This is a guest post from Jason Crosland, a Queenland-based commerce student who spends way too much time procrastinating. He can be found very occasionally on Twitter.
Studies consistently show that though the average Australian has a decent knowledge on the basics of their finances, they have trouble with the more complicated aspects of the world of finance. Unfortunately, this area of interest is plagued with the dual image of being both monotonously boring and incredibly complex, a stereotype that has been ingrained in our subconscious for years through depictions of accountants, stockbrokers and economists across a variety of media.
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So with people, particularly Gen Y becoming more concerned with how finance affects their lives, how can members of the finance community teach more about the world of finance, be it about personal finance matters like this site is dedicated to, or to make people more understanding of the complexities of the stock markets and superannuation. There is now an opportunity to capitalise on this new interest and build the community. But how can we capture peoples’ attention?
Perhaps we can take notes from a similar industry that has recently changed its public perception. Advertising, which was once seen as only an annoyance, harassments from our TVs, newspapers and online to try and convince us to part with our cash. A stronger presence in popular culture has helped propel advertising into the mainstream view. Shows like The Gruen Transfer in Australia, which maintains a balance of entertainment, education and intelligent discussion and has gathered strong ratings and even two spin-offs extending the concept into politics and public relations is an excellent example of this. Despite the absurdity of a programme dedicated to ads, it’s an undeniable success at making viewers more comfortable with a complicated topic they are not fully familiar with. Heck it’s even helped inspire people to study advertising and enter the industry.
Would it work for finance?
It’s a way to communicate the subject that differs radically from the normal method of a suited professional giving a dry account of the facts that doesn’t involve tacky “making finance fun” schemes or rapping economists.
An American show in a completely different genre has helped grow a similar interest in advertising. AMC’s Mad Men is set in a New York advertising agency during the 1960s and actually contains a decent amount of advertising in-between the affairs, smoking and drinking that the characters indulge themselves in. While The Gruen Transfer focuses on intellectually stimulating discussion in an entertaining fashion, Mad Man instead has scenes of the characters performing their work weaved throughout each episode, and helps the viewer gain an understanding of the industry, terminology and processes. The success of the show has elevated the show’s protagonist to something of a pop culture icon, with Donald Draper being awarded the number 1 spot in the 2009 Askmens’ Top 49 Influential Men beating out Usain Bolt, Mark Zuckerberg and Barack Obama. The show, like Gruen has even created a new wave of interest in advertising careers.
So could finance do something similar? It’s possible, but it would to be designed well enough to not look like a blatant copy and is of high enough quality to keep watchers interested.
If these shows prove anything it’s that it is possible to gain a wider audience and break down previous misconceptions if you approach the subject matter in the right way. Maybe if finance can bring out something that can increase knowledge and awareness we can avoid some previous mistakes and help educate people to make the right decisions. Taking lessons from advertising is just the tip of the iceberg, there are bound to be other ways to encourage people to explore the world of finance more.
David is the Co-Founder of