MRKTG Access

Ep 05 – Trust in Black Hat World: Was Finance Ever Trustworthy? You're on your own. There are few left to trust." That's how Dave Nadig opens his provocative essays on the death of white-hat thinking in finance—and it sets the stage for one of MRKTG Access's most philosophical episodes yet. Catharine and Avery wrestle with big questions: Was the ETF industry ever truly trustworthy, or did it just feel that way? Can you work for pay-to-play publications and still be a white hat? How do marketers build trust when the entire financial system's moral center has allegedly eroded? Drawing on Nadig's extensive industry background and his Black Hat/White Hat framework, this conversation challenges assumptions about ethics, transparency, and what "trust" actually means in financial services marketing.  

Ep 04 – Creative Chaos: When ETF Marketing Tries Too Hard Financial services marketing is traditionally safe, boring, and consistent. But what happens when ETF issuers swing completely in the opposite direction? This episode examines recent creative campaigns that are trying to break the mold—and breaking cohesion in the process. It's an honest conversation about the line between innovative testing and brand chaos.  

Ep 03 – Show Face, Track ROI: Why Conferences Are Burning Your Budget Financial services events are expensive, exhausting, and often poorly executed. This episode breaks down what went right and wrong at Future Proof Festival, tackles the GEO vs AEO debate after Samantha Russell's panel, and gets real about how asset managers are burning money on events without tracking ROI. Plus: why there are now more ETFs than stocks, and what that means for investor confusion.  

Ep 02 – When Digital Ads Fail: Why Billboards Beat Algorithms Your digital reach is down double digits. Google's AI is answering your audience's questions without ever showing them your site. Your ad budget is at the mercy of algorithms that decide if your audience even sees you. But there's one channel no algorithm can touch—and it's been in front of you this whole time. It's called Out-of-Home advertising, and in a world where attention is bought and sold by platforms, it might be your best marketing advantage. Cat and Avery explore how OOH advertising—billboards, transit ads, and physical placements—is cutting through digital fatigue and delivering results that social media can't match. With 67% of adults discovering brands through OOH and a 17% lift in mobile engagement, it's time asset managers reconsider what "modern marketing" really means.  

Ep 01 – AI is Stealing Your Clicks: The New Rules of SEO for Asset Managers ChatGPT and Google AI summaries are killing website traffic — here's what asset managers need to know. Your carefully optimized content is no longer reaching investors. ChatGPT is answering their questions. Google's AI summaries are giving them what they need without ever clicking through to your site. AI agents are fundamentally changing how people discover information—and most asset managers haven't noticed yet. In this episode, Cat and Avery break down the evolution of SEO in the age of AI, exploring how AI Overviews are stealing 37% of website traffic, why traditional keyword strategies are dying, and what content marketers in financial services need to do about it. From understanding the difference between AI, AI agents, and LLMs to rethinking your entire content strategy, this conversation is essential for anyone responsible for digital marketing in asset management.  

When the Internet Stops Working for You: OOH Cuts Through in the Age of Algorithms