Financial agency Honner expands into marketing services

Appoints Craig Morris to new role of Head of Marketing Solutions

SYDNEY, 10 September 2018: Specialist corporate and financial communications agency Honner today announced the continued expansion of its service proposition to include a broad range of marketing consulting services aimed at Australia’s financial sector.

Veteran financial marketer Craig Morris has been appointed to the new role of Head of Marketing Solutions.

Mr Morris brings more than 20 years’ experience working in the financial services space, with strong expertise in the global wealth and asset management sector. He joins from Russell Investments where he worked for the past 15 years, most recently in the dual roles of Head of Marketing Asia Pacific and Global Head of Customer Experience. Mr Morris was also a member of Russell Investments’ Asia Pacific leadership team and a member of the Global Marketing Leadership team.

Prior to Russell Investments, Mr Morris worked in a range of marketing and product management roles in both Sydney and London, gaining experience with names such as St George Bank, Advance Asset Management and Prudential Assurance.

Honner founder Philippa Honner said the appointment marked a natural evolution for the agency which services a growing list of local and global brands operating in Australia’s vibrant asset management, wealth management, consumer finance, banking, broking, insurance and fintech space.

As the agency approaches its 22nd anniversary, Honner has over the years broadened its offering beyond traditional PR to include marketing strategy, content creation, digital and social media services while also offering specialist PR expertise for ASX-listed companies as well as listed investment products and capital raisings.

Ms Honner said: “Today corporate marketing teams are stretched like never before across a fast-changing digital environment whereby your brand is no longer shaped by what you say but rather what others say about you. This puts marketers and communication teams at the centre of helping organisations steer their brand reputation through increasingly complex risks around regulatory, operational and legal exposure, as well as actively managing the end to end journey of customers.

"As an agency we pride ourselves on our strategic, integrated approach and the results it delivers. Now we plan to apply those foundations through a more holistic suite of marketing and communications services."

Under Mr Morris, Honner will extend its range of capabilities to include strategic marketing services such as customer insights and customer experience programs, lead generation programs, sales enablement support and branding.

Honner is an independent agency currently managed by three equity-holding partners: Ms Honner, Managing Director Paul Cheal and General Manager Susie Bell.

Mr Cheal said: "We are very fortunate to have Craig join our team. He brings a depth of knowledge and experience that will be an asset for our clients and our team."

"We will be working closely with clients to create integrated marketing and communications programs that not only focus on brand reputation but also directly support clients’ sales teams, provide customer insights and help grow the business through demand creation activities. Our ability to show measurable business outcomes will help power forward both our clients and our agency in Australia’s highly competitive financial sector."

Mr Morris started in Honner’s Spring Street, Sydney office last week.