Never mind the financial crunch - wealth managers are continuing to boost spending on advertising and there are signs this expenditure will continue to increase during 2010, US firms say. The key message in many cases is that firms are keen to stress their financial strength.

Anyone who has been in the wealth management trenches will tell you that it’s a personal relationship business.

Most of the industry’s marketing budget is spent on events and philanthropy, where mangers can casually rub shoulders with potential clients in feel-good settings away from the hard-sell vibe of the office.

At its essence, wealth management is a one-on-one game.

Nonetheless, many of the top wealth management firms have been expanding their marketing reach and stepping up their advertising campaigns, particularly in prestigious national publications like The Sunday New York Times Magazine.

And they say they’re going to spend even more on advertising in 2010.

Last week, for the first time ever, Bessemer Trust, one of the top firms in the business, bought the back cover of the Sunday Times magazine, spending an estimated  six-figure sum in the process.

US Trust has been taking out full-page color ads in upscale magazines ranging from The Atlantic to New York, and buying time on Plum TV, which targets affluent communities like Beverly Hills and Aspen.

Northern Trust is buying time on “Meet the Press,” the Golf Channel and placing ads in The Wall Street Journal and magazines ranging from The Economist to Harvard Business Review.

And BNY Mellon Wealth Management, First Republic Private Wealth Management and Wells Fargo Advisors are among the companies placing full-page color ads in the Sunday Times magazine.

 “They’re sending a message of strength,” said Dave Swanson, founder and managing principal of  SwanDog Strategic Marketing, a Chicago-based firm specializing in financial services. “The perception is that if they can afford to spend the kind of money needed to be in places like the Times Sunday magazine, they must be doing OK.”

Marketing executive firms at the firms who are spending the money agree that strength is a key theme in their campaigns.

“The ads highlight what we think our strength is,” said Larry Hughes, president of US Markets for BNY Mellon Wealth Management, whose latest ads stress the firms’ experience with the tagline “Instilling client confidence since 1784.”

 “We served our clients well during the downturn and we’re proud of our performance and stability,” Mr Hughes said. “We’ve been rated the safest bank in the US and that’s why many clients are seeking us out.”

Northern Trust, another industry leader largely unscathed by the turmoil of the past 16 months, also wanted to convey an image of strength this year, said Kelly Mannard, an executive vice president at the firm  heading marketing, communications and community affairs.

Ms Mannard pointed to Northern’s most recent ad in the Wall Street Journal, featuring a quote from the Financial Times Group calling the firm “the best private bank in North America.”

 “While other parts of financial services were melting down, we weren’t, and third-party accolades speak volumes,” she said.

Bessemer, which was ranked the leading  multifamily office in the country  with over $50 billion in assets by Family Wealth Alliance, also wants to leverage its recent success, especially among the very wealthy.

 “Minimum relationship $10 million,” the firm’s ads in the Sunday Times explicitly state. The ad copy also takes none too subtle digs at  Bessemer rivals, with lines like “we make recommendations based on clients needs, not some parent company’s investment products.”

“We want to address what’s on wealthy families’ minds in an intelligent and candid way,” said Donna Trammell, Bessemer’s director of marketing and communications.

In fact, the firm went so far as to ask, “Why should you believe anything we say?” in its ads in the spring.

“We saw that many clients felt advisers were not being totally candid with them, and we wanted to address that concern in the campaign,” Ms Trammell said.

Restoring some luster

Wealth management firms are also using campaigns to restore some luster to their brands after a difficult period.

Claire Huang, head of marketing for Merrill Lynch and USTrust, units of Bank Of America, acknowledged that her company was among those who “got beaten up” after September 2008.

In US Trust’s case, Ms Huang said, an effective remedy has been to highlight the firm’s experience and resources to target first-generation wealth accumulators who have $3 million or more in investable assets.

Indeed, a diverse group of  Baby Boomers pictured next to the trappings of their wealth, such as a satisfied-looking Asian man standing in front of his wine collection, are hallmarks of the campaign.

The campaign is based on conveying the message that U.S. Trust knows the target market has not merely inherited their wealth, Ms. Huang said, and as self-made millionaires, value innovation and “new thinking to mange the money they’ve just made.”

As a result, the ads feature topics of interest to wealthy  Boomers, such as estate planning, and direct readers to the US Trust website for  the company’s insights on the subject, such as “Not Your Grandfather’s Trust.”

“We want to let them know we’re the company that has figured out how to use 100 years of experience but understand that they are not the millionaires of yesteryear,” Ms Huang.

“Targeting the self-made segment is really smart,” said Mr Swanson. “It’s less generic and helps differentiate the brand.”

Indeed, the campaign has been successful enough to be continued next year. “We’re feeling good about the momentum we’re getting,” Ms. Huang said.

Bessemer and Northern Trust are also happy with the results of their ad campaigns and say they plan to spend even more next year.

Northern wanted to encourage investors “who are frustrated with the instability of their current financial provider to take a look at us,” Ms. Mannard said.

And the “business elite” targeted in publications like the Times, the Journal, Barron’s and The Economist have responded, she said.

Bessemer’s campaign to position itself smartly to those with $10 million or more to invest has generated “greater feedback than we anticipated,” Ms. Trammel reported.

“We’re very optimistic about next year.”

Advertising spending by wealth managers will definitely increase next year, according to Mr. Swanson.

But he warns that the space may become crowded as de novo boutique firms spend more to gain recognition and awareness.

“The risk is that you suddenly sound too retail,” he said, “and this is a business where you want to have a clubby feel.”