After SVB, Publishers See Uptick in Ad Spend, and New Messaging, From Regional Banks

When Silicon Valley Bank collapsed in March, the media industry braced itself for a wave of related fallout, as the financial institution had played a critical role in financing many of the technology companies that facilitate the flow of digital advertising.

But shortly after the meltdown, a few publishers—all within or adjacent to the world of finance—soon found themselves experiencing a welcome, if a surprising turn of events: an uptick in advertising spend from regional banks looking to capitalize on the opportunity to grab more market share.

In March, The Wall Street Journal saw a nearly 300% year-over-year increase in campaign volume from regional banks looking to reassure the business community of their reliability, said Katie Weber, its senior vice president of commercial strategy and head of financial services. 

And at The Information, the week after SVB collapsed, leads from financial services firms rose more than 30% compared to its previous four-week average, said founder and editor-in-chief Jessica Lessin.

In addition to drumming up new business, the sense of precarity created by the implosion of SVB also spurred a shift in the kind of messaging banks sought to communicate. 

At The Atlantic, the wealth management arms of a number of large banks moved to emphasize and project their financial stability, said publisher Alice McKown. Likewise, at The Financial Times, existing clients shifted their objectives in the wake of the crisis, said vice president of advertising Brendan Spain.

“The change we’ve seen is that, broadly, financial services companies are mentioning ‘stability,’ ‘risk management’ and ‘diversification’ a lot more during the briefing and request for proposal process,” Spain said. 

Banks saw necessity and opportunity, and savvy publishers obliged

This counter-intuitive twist underscores the ways in which nimble publishers can help themselves by recognizing and accommodating a sudden shift in their clients’ needs. 

As the collapse of SVB demonstrated, the banking industry relies on customer trust and significantly struggles without it. 

In the weeks immediately following the implosion of SVB, regional banks and other financial institutions needed to convey to their customer base the security of their financial holdings.

Many ran campaigns designed to shore up trust in their stability, targeting both retail and institutional investors. The Wall Street Journal, for instance, saw over seven figures of advertising spend from existing partners dedicated to communications priorities related to the collapse of SVB, according to Weber.

This groundswell of reassurance helped allay concerns about the trustworthiness of individual banks, and—when combined with broader federal intervention—played a part in helping the financial sector avoid a crisis of confidence that could have weakened it.

But beyond basic survival, regional banks also saw an opportunity in the crisis. 

During periods of instability, the environment you choose to convey your message has never been more important

Josh Stinchcomb, chief revenue officer, The Wall Street Journal

In 2022, as the U.S. economy slowed and inflation soared, bank advertising rose 8%, to $5.3 billion, as the sector looked to capitalize on the prevailing financial anxiety, according to data from Media Radar. 

Likewise, the collapse of SVB prompted many investors to reevaluate their financial service providers, setting the stage for challenger brands to break through to potential customers, according to Insider Intelligence senior analyst Max Willens.

“SVB’s clients have to move their money somewhere,” Willens said, “and SVB’s former rivals might be boosting their spending to try and capture those stray customers.”

The trend extended into the media industry, where publishers and ad-tech vendors, freshly reminded of the vulnerability of their financial partners, began shopping around for safer options. This migration, mirrored in other sectors across the economy, created the opportunity for financial brands to lure in new enterprise customers.

The publishers who were able to capitalize on the moment were able to do so, in part, because of how closely they work with their brand partners, said Josh Stinchcomb, the chief revenue officer of The Wall Street Journal. 

In moments of both crisis and opportunity, publishers that can offer consultative options to their clients are more likely to translate uncertainty into revenue.

“During periods of instability, the environment you choose to convey your message has never been more important,” Stinchcomb said.