MUTUAL FUNDS BOMBARD INVESTORS WITH SNAPPY ADS.Byline: Andrew Fraser There are several notable people by the name of Andrew Fraser:
Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. You'd think a dog chasing his tail in a television commercial is going crazy for the latest flavor of Alpo, right? How about surfer on a big blue cresting crest·ing n. An ornamental ridge, as on top of a wall or roof. wave - promoting a California vacation? Wrong. The dog and the surfer are selling mutual funds. Discarding performance statistics and bland pitchmen that have been typical of the industry's advertising, mutual funds are increasingly being sold the same way as Tide detergent or Coke. Rather than simply attracting investors with ads that stress high returns, mutual funds are now aiming for brand recognition and customer loyalty. ``The Colgate-Palmolive syndrome has hit the financial services The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. industry,'' said Michelle A. Smith, managing director of the Mutual Fund Education Alliance, an industry group. Mutual funds spent a whopping $273.2 million on advertising last year, up 47 percent from $185.2 million in 1995, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Competitive Media Reporting, a tracking firm. Hot competition is stoking the advertising flames. Mutual funds are booming right along with the stock market, and Americans today have more than 9,000 mutual funds vying vy·ing v. Present participle of vie. vying vie for their billions of investment dollars, up from less than 600 in 1980. Fund companies realize that a recognizable, respected and trusted name is very important now as competition becomes intense. ``I describe it as simultaneous epiphany Epiphany (ĭpĭf`ənē) [Gr.,=showing], a prime Christian feast, celebrated Jan. 6, called also Twelfth Day or Little Christmas. Its eve is Twelfth Night. ,'' said Rob Densen, director of corporate affairs at OppenheimerFunds. ``It's as if the entire industry had the same profound thought at the same time.'' OppenheimerFunds devoted most of its $15 million ad budget last year to brand marketing. Other companies such as Janus Capital Corp. are using clever attention grabbers such as the tail-chasing dog. That image warns investors that ``chasing the latest hot fund won't get you anywhere,'' underscoring the shift away from stressing performance. ``Most financial service ads were all we, we, we and performance, performance, performance, and I think a lot of customers are tired of hearing that message,'' said Steve Cone, Fidelity Investment's marketing guru. CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO (Color) Mutual funds are being pitched like Coke - as in this Janus ad. Associated Press |
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