MPAF82 – Panacea Adviser on Retirement Choices: The UK’s First Virtual Financial Services Conference

Panacea Adviser just held the UK's first virtual conference for Financial Services.

Retirement Choices 2016 was a unique, if slightly surreal experience.

The conference was complete with virtual stands, a virtual auditorium, keynote speakers and avatars of company representatives.

My guests today are Derek Bradley and James Bradley from Panacea. We chat about where the idea for the virtual conference came from. How they put it together and convinced providers to sponsor it. And the lessons they've learned after that successful first foray into virtual reality.

That's all right here in episode 81 of the Marketing Protection and Finance Podcast.

Who Are Panacea Adviser?

Launched in February 2007, Panacea Adviser is a unique and free resource. They support financial advisers, mortgage brokers and paraplanners by providing free online access to the very latest news, views, tools, research, educational support and business development ideas from product providers and support services all in one place.

My guests are:  Derek Bradley is CEO and James Bradley is Head of e-Relationships.

The Panacea community grew from 100 small advisers supported by eight providers in 2007 to a community of some 17,000 Equifax Touchstone validated financial services professionals, supported by 40 firms in 2016.

Links and Show Notes.

For links to the books and apps mentioned by Derek and James, please visit http://rogeredwards.co.uk/MPAF for the show notes.

What is the Marketing Finance and Protection (MPAF) Podcast?

It’s the Podcast for Financial Services Professionals looking to share business ideas and inspiration in the world of Marketing, Protection and Finance.

The MPAF Podcast is a 30 minute audio show you download from http://rogeredwards.co.uk/MPAF, iTunes or Stitcher Radio. Each week I’ll be interviewing financial services providers, advisers, experts and journalists.

Interviews to listen to in the car, on the train or on the treadmill.

The main focus of the podcast is on what we can do to make protection and finance more accessible to the consumer and how financial services professionals can develop and promote their businesses.

We’ll look at financial services products, interesting business models and campaigns with an emphasis on the following:

Marketing – talking about how financial services professionals can develop and promote their businesses using traditional marketing tools but focussing on modern content marketing and social media techniques.

Protection – talking about life insurance, critical illness, income protection and other protection products

Finance – talking about pensions, platforms, savings and investments

My aim is to make sure that you will get one or two big business ideas that you can apply to your own business.  Whether it is a sales idea, advice idea, product tweak or simply an app that is worth looking at.

I’m your host, Roger Edwards.

A marketing guy from Edinburgh I help people like you with your marketing strategy, content and social media. Until I set up my own business I was in and out of senior marketing roles in UK Financial Services Companies for two decades. Some of you might remember me as the Marketing Director and Managing Director of Bright Grey and Scottish Provident.

Please subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes and I’d be grateful if you would leave a review. http://rogeredwards.co.uk/itunes

Fancy Appearing on the Show?

Would you be interested in appearing on the MPAF Podcast? Are you working on a new proposition, campaign or a business model you want to talk about? Do you fancy drawing out some inspirational business and marketing ideas that MPAF listeners can take away to use in their own businesses? Do please contact me if you want to get involved. http://rogeredwards.co.uk