CANNES: State Street Global Advisors, the financial-services group responsible for the "Fearless Girl" statue in New York, is taking a long-term perspective as it seeks to follow up on this major marketing success story.
Stephen Tisdalle, the Chief Marketing Officer at State Street, discussed this topic at a session held by Facebook during the 2017 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
More specifically, he offered a "peekaboo" into the brand's next move after "Fearless Girl" – a bronze statue facing down Wall Street's charging bull sculpture – began a worldwide conversation concerning gender equality in financial services.
"We want it to actually have substance," he said in describing the firm's marketing priorities. (For more details, read WARC's report: How the "Fearless Girl" helped State Street Global Advisors find its voice.)
If some brands might have been tempted to pursue a short-term program which cashed in on such an impactful marketing effort, State Street is taking a longer-term view.
"Everything we do as a brand: It can't be some kind of titillating, for-the-moment statement. True creativity has to have longevity, and it has got to be sustainable," Tisdalle said.
"And I think what we're going to be doing with 'Fearless Girl' is actually going the next step, which is: What do we do about this problem?'"
State Street has been ahead of the pack in answering this question, such as by creating an investment product focused on firms where women make up the majority of leadership, and highlighting this issue as a corporate priority.
"We offer a product; we have a philosophy; we're doing something as an organisation. There's a lot more that needs to be done. One of the biggest challenges is that there are not enough women candidates to serve on boards," said Tisdalle.
"How do we address that problem? And how does she become a universal symbol for addressing that problem and enhancing the talent pool?
"We're going to try and start to put some programs together around that as a brand, perhaps in partnership with other brands. And we're looking at really innovative, very creative, ways of doing that."
Stephen Tisdalle, the Chief Marketing Officer at State Street, discussed this topic at a session held by Facebook during the 2017 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
More specifically, he offered a "peekaboo" into the brand's next move after "Fearless Girl" – a bronze statue facing down Wall Street's charging bull sculpture – began a worldwide conversation concerning gender equality in financial services.
"We want it to actually have substance," he said in describing the firm's marketing priorities. (For more details, read WARC's report: How the "Fearless Girl" helped State Street Global Advisors find its voice.)
If some brands might have been tempted to pursue a short-term program which cashed in on such an impactful marketing effort, State Street is taking a longer-term view.
"Everything we do as a brand: It can't be some kind of titillating, for-the-moment statement. True creativity has to have longevity, and it has got to be sustainable," Tisdalle said.
"And I think what we're going to be doing with 'Fearless Girl' is actually going the next step, which is: What do we do about this problem?'"
State Street has been ahead of the pack in answering this question, such as by creating an investment product focused on firms where women make up the majority of leadership, and highlighting this issue as a corporate priority.
"We offer a product; we have a philosophy; we're doing something as an organisation. There's a lot more that needs to be done. One of the biggest challenges is that there are not enough women candidates to serve on boards," said Tisdalle.
"How do we address that problem? And how does she become a universal symbol for addressing that problem and enhancing the talent pool?
"We're going to try and start to put some programs together around that as a brand, perhaps in partnership with other brands. And we're looking at really innovative, very creative, ways of doing that."
Data sourced from WARC
