The Rogue “Hillary” Commercial Portends Change for Financial Services Companies

In recent weeks I’ve both spoken and written about a shift taking place in the manner in which people acquire information. A transition is taking place as information is increasingly conveyed electronically; consumers learn more and more by watching rather than be reading. As proof of the magnitude of the shift, I’ve pointed to New York Times Publisher Arthur Sulzberger’s comment at Davos that he is uncertain if he will be printing the newspaper within five years. Sulzberger has stated that is top business challenge is managing the transition from print to electronic delivery.

In my opening remarks to RIIA’s Managing Retirement Income conference (02/12), I talked about the YouTube phenomenon in order to place it in the context of the larger communications revolution that is unfolding all around us. I talked about how YouTube had massively disrupted the business of broadcasting; because of YouTube, any individual with a cell phone and an Internet connection acquired the potential to broadcast to millions of viewers i.e. the video of Saddam Hussein’s hanging.

It’s not surprising to learn that News Corporation and NBC are planning their own YouTube type application. It’s only the beginning.

Last week we saw how video delivered over the Internet may prove to be equally disruptive in politics. In just a couple of hours, one guy working on his Apple PC created a commercial in support of Barack Obama that showed images of Hillary Clinton edited into Apple’s memorable Big Brother TV commercial from 1984. Within days, millions had seen the video at YouTube and countless other websites. The implications of this are extremely powerful and disruptive. Only last month political contests were thought of as being a battle between two very powerful and well-funded armies- the establishment Republican army vs. the establishment Democrat army. Now, political contests may prove to be something that more resembles “guerilla warfare” where any individual with an Internet connection and a creative imagination can unexpectedly alter the dynamics of a national political campaign.

It may be easy for some to think that all of this will not impact financial services. Such a conclusion- should it become widespread- will prove to be disastrous for the industry. That said, I see some industry leaders beginning to focus intently on improving the experiences delivered to the web browser. This is healthy, and a hedge against the potential to misfire on a host of future business opportunities- such as Boomer retirement.

©David A. Macchia. All rights reserved.