elephant communications supports AFM conference

The Association of Financial Mutuals (AFM) has brought in elephant communications to run a press office for its annual conference, held earlier this week in Stratford-upon-Avon.

At the event, the elephant team conducted feature interviews with members, prepared broadcast media content, developed a photo library and supported social media engagement.

The conference, which ran across two-days (10-11 October), tackled many of the big market issues that AFM members face: the impact of Brexit, regulation, embracing digitisation and asserting the case for the mutual advantage at a time of economic uncertainty. There were around 200 people in attendance.

Martin Shaw, CEO of the Association of Financial Mutuals, said: “This year’s conference marks a new chapter in the history of AFM, which now has a clear mandate to champion the advantage that smaller financial mutuals bring, not just in terms of their agility, but also their closeness to members and the local communities where they are actively involved.

“In the months ahead, it is imperative that smaller financial mutuals work together to navigate their way through the constantly changing economic and political climate we are all confronting. Along the way, we will be faced with both challenges and opportunities, but together we will look forward and ensure financial mutuals remain a choice for consumers and deliver long-term strategies their members can have confidence in.”

Guy Bellamy, founder at elephant, added: “In the current climate our research indicates there are still trust issues between the consumer and the financial services industry, and the mutual sector is well placed to assert the merits of mutuality, especially in the digital age where the consumer is in control.”