MBC Strategic Celebrates 20-years of Investment Marketing and Branding in 2018

The year was 1998. The Titanic was setting records at the box office, Google had just launched, technology stocks were dominating the powerful bull market and MBC Strategic opened its doors as a boutique investment branding agency.

What began as a one-person investment marketing consulting shop by founder and President Matt Brunini, has grown into one of the leading branding and marketing agencies focused specifically on the financial and investment communities. The award-winning firm is now located in beautiful Santa Monica, staffed with a talented team of investment marketers, writers, designers and strategists. Working across the financial industry, from several of the largest global investment conglomerates to niche advisors and asset managers, MBC has developed expertise across nearly every asset class and investment category.

The breadth of investment expertise has taught the firm to appreciate the competitive nature of the financial and investment services landscape and the complexity of investor audiences. MBC has spent two decades helping financial firms to create and develop the tools and branding necessary to stand out and achieve their business goals.

MBC believes the bar for good messaging and design is often low in the financial industry and their goal is to raise that bar—bringing some of the creative and marketing best practices from other industries into financial services. Discussing the human capital growth in the firm, Brunini notes, “On top of bringing in marketing and branding experts with experience at well-known investment institutions like Dow Jones, Fidelity and the Capital Group, we also have been able to attract creative talent with experience at marketing leaders in other industries like Daimler Benz and Red Bull. With this combination and balance of financial and investment expertise and global marketing savvy, we feel that we deliver significant value and saving our clients time and internal resources, while delivering the highest-quality investment marketing and branding services.”

For 20 years, the mission at MBC Strategic has remained, striving to help both current and future leaders of the investment industry to:

• Differentiate your firm
• Identify your strengths
• Communicate your edge

The firm’s capabilities have also evolved to include a full range of creative services, including marketing, branding, design, identity, content strategy and public relations. From logo design and copywriting, to website development and branding campaigns and investment white papers, the firm is able to deliver actionable solutions for the client across the financial landscape. With 35 awards and counting, from accredited platforms such as IFCA, Marcom and the Dotcom Awards, the firm is proud to have helped to drive better design and messaging in the industry.

To see a list of awards, please click here.

Before Brunini founded MBC Strategic, he spent five years as a marketer and copywriter in the investment banking, asset management and brokerage industries. Back then, good branding and marketing in financial services was even less prevalent and he saw this as an opportunity to strike out on his own and build a business around a service that was desperately needed. Brunini continues, “When I started MBC, the goal was really to make our client’s lives easier by lifting the weight of marketing, branding and strategy off their shoulders. I felt that the right combination of good creative and effective strategy was needed to help investment firms achieve more branding and marketing success. While we have seen marked improvement over the years, the industry’s overall marketing perception still has room to grow, and we see that as one of the most important hurdles – and most exciting aspirations – that we push our clients to help overcome and achieve.” MBC’s goal is to help clients build great brands and great businesses. And they do so by delivering clear, differentiated, and effective investment branding, marketing, and public relations services. Strong brands and effective messaging are key factors this long-term success and helping to develop investor trust where it matters most.

If you’re interested in learning more about how trust drives investment marketing success, check out MBC’s white paper: The Brandability of Trust.

The firm was founded on the belief that every financial company is unique, that investment firms each have a distinct value proposition and that each requires communication strategies that are customized to their needs. Bringing this strategy to life is their unique branding process that has been refined over the past 20 years of investment marketing and branding initiatives. This process includes:

• Listening to your needs
• Developing your strategy
• Creating your voice
• Delivering your message
• Connecting with your audience
• Driving action and results

“We believe that outsourcing marketing and branding projects can be a cost-effective solution for investment companies large and small—and our growing client base is testament to that. By employing an entire team of uniquely knowledgeable individuals, we deliver superior results, unique perspectives and often less resource drain than internal efforts.” Brunini concludes, “By supporting your existing marketing department and customizing solutions for your specific needs, MBC Strategic is here to help you drive your businesses forward and build a brand that excels in the highly competitive investment services market.”

On behalf of MBC and all of our employees, we would like to thank our past, present and future clients for their business, trust and support. And we look forward to continuing to serve the financial and investment community. Cheers to the next 20 years!

Learn more about how our financial and investment branding services work. Get in touch with us here.