We deliver a mix of old and new, by offering a modern approach to traditional services that emphasizes accountability and a personal touch.
Water & Wall is an award-winning marketing and communications agency whose best work exists at the intersection of inspired thinking and your business growth.
Water & Wall solves awareness, perception and growth issues for brands by developing a business strategy first and then applying a communications solution.
One night in 2012, our co-founders met in a Manhattan pub to share their visions for the agency of the future. Their ideas flowed onto a cocktail napkin and, as they left, they found themselves on the corner of Water & Wall Street.
We deliver a mix of old and new, by offering a modern approach to traditional services that emphasizes accountability and a personal touch.
We’re business people first, communicators second.
Here’s a handful of the many friends we’ve made along the way:
We love a challenge and people love a good story rooted in rich history. Cue Arnhold LLC, a $4.5 billion family office and investment management firm.
For Arnhold LLC, we had the privilege of guiding a storied name in financial services across Europe, dating back to World War 2, and in the US through a comprehensive branding process to help establish their family office headquartered in New York.
In a months-long process, Water & Wall developed a full suite of branding and business development materials to support Arnhold’s launch, including a messaging hierarchy, logo, pitch book, business cards and letterhead.
For ETF investment manager, WBI Investments, an appetite for creativity helped us succeed together. We implemented an integrated communications program, for the $2 billion U.S.-based asset manager, that combined journalist engagement, social media amplification, research, podcast production, and an enhancement to the firm’s creative branding materials.
Traditional media relations was at the core of this program, with the Water & Wall team introducing WBI to print and broadcast journalists, securing meaningful coverage for its client. The earned media was complemented by owned media, which in this case comprised two primary assets – product brochures and a podcast.
For the podcast, Water & Wall led the pre-production strategy, from content, to scripting to distribution plans once WBI produced the podcast.
Water & Wall also designed marketing storyboards for WBI’s exchange-traded funds. Our design work earned us an opportunity to develop visual concepts for their quarterly magazine and forthcoming proprietary advisor-focused robo tool.
The keys to success here were an enthusiastic leadership team and expert client-side marketing support.
We routinely secure high-profile media coverage that showcases the people behind successful investment strategies, who are in many cases as fascinating as the strategies themselves.
Recent examples include ALPS subadvisor, Smith Capital, for whom we developed an earned media engagement strategy to draw investor attention to their Total Return Bond and Short Duration Bond Funds. Since incorporating these in the broader ALPS program, Water & Wall secured opportunities for founder, Gibson Smith, as the featured source in top-tier print and broadcast media coverage, and Smith Capital’s assets have grown to $1 billion to date.
Elsewhere, our work for Resolute Investment Managers. At a time in our business when positive earned attention is difficult to come by for even the best performing funds, we secured a profile in Barron’s on the best-in-class American Beacon Sound Point Floating Rate Income fund.
Finally, Business Insider named Lori Heinel, State Street Global Advisors Deputy Global CIO, to their “100 People Transforming Business” list. Each year, Lori is featured as commentator on major business broadcast networks and in top-tier print outlets dozens of times as the team leverages her thinking and its journalist relationships to raise her profile.
These assignments are representative of a key service offering on the communications side of our business that will be critical to our asset management clients’ business growth going forward.
ETF Securities, a $20 billion global asset management firm, retained Water & Wall to develop a content marketing program targeting financial advisors, a segment of the wealth management industry with which we’re deeply familiar. Our work included the creation of a suite of print collateral and video content to educate advisors on the merits of investing in commodity ETFs. A major component of our strategy was to write the sales materials in a way that made them intelligible to end-clients, while marrying that with thoughtful design and execution, allowing advisors to pass along to clients for educational purposes. The visually enhanced, story-driven content achieved extremely high engagement rates, giving ETF Securities an advantage over its commodity fund competitors.
There are few communications and marketing campaigns in the institutional financial services community that reached as many people as Fearless Girl. For so many, she has become a to drive positive change well beyond business. From the start, our client, State Street Global Advisors, had grand ambitions of being a leader in influencing change among the global corporate ranks. Simply put, together by securing earned media with a focus on North America, we would set the foundation for future asset stewardship priorities with a focus on gender diversity in business. We would convey the message that women should have a far greater presence in the board room and in the C-suite than they do now.
On the day we introduced the statue of that little girl challenging the Charging Bull (note: now she’s outside the New York Stock Exchange), we saw hundreds of media outlets around the world cover the story. One outlet in particular, Business Insider, ran a story read by nearly two million people within hours of publication. Since then, State Street spokespeople have appeared on and in every major broadcast and print business news outlet in the world to discuss the asset managers ongoing effort.
Today, the Fearless Girl remains a powerful and everlasting symbol, and we’re proud to have been the agency driving the media coverage behind this icon.
NEPC, a $1 trillion institutional investment consultant, is among the best examples of a long-term partnership that resulted in client business growth and an expansion of an integrated marketing and communications program that included traditional journalist engagement, branding, and visual storytelling.
Prior to engaging Water & Wall, the Boston-based firm had no consistent public presence in its 30-year history beyond incidental trade media coverage. The first assignment: raise awareness for the Endowments and Foundations Practice, an established presence in their space with no public voice. Within a year, the firm’s top executives were featured in the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, New York Times, Financial Times, among key trade publications. That work expanded not only to owning media relations for other practice areas within the firm – pensions, private wealth, healthcare, among them – it also led to the development of a research series that included in-depth surveys and graphic design.
