

It is important to note that the specifics of financial regulations can vary widely by jurisdiction and can evolve over time in response to changing economic conditions and emerging risks.

Contextual Targeting: A Compliance-friendly Alternative

Contextual targeting offers a way to place ads based on the content of web pages rather than the personal profiles or data of users, thus diminishing the risk of breaching data privacy laws. By leveraging advanced semantic analysis and natural language processing, marketers can identify the exact context in which to position their financial products or services and - most importantly - reach consumers engaged with content that is contextually relevant. Instead of labeling a user as “high-income” or “actively investing”, contextual algorithms can determine if the user is reading about “retirement planning”, “stock market trends”, or “saving for college” and target ads accordingly.

A Guide to Smarter Marketing in Financial Services

1. Drive Precision with Semantic Understanding: Instead of solely focusing on broad categories like 'investor' or 'savings account holder,' use semantic topics built from relevant keywords. For instance, 'retirement planning,' 'diversification,' and 'tax benefits' could all be relevant for someone interested in an Individual Retirement Account (IRA).

2. Learn from your Competition: Uncover where competitors are placing ads by creating semantic topics around their product names, services or URLs. Decide whether to counter them on the same pages or find new, cost-effective avenues for targeting.

3. Broaden Your Scope: Think outside of the norm to reach, a  potential investor is not only  reading and interested in finance blogs. They’re also exploring “financial independence,” “real estate investment,” and more. Extending your reach to these arenas can reduce costs and increase effectiveness.

4. Customize Campaign Strategies: The real advantage of contextual targeting is its flexibility. Create and customize a blueprint to reach specific audience microsegments where they consume content - without heightening privacy risks.

Contextual targeting is not just another marketing trend; it's a lifeline for financial services marketing in an age of stringent privacy laws. By balancing personalization and compliance, it offers a win-win solution for marketers aiming for both reach and risk mitigation.

Improve your campaigns with contextual targeting

Proactive financial services marketers are moving away from third-party identifiers and focusing on solutions to identify audiences while maintaining compliance with privacy regulations. Striking the balance between direct context and peripheral content enables marketers to drive both impact and topline reach.

Ready to revolutionize your financial services marketing? Contact us to supercharge your next campaign with the power of compliant, effective contextual targeting.