IA Infographic Series
Investment Answers, a financial advisory firm, was looking for a way to make the complexities of investments, taxes and retirement planning easier to digest. Not only did they want to make these important financial elements more comprehensible, they wanted to make it, dare we say, entertaining. Having a relationship with the Kentucky-based business since 2011, BatesMeron understood the passion, commitment and greater purpose behind this endeavor: to help people find certainty, answers and guidance in their financial wellbeing.
Annuities, estate planning, probate and taxes are just a few of the topics that people often deem overwhelming or complicated when it comes to finances. With complex terms and valuable pieces of information being shared throughout a crowded industry of financial advisors, we needed to find a forum and tone that was different and sharable. Also, we would need to ensure that whatever we developed would meet compliance of the financial advisory industry.
To step away from traditional channels, like white papers, sell sheets and PowerPoint decks, we decided to combine our love for illustrating, storytelling and superheroes. The outcome was a series of comic book-inspired infographics. Designed to be an ongoing collection of adventures, we used this format to introduce investment and insurance-themed characters and topics. Each infographic, or comic, works as a chapter in the growing story, but also as standalone piece.
Although The New Yorker initially inspired the flat illustrative style of the comic, we wanted to create more depth with dynamic hand-drawn characters, layers and unique textures. The tone of each story is reflective of Investment Answers’ warm, respected and knowledgeable brand. Some of our stories include Fund Faceoff, The Adventures of Captain Annuity, Lieutenant Life Insurance and The Planner.
While a sense of fun and adventure is built into every story, we ultimately want the people reading the series to feel less intimated by financial planning and understand the importance of working with a trusted financial planner.
Investment Answers’ Chief Operations Officer, Kelly Terlau, played an integral role in the development of the series, providing insight that allowed our team to push each story and character further.
When it came to the end results of the series (to date), Terlau said,
“The infographics have allowed us to take difficult concepts and distill them down to their very essence—which has been great for our administrative and sales teams. We are now able to tell our story in a visually compelling way to clients, peers and leads. They’ve helped position us as thought leaders in our industry and continuously challenge us to find new ways to share our message and mission.”
To learn more about our friends at Investment Answers or see the entire superhero series, visit here.
