Financial Services marketing is broken: marketing and legal/compliance are perpetually at odds – new study reveals

New research has highlighted the continuing tensions between the legal/compliance and marketing teams across the financial services sector, in no small part made worse by archaic approval processes for marketing materials which are simply not fit for purpose in today’s complex environment.

More than eight out of ten senior legal, compliance and marketing professionals working in financial services (83%) in the UK, US and Australia admit that they see their relationship with each other as adversarial and ‘us and them’.

In fact, marketers in the sector see the legal/compliance approval process and the need to reach the right audience with their content as an equal challenge, with 42% agreeing on both statements.

Eight out of ten marketers (81%) even think compliance is in the way of them getting their job done, with 79% believing the review process is too long, with too many steps.

The study was commissioned by software company Red Marker. It surveyed 521 senior legal, compliance and marketing specialists across the UK, US and Australia, working in financial services companies with 5,000+ employees – including retail and investment banks and asset management firms.

It also found that legal/compliance professionals in the sector are equally unimpressed with their colleagues in marketing: more than eight out of ten (82%) believe marketing doesn’t understand why they have to abide by complex compliance rules, while even more (83%) think marketing just wants someone else to take the blame when their content is challenged externally.

Almost nine out of ten (85%) have often heard their marketing colleagues say that the compliance rules are ‘over the top’, even though most of them (83%) say it would be much easier to get reviews done if they did not have to check the basics repeatedly.

Mark Wood, COO at Red Marker comments: “The tension between marketing and legal/compliance in financial services illustrates that the delicate balance between creativity and compliance can easily become adversarial.

“Standing out in such a competitive industry relies on swift and effective marketing. Compliance teams and marketers need to find better ways of working together to ensure content is produced and approved efficiently – but also in a way that reduces risk.

“The marketing compliance process has traditionally been under-analysed and there has been a lack of optimisation, with a certain ‘we have a process’ complacency. Many organisations have built quick-fix solutions or outsourced this process, but new technology means there’s no longer an excuse for inefficiency and apathy.

“With organisations identified as having misled customers receiving publicised penalties, there’s nothing more important than ensuring the marketing compliance process is watertight. That starts at the most basic level with robust communication and openness between teams.”

More than eight out of ten of those surveyed (83%) agreed that the ideal review process would have the minimum amount of human subjectivity, which is where technology can play an increased role.

One such area is artificial intelligence (AI). Marketing, legal and compliance specialists (95% agree) think that an AI-based tool that can intelligently scan and highlight marketing content for compliance and brand risks would support a more effective review process within their organisation.

The key benefit that those teams would most like to see from AI is automated checking of standard content like disclaimers, sources and T&Cs (33% said as much).

A key concern (noted by 30%) over using an AI tool would be around what happens and who is accountable if it misses identifying a risk.

Wood adds: “One of the key barriers between these teams is the stereotypes: marketers seeing legal and compliance as being deliberately hindering, versus legal/compliance teams seeing marketers as too ‘gung-ho’.

“Auditors would expect to see a three line of defence (3LoD) model in place for day-to-day risk management, including management of compliance risk, but how cohesive is the 3LoD model with all this conflict?

“Giving marketing teams the training and tools to consider compliance issues early and often could pave the way towards a more symbiotic partnership.

“However, cooperation is paramount and both sides agree that they need to work together more efficiently to improve the business and help it meet its overall goals. That means having constructive conversations – and it could also mean using AI-driven technology to enhance processes by focusing on automation and standardisation.”

To download Red Marker’s research report – go to https://redmarker.ai/download/resolving-the-divide