2025 Summit Recap: What Financial Communicators Are Talking About
If there’s one thing the 2025 Financial Narrative Summit made clear, it’s that marketers and communicators across finance are navigating high stakes - with clarity, creativity, and candor. From AI’s rapid evolution to rethinking trust in a divided world, these one-on-one conversations captured the questions shaping strategy right now.
Here’s a closer look at four standout sessions.
Michael Constantine (ING) & Binna Kim (Vested)
Trust, Purpose, and the New Role of Financial Brands in Society
This conversation opened on the tension between institutional structure and public perception. Constantine highlighted how ING’s business impacts go far beyond its core clients—and the need for broader public trust. Kim pushed the point further: silence isn’t neutral anymore. Brands are being judged just as much for what they don’t say. She emphasized action over posturing and cautioned against bandwagon messaging not grounded in authenticity. They agreed that trust is earned through behavior, not headlines—and that personalization offers powerful tools for more inclusive, relevant financial storytelling.
Jessica Schmidt (Diamond Hill) & Erin Bruehl (Current)
Messaging Through the Noise: Building Trust in Volatile Markets
This conversation was all about consistency: of values, messaging, and internal alignment. Schmidt shared how Diamond Hill continues to prioritize transparency and long-term discipline in client communications, even amid market chaos. Bruehl, representing a younger fintech brand, echoed that sentiment from a consumer-first lens—underscoring the importance of timing, relevance, and restraint. Both agreed that internal and external messaging must reflect the same DNA, and that adapting doesn't mean abandoning your principles.
Assaf Kedem (BNP Paribas) & Ethan McCarty (Integral)
Self-Service, Crisis Comms, and Culture: Reinventing Internal Communications
Framed as a candid peer-to-peer exchange, this dialogue dove into how employee experience shapes brand perception. Kedem shared how BNP is empowering communicators through self-service tools—reducing bottlenecks and increasing speed. McCarty emphasized that crisis preparedness is built during peacetime, not just in the moment. They unpacked the blurring line between internal and external messaging—what McCarty calls “ex-ternal”—and argued that first-line managers are the most powerful communication tool organizations have when navigating constant change.
Erika Schwartz Alter (FundGuard) & David Blackburn (Strat and Story): AI, Efficiency, and the Future of Creative Collaboration in Financial Marketing
Both marketers had fun comparing AI to onboarding a team of interns—smart, tireless, but in need of oversight. Blackburn shared how AI is changing the velocity and scale of content creation, especially for lean teams. Alter noted how her use of AI is enhancing strategic thinking—not replacing agencies, but sharpening the briefs they receive. They discussed the delicate balance between compliance, creativity, and moral responsibility in generative content. What emerged was a vision of marketing where human judgment and machine efficiency complement each other, not compete.