Case Study: Fintech

E*TRADE came to RLM PR because it needed to change the perception that people had of them from a stock-swapping startup to an all-encompassing financial adult. Its ads until now had been featuring a “chimp” as a device to build hype.

The first half of the project involved RLM PR using the infamous E*TRADE chimp as a device to build hype and anticipation for the upcoming Super Bowl ads. RLM PR took the chimp on a “photo celebration tour” of New York, where he was photographed at several New York landmarks. The second half was introducing media to a new CEO, a new image, and much news about E*TRADE Financial.

We achieved published results in all New York newspapers, including the Wall Street Journal, CNN, and The Financial Times. RLM PR got more than 50 reporters to attend an opening event. Photos and articles ran in top-tier newspapers and trade publications around the globe.

MoneyDesktop came to RLM PR because it wanted to rebrand from a known creator of PFM apps to the new MX, an advocate for the end user. Our message was that, in part, financial institutions have fallen short of their responsibility to educate and provide financial guidance and tools that help account holders really understand their money and how they can improve their financial standing. MX was (and still is) a broad undertaking. It began with a national tour for founder Ryan Caldwell—and a release about funding that included the acquisition of the domain MX.com.

Two new products, Helios and Widenet (part of an introduction to “omni-banking” that RLM PR produced for MX) were introduced at Finovate Fall 2016—and won MX “Best of Show” award for the fifth consecutive time. Because we were able to make this a trade and consumer story, we were able to gain coverage in all the trade magazines/newsletters, on Bloomberg TV, in the NY Times and on CNN, and in many national newspapers to boot.

The message we were able to impart was, “Finances touch almost every part of our lives, and if just one aspect can be improved – it causes a ripple effect of change for all of us.”

MX is fast becoming the “Amazon experience” of banking with consumers placing importance on a consistent, customer-centric digital banking experience.

Upromise made RLM PR its agency of record in its third year, as the company struggled to increase visibility with top-tier media as a creative and substantial alternative for families saving for college. The limelight had been taken away by smaller, aggressive competitors. RLM PR created a giant partnership with Citi; source-filed Upromise’s CEO in stories about school funding, student loans and finance in general; and helped create a marketing partnership with AOL.

We created a multi-pronged approach: Business and consumer story angles to target appropriate audiences; utilizing Upromise-families in large markets on morning shows; and having at our fingertips story angles to women’s and parenting magazines on the importance of the “529”.

And we brought in celebrity spokespeople to speak on behalf of the AOL partnership. The “college savings crisis” they spoke of was easily solvable.

Thanks to RLM PR ’s work, we were able to place the AOL partnership in most daily newspapers around the country and in parenting magazines worldwide! Membership grew to more than five million members from just under three million.

Obopay had the goal of becoming a household name—and a trusted media source—so it hired RLM PR to make it so. A startup focused on “making it” in a nascent market of mobile payments, Obopay’s goal was to become a well-known, credible company within the mobile banking marketplace.

RLM PR concluded that the best way to infiltrate the media with information about this forward-thinking company, was to not only capitalize on major partnerships (Citi, Verizon, AT&T, etc.) and to create effective (and quirky) story angles, small media events, events and mainstream topics within the mobile payments industry. Founder Carol Realini was asked by RLM PR to raise its new capitalization over the Obopay system, which had never been done before (making the media agog that millions could be raised via mobile payments).

Those stories appeared in the Wall Street Journal, LA Times, SF Chronicle, and several other major magazines, not to mention TechCrunch and Engadget.

RLM PR leveraged Carol’s expertise and strong interviewing skills to make her the “go-to” woman for perspectives on news and consumer behavior.

Obopay’s partnership with Nokia (who has since purchased Obopay) became a powerhouse story that garnered extensive media coverage in the major dailies and payments publications. Obopay also successfully penetrated major print publications via interviews with top-ranking journalists. Today, after several successful outreach campaigns, Carol’s Realini’s consumer knowledge and industry presence is well respected among journalists who now frequently contact RLM PR requesting interviews.