This is one of our most in-demand project types, and we have conducted this type of research for many of our clients. As an example, for a joint Bloomberg and Deloitte campaign, we conducted a survey of North American investment managers about the current state of buy-side enterprise data management, digging into issues such as how EDM is perceived today, current approaches, gaps in the current approach, where opportunities for improvements lie, views on managed services provision and more.

For a UK-based data management software start-up we hosted a full-day workshop with their key executives. We worked through a set of questions to understand the company and product proposition, their growth ambitions and plans, strengths and weaknesses, their target buyer personas, key messaging, competitive landscape, potential use cases, channels to market and more.

We then delivered a concise report that delivered a high-level marketing strategy, including a go-to-market plan with key messaging and USPs. We continued to work with this client on the go-to-market plan - delivering high ROI by helping to put them on the map in our industry, delivering brand recognition, valuable connections for partnerships, and a funnel of leads to build on for sales.

We have worked with a UK-based vendor in the data management space over several years since they started. We helped them get onto the map as a unique provider of their type of services, and generated leads that have led directly to high value sales for them. As their budget has grown, our range of activities with them has too. They are regular sponsors of our events - live and virtual - in London and New York, and join shared webinars each year and have advertised across various products.

A global, diversified exchange group approached us for help with raising the profile of its AI initiatives across its Trading operating business. In particular, the exchange operator wanted to highlight the interoperability and personalisation improvements made possible by adding AI to trader work flows, especially in the foreign exchange markets where it held a dominant position. The client wanted to educate its current client base on the benefits they could expect from AI while generating commercial interest from decision-makers within the FX segment.

To meet their requirements, A-Team developed white paper report that identified the points of weakness within traders’ current work flows due to the large number of data sources and applications they use, and explained how AI can help streamline workflows and improve overall service and efficiency levels. The report showed how AI can bring interoperability between multiple trading applications, and help discover new sources of intelligence and analysis to give traders an edge in the highly competitive FX markets. To add colour, we incorporated a Trader’s Diary section that gave a walkthrough of how AI-supported systems can boost productivity and profitability.

Based on the issues raised and key messages from the white paper, A-Team hosted a dedicated webinar discussion with two of the client’s senior SMEs, teasing out the pain points facing financial firms with respect to their trading workflows, and offering up solutions based on the capabilities the exchange can provide.

Thanks to our own content marketing capabilities, the client received several hundred new sales leads, with first revenues from the campaign recorded just weeks after kickoff. Said the client: "One of the easiest experiences we have had working with a third-party on content. We are delighted with the quality of the white paper and the team made the whole process seamless."