Case Study
WillowTree logomark

Navigating the Digital-First Frontier in Financial Services.

The financial services industry changes as fast as the markets.

Transparency has gone mainstream, and new technologies are reshaping digital experiences for a new generation of investors

We partnered with John Hancock Investments on their digital transformation journey with a goal to solve some of the industry's largest operational challenges, and to provide financial advisors with the content and compelling digital services that matter most.

As the financial services industry shifts toward more transparent products and investment vehicles, data is now the critical factor in justifying financial decisions.

Our first order was to help John Hancock Investments address the challenge of integrating and distributing in-depth financial product data across the enterprise. We sought to ensure that the firm’s industry-leading insights could be easily accessed by investors and advisors.

Meet “Maestro”: a first of its kind, data-driven solution.

We partnered with John Hancock Investments’ marketing, product, IT, and compliance organizations to surface complex financial data and associated risk and fee disclosures. Then, we collected them in a single system for distribution in print and digital channels across the enterprise.

We call this system “Maestro.” It’s an investment data, automation, and API platform custom built to enable digital transformation of the asset management experience.

Maestro: Industry-leading investment data, automation, and API platform built to enable digital transformation for asset managers.

Accelerating time to value — at a fraction of the cost.

70%

Maestro development cost savings (compared to industry average)

5 months

from concept to launch (compared with two-year implementation of previous system)

100%

increase in monthly active users

100%

increase in pages per visit

35%

increase in organic site traffic

50%

decrease in bounce rate across sites

Launching an industry-leading content showcase.

Data is the foundation, but it's the interface that's the brand.

We worked with John Hancock Investments to amplify the firm’s financial data and world-class thought leadership content to advisors in a new cutting-edge website, built on the Adobe Experience Manager platform.

It’s the most detailed view of fund data in the industry.

In this custom web experience, advisors can follow and compare daily price, performance, rating, and investment documentation for 180+ funds, and engage with a personalized content dashboard.

Daily prices, performance, rating, and investment documentation for over 180 funds easily accessible to financial advisers.
The most comprehensive and detailed view of fund data in the industry.
Industry leading fund comparison application.
Financial advisors have the ability to follow and watch funds, and get personalized content in their dashboard.

Driving deeper engagement through new digital channels.

Digital relevancy goes beyond a great website. It’s about being on the right channel, at the right time, to deliver the right message to audiences as they make investment decisions.

We sought a creative solution to connect FinServ audiences with the content that matters most. As part of that media strategy, John Hancock Investments focused heavily on digital channels that provide deep insight into audience intent and content performance.

John Hancock Investments social media ads for Twitter and LinkedIn.

Integrating the systems behind the experience.

Delivering a world-class experience on the front end means integrating state-of-the art infrastructure on the back end.

In pursuit of that experience, we provided a complete overhaul and integration of back-end technologies, including a new content management system (CMS), digital asset management (DAM), customer relationship management (CRM), and single sign-on (SSO).

All in all, Manulife and John Hancock Investments’ new digital capabilities equip financial advisors and investors with the best tools in the asset management industry.

Unlocking impactful, cross-enterprise efficiencies.

Powering deeper analysis of marketing content

Increased content production velocity

More effective content management

Insight into which content channels and types drive user engagement with financial products

Making more sales, more personalized

Longer-tail reach into financial advisor community through self-service tools

Ability to segment and track audience interactions, then personalize the digital experience

Advisors engaged with more resources at their disposal

Driving cross-organizational benefits

Standing up automation to reduce time spent on back office tasks

Leveraging innovation to reduce risk and ensure cross-enterprise compliance

Driving more impactful business strategy through cross-channel data analysis

Drive quick ROI and even quicker deployments.
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