Finance Magnates recently had an opportunity to interview Yen Sim, the Director of Global Branding & Communications at Vantage, an international multi-asset brokerage. In the discussion, Sim outlined the importance of effective and innovative marketing and branding campaigns in the global financial services industry.
Sim mentioned that brand perception impacts consumer behaviour significantly. According to her, it is important to conduct extensive research about your target audience before marketing and branding campaigns.
Last year, Vantage announced its rebranding and witnessed a substantial surge in the total number of new users. The financial trading services provider recently became the sponsor of McLaren Racing’s Extreme E Team.
Please tell us about yourself and your role at Vantage?
I’m Yen Sim, Director of Global Branding & Communications at Vantage, a global multi-asset broker. I lead a wonderful team of talented and highly motivated people who believe, as much as I do, in the importance of letting the world know about the trading ecosystem we’ve built.
In a constantly evolving market, how is Vantage keeping up with innovation in brand development?
Vantage is one of the first global brokerages to establish a branding team because our leadership recognizes the importance of constantly and consistently elevating how we’re seen and heard, sharing the success stories we’re a part of, and growing a supportive community of loyal clients worldwide, a strong brand image and presence in all our operating markets.
In fact, we spent a year on a journey with the leadership team to unpack and understand what values drive us, what’s dear to our hearts, what we stand for, and what delights our clients. With the insight we gained, we reconstructed our brand DNA. From vibrant brand colors and a logo that articulates our values - vitality, stability, and professionalism, a new global website, and an enhanced mobile app, we spared no expense in ensuring our vision 'translated' and expressed with greater clarity to our entire team as well as our stakeholders, customers and partners.
Our new brand was unveiled during the Finance Magnates London Summit 2021, held at London’s Old Billingsgate on 16 and 17 November, where it was well-received by our industry peers. Up to date, we have achieved a significant increase of nearly 30% in new users, compared with the same period before our global rebranding campaign.
To our surprise and joy, our efforts were recognized at Transform Awards Asia, for the categories of 'Best brand development project to reflect the changed mission, values or positioning' and the 'Best visual identity from the financial services sector'.
In your opinion, how does branding impact the growth of a broker in specific regions?
There’s an analogy I like to use when explaining our role: Marketing is a person asking you out for a date - Branding is the reason you say yes. Marketing highlights our features and benefits, Branding our heart and soul.
In terms of trading fees, customer support, technical execution and product offering, we easily outshine some of the best brokers in the world. That alone isn’t enough to differentiate us from the competition. After a while, every brokerage 'sounds the same'.
We are aware that consumer behaviour is increasingly being shaped by brand perception, reputation and authority. That includes our retail traders in developed markets, IBs in emerging markets and savvy investors looking for the right platform. They are choosing to commit their loyalty to brands that not only 'do the job' and do it well, but are trustworthy and reliable, who care about the same things they do and make them feel seen and heard.
The financial services industry is getting more competitive, how does Vantage differentiate itself from other players in the market?
This awareness is why we needed to set ourselves apart and position ourselves at the forefront to drive this conversation.
That’s why we support low-income communities and champion social issues that are important to us, sustainability, innovation, and equality. We want our clients to be like-minded individuals who 'get' this idea that true profit is one that is used for a purpose.
We were very deliberate in choosing Red Orange and Teal as our new corporate colours. Red Orange reflects vitality and prosperity, and Teal reflects growth, stability and professionalism. At the same time, our new corporate colours allow us to stand out against a sea of red and black colours in the financial services industry.
Is there any sports sponsorship on the cards for Vantage in 2022?
Yes! We are very excited to be the Official Trading Platform Sponsor of McLaren Racing’s Extreme E team in their first year of joining the championship.
The Extreme E championship is the first motorsport borne out of the growing desire for sustainability. Featuring fully electric SUVs, the five-race global championship races in some of the world’s most remote terrains that have been affected or damaged by climate change, to highlight the global climate crisis and the urgent need for positive climate action.
Besides having a target for carbon neutrality from its very first season, the Extreme E race format requires teams to field two racers, one male, one female, to drive diversity and representation both within the series and outside in the broader motorsport community.
Vantage, McLaren Racing, and Extreme E share the same common values, so it was an easy decision for us to partner with McLaren.
Beyond sports sponsorships, we have several other partnerships in the works. As a global company, we’ve always believed in giving back to society, and we’ve been working hard in the background to support underprivileged children and those from low-income communities worldwide. We are also working with our partners to affect and promote positive climate action both internally and externally.
