Brand campaigns make up two-thirds of advertising in Europe

Fundamental Monitor also recorded a huge emphasis on the promotion of fixed income

Key points:

• Asset managers moved their European advertising activity further towards brand campaigns, which made up slightly more than two-thirds of all advertising during Q2
• The second quarter saw a huge emphasis on the promotion of fixed income, with 42% of advertising focused on the asset class
• Interestingly, while most of the advertising focused on fixed income, there were only 24 advertisers in market – fewer than for equities which had 27 active advertisers

Asset managers moved their European advertising activity further towards brand campaigns, which made up slightly more than two-thirds of all advertising during Q2, according to data by Fundamental Monitor.

Following a dip in the popularity of brand campaigns in the latter half of 2021, asset managers have moved back to promoting their brands, with 69% of all Q2 advertising in Europe focused on brand. Insights made up 16% of all advertising, up from 13% in Q1, while fund promotion had dropped from 36% in Q1 to 13% in Q2.

The second quarter saw a huge emphasis on the promotion of fixed income, with 42% of advertising focused on the asset class. This is by far the highest since the start of 2021. At just 7%, the promotion of equities proved to be a lot less popular. ESG advertising stood at its lowest since Q1 2021 at 17%, although 50 advertisers were promoting responsible investing during Q2.

Interestingly, while most of the advertising focused on fixed income, there were only 24 advertisers in market – fewer than for equities which had 27 active advertisers. This discrepancy is mainly due to a major fixed income campaign by PIMCO.

Below are some examples of the campaigns that were in market in Europe during Q2 of 2022:

Liontrust – brand campaign

WisdomTree – Insights

PIMCO – fixed income

Janus Henderson – equities