Understanding customer use cases is a core part of a marketing strategy, but JPMorgan Chase CMO Carla Hassan is the rare Fortune 500 executive who can recall these kinds of customer success stories offhand.
This is because Hassan’s imperative is customer centricity. Much of the work she’s done on behalf of the brand centers on customers, and specifically the small-business owners and entrepreneurs who rely on the financial institution for backing. That includes Access Trax, a company founded by Kelly Twichel that makes outdoor experiences accessible for people with disabilities.
“It’s incredible, and when you talk to her, you can’t help but, as a marketer, want to tell more of these stories,” said Hassan of Twichel and her company. “It’s not just the nonprofits that are doing good. It’s small business, it’s entrepreneurs that are doing good. … And it’s an incredible privilege as a marketer to tell their stories.”
Hassan’s pursuit of customer understanding, coupled with an ability to infuse financial services campaigns with purpose-based strategies, sets her apart among marketers. For her, customer centricity is paramount; she tells her teams that there are only a few marketing strategies that work time and time again.
“The first one is that marketing exists to drive business growth, end of story,” Hassan said. “The second is that marketing needs to be the center of gravity and a key advocate for the customer and the clients.”
Admittedly, developing marketing strategies with the intent of selling credit cards and business loans is a tough job. As a large financial brand with public relevance, there are ample opportunities for messaging to land wrong. Being intentional about every decision is crucial.
At a time when some brands have shirked at promoting progressive values, JPMorgan Chase leans into inclusive messaging with the customer at the center. In fact, the company fuses inclusivity with its product messaging.
Last year, Chase launched its “Freedom to Be You” campaign to promote its Chase Freedom credit card. The campaign tagline also conveyed support for the LGBTQ+ community.
“We felt like it was a really nice way to connect the business objective of the card,” Hassan said, “linking [the card’s perks] to this creative idea that celebrates your freedom to be who you are.”
Marketing exists to drive business growth, end of story.
Carla Hassan
Hassan is also a master of convergence. Historically, consumers perceived advertising in the financial services industry to be dry, at least relative to CPG’s flashier campaigns. Her career trajectory has given her enough context to pull creative elements from CPG and toy companies she previously worked for, like PepsiCo, Kellogg’s and Toys R Us.
“I really have had the luxury of coming to work with some of the most talented marketers and leaders in the world, and working on some of the most incredible brands in the world,” said Hassan.
Value Add
JPMorgan Chase’s brand value—the present value of earnings specifically related to the brand—increased 80% in the past five years to $31.8 billion, according to Brand Finance. In calculating brand value, Brand Finance determines the relative strength of brands through a balanced scorecard of metrics evaluating brand investment, equity and performance. JPMorgan Chase currently has a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score of 79, an increase of 4 points since 2018.
Her financial ‘pivot’
Hassan “made the pivot” into financial services five years ago, when she took a job as Citi’s chief brand officer, a decision that turned out to be momentous. By 2020, Citi’s marketing and branding organizations consolidated, allowing Hassan to take on the CMO role representing the combined, cross-discipline department.
If done well, merging brand and performance marketing silos can wind up shedding more light on the customer journey, helping Hassan reach her ultimate goal. As these silos and others within marketing collapse industrywide, expectations of marketing leaders are rising. Many marketers and agencies are now attempting strategies similar to Hassan’s.
Some days, Hassan admitted, she’s had to think like a chief product, technology or financial officer.
Values-based, customer-centric marketing seemed especially appealing to execute at the helm of JPMorgan Chase—a brand that had recently made a $30 billion commitment to racial equity, prompting Hassan’s most recent career shift in October 2021.
So far, she said, it’s going well.
“We now have the tech platforms. We have the data. We have more and more,” said Hassan, who helped drive the company to a record $132.3 billion in revenue last year. “It’s still hard, but increasingly, we have the ability to look at the impact that we have on a customer-by-customer basis.”
This story is part of Adweek’s Brand Genius 2023 honors, recognizing the top marketers who have delivered long-term success for some of the world’s leading brands.
This story first appeared in the July 2023 issue of Adweek magazine. Click here to subscribe.
