Targeted PR activity elevated Third Financial’s profile, positively influenced buyer perceptions, and contributed to commercial momentum resulting in acquisition.
Client
Service(s)
The Brief
Third Financial engaged Aspectus to raise its profile within key financial services media, demonstrate the firm’s deep sector expertise, and support long-term commercial objectives. With private equity backing and acquisition as a strategic goal, the brief focused on influencing awareness, credibility, and buyer perception among key stakeholders.
The Challenge
Despite strong client retention and deep expertise, Third Financial lacked visibility among target audiences and potential acquirers. Awareness in key trade media was limited, reducing opportunities to influence external perception and drive inbound interest. The challenge was both to generate relevant, timely coverage while ensuring these communications shifted stakeholder understanding of the brand’s differentiation in a competitive wealth management market. Activity also needed to connect to commercial outcomes, supporting lead generation and reinforcing the company’s attractiveness ahead of a planned exit.
Our Approach
We implemented a targeted media relations program involving greater publicity around company news, targeted executive profiling, and reactive newsjacking to secure high-impact coverage in priority publications.
We prioritised quality and relevance of coverage to influence key stakeholders, including prospects and potential acquirers. We ensured that success measurement incorporated both quantitative indicators (e.g. traffic, enquiries, media reach) and qualitative assessment (message pull-through, sentiment, credibility) to support the long-term goal of greater brand awareness and ultimately acquisition. Where possible, we also linked PR activity to business outcomes, including sales engagement and contribution to acquisition readiness.
Results we’re proud of
64
pieces of high-quality coverage in target trade media
11
senior interviews boosting credibility for key stakeholders
↑
enhanced profile contributed to increased inbound interest, resulting in acquisition by Nucleus
All in the details
Strategic targeting
We focused on securing coverage in the most influential trade publications, ensuring messaging reached audiences that directly impact reputation, demand generation, and acquisition potential.
Outcome focus
Measurement extended beyond coverage to assess real impact, tracking awareness, perception shifts, and audience engagement to understand how PR activity influenced stakeholder behavior.
Commercial alignment
PR activity was aligned with business goals, supporting lead generation and enhancing market visibility, ultimately contributing to stronger commercial performance and acquisition readiness.
“We have been impressed with how well [Aspectus] understand our sector, and their level of responsiveness and support. The results delivered helped to increase our brand awareness to the extent that press coverage drove prospects to our sales team. We were recently acquired by a larger competitor, and while the deal revolved around our business performance, our enhanced profile was beneficial to that performance and ultimately to the successful outcome of the deal.”
Ian Partington
CEO, Third Financial
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