Are you sure about that? Challenge assumptions to keep your financial services marketing on point.

Financial‑services marketing is crowded with trends, inherited wisdom, and pressure to “do what everyone else is doing.” The result? Campaigns that look alike, sound alike, and fail to move the metrics that actually matter. The antidote is simple but demanding: ruthlessly challenge assumptions, and do it at the beginning of the work.

Why assumptions creep in

Assumptions are often presented as fact, even though they are usually nothing more than a belief. Sometimes it’s a new buzzword or channel that sneaks into briefs without anyone stopping to ask if customers even care. Sometimes it’s a feature that product owners insist must appear in a headline, even if customers don’t care. And often it’s the old enemy of habit: recycling the same formats because they’ve “always worked.” Left unchecked, these assumptions bloat the work, slow decisions, and blur what really matters.

The other way we see assumptions creep in is, “because we tested into that.” We like to say that our Clients often find themselves testing into a pinhole view of what works. In other words, what worked at the time is a reflection of everything around it, and nothing more. Never mind the fact that “we tested into that” five years ago and the world, and your customer, has continued to evolve.

How we challenge assumptions

We don’t just position ourselves as contrarians for sport. We push because Clients deserve creative that performs, not just work that gets approved. In practice, that means asking hard questions early:

• Is the brief outlining a real customer tension—or just echoing the category?
• What is most critical to your customers and prospects right now? Is their headspace the same as when you tested into a winning approach five years ago?
• Where is the data that backs up that “x” always works? Does that data actually exist, or is just an entrenched assumption that continues to show up in briefs out of collective habit?

Sometimes the answers reaffirm the direction. More often, they expose outdated assumptions we can cut—making space for sharper, more differentiated ideas.

Why it matters in financial services

Financial products already face a headwind of indifference. Customers see products that look alike: another credit card, another mortgage, another insurance ad—and tune out. Challenging assumptions is how we break that pattern. We reframe the brief into what people actually need to hear, not what internal teams want to say. It’s the difference between a campaign that merely fits the media buy vs. one that drives results.

And what people actually need to hear is more than just the acquisition bonus. We fielded our own independent attitudinal study of U.S. consumers—Finsights—to stay close to what real people need. Of the 433 respondents:

• 45% said they’re concerned about inflation
• 37% struggle to save
• 17% say it’s hard to get answers in digital experiences
• 15% cite too many chatbots/AI
• 10% find apps confusing

That’s the reality our work has to perform against—proof that challenging assumptions isn’t theory, it’s how we keep the work relevant and sharp.

And Shiny isn’t the only one pointing to this need. Forrester reinforces the same point: nearly one‑third of leaders at firms that rarely use data admit their decision‑makers prefer gut feel over data (Forrester, 2023). It’s a reminder of how easily untested assumptions can seep into strategy. That’s why our discipline around challenging them matters so much in financial services.

The Client payoff

When we pressure‑test assumptions, Clients gain clarity. Reviews become about impact, not opinions. Feedback becomes sharper, because the work is anchored to strategy rather than trends. And decisions get faster, because there’s less clutter to wade through.

Clients tell us they value this discipline because it keeps projects moving and avoids the expensive detours of chasing ideas that should never have been in the deck. It’s not contrarianism—it’s focus.

Want to cut through the noise?

Start by challenging the assumptions from the beginning–before they even make it into an approved brief. Then ask whether each element of the campaign being developed advances the customer, the KPI, or the differentiation your category is missing. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t belong. That ruthless clarity is how you beat indifference and keep your marketing on point.