The effort earned us the opportunity to redesign NEPC’s pitch book, which we overhauled with new messaging and compelling visuals that helped the firm win new business.
By the time the program entered its third year, we were responsible for 80 percent of their content. What’s more, they walked into a meeting with a potential client, who complemented NEPC on their recent news story, the best validation for our work there is.
Water & Wall began working with Cresset Capital in September 2019 just as the firm surpassed $6 billion in assets under management. Though it had a foothold in the private investment market and an exemplary reputation as stewards of institutional, family office and high net worth assets, Cresset had embarked on a new journey into a rarified corner of the real estate world – Qualified Opportunity Zones (QOZ).
Cresset tasked Water & Wall with developing a comprehensive messaging and earned media strategy to draw positive investor attention to their QOZ fund, and to inform audiences on the investment and social and benefits of QOZs.
Since inception, our efforts has secured coverage in more than 50 articles showcasing Cresset as a leading voice in the QOZ space, with regular coverage in Bloomberg News, The Real Deal, Financial Planning, GlobeSt., REFI, and other local, trade and top-tier outlets
of our average
client relationship
honoring our work
whose reputation
we’ve managed
on earned media
Partner
Voracious reader. Soccer enthusiast. Dad. If you ask whether these are the ingredients for a busy life or a career storyteller, then the answer you’d get is both. Andrew co-founded Water & Wall with the expressed purpose of applying his love for capturing clients’ stories and sharing it with the exact right audience to help their businesses grow. He takes a measured, disciplined approach to the communications process that has resulted in some of the longest-tenured client relationships in the business, and he’s a driving force behind the agency’s expansion into digital and next-gen marketing techniques. And when he’s not working, “Dad” usually gets bumped to the front of that earlier list.
Partner
Matt Kirdahy was a journalist first and a communications and marketing executive second. There’s something to be said about having the same professional experience of the people to whom you’re approaching with your client ideas. While the traditional pitch-and-place priorities connected to the roots of the business have evolved into much more, his role still calls for those core media skills. His most re-watched movie is The Fugitive and when he’s not on the clock, he’s trying to make the most out of living in a city where the burgers cost as much as the t-shirts at J. Crew.
Account Director
Communications and marketing professional by day, recreational Muay Thai boxer by night, Casey knows how to pack a punch 24/7. The point here is she’s a strategic thinker and quick on her feet, figuratively and literally. From roles on the agency side and in-house at top financial firms, Casey has a strong understanding of the financial media landscape and what tactics will reach your intended audiences. While no stranger to the details, she believes in keeping the larger picture and goals of a firm in mind at all times to deliver a comprehensive communications and marketing program. When not in the office, you can find Casey in Brooklyn enjoying a walk with her rescue Pitbull to the nearby bodega for the classic iced coffee and bacon, egg & cheese.
Account Director
A marketing and PR maven with a knack for words and a love of strategy, Jesse has helped clients across the financial, tech, and VC/PE sectors tell compelling stories, snag industry awards, and build strong, long-lasting media relationships. Strategy is key when you’ve backpacked solo across Europe and the U.S. as she has. Jesse is helping our clients understand what makes them stand out, traveling to any lengths necessary to deliver that story to the audience that matters most.
Account Director
When Lisa moved to New York a little over two years ago, she dove right into the financial PR game. A former swimmer who competed at two U.S. Olympic Trials competitions, Lisa knows how to commit to the grind and put in the work necessary to reach her goals, and now that doesn’t even require jumping into a cold pool at 5:30am. Now that she’s back on dry land, she’s switched her focus to her other passion – writing. She uses her creative writing talents to pull the most interesting storylines and craft content, like bylined articles and social media campaigns, for her clients. Outside of the office, you can find her on stage reading excerpts from her novel-in-progress or in the kitchen whipping up some of her famous Oreo cupcakes.
Account Director
As a lover of prose, it’s ironic Jen hates career bios. An English major tuned PR pro, she took reading the news to a whole new level when she entered the corporate sector. With years of agency experience under her belt, Jen is skilled in media relations across B2B and corporate brands and leading teams to think bigger picture when delivering corporate positioning and strategy. Media is her bread and butter and she’s committed to the kind of long-term storytelling that is most meaningful to her clients. In a perfect world, when she’s not working, you can catch Jen at a live show or nose deep in a cookbook.
Account Executive
Alaina moved to New York into a new apartment and became friends with the nearest bodega owner on a Friday. Monday morning, she began her career in financial communications working in the private equity, capital markets, wealth management, and asset management space. She’s quick on her feet, able to turn, jump, twist in an 8-count set, that’s what 15 years of technical ballet training will do. She transformed her love of exploring movement to looking for new opportunities where her clients’ can share their unique narrative. Whether searching for media opportunities, message crafting, or developing specialized content, she choreographs new ways her clients can share their voice. When not scrolling through the news, she’s likely walking to the nearest park, bakery, or shoe pop-up.
Account Executive
Shazana began her financial communications career working in the wealth management and investment management space. A home baker at heart, she’s loves taking her creative eye away from decorating cupcakes and in to helping clients come up with a unique story. She’s happiest thinking of innovative ideas that will help her clients get their message across. When not crafting new media opportunities and sprucing up her media rolodex, she loves to binge crime shows, or taking a visit to her local Dunkin’ for some iced lattes and donuts.
Associate Account Executive
Hasan has always believed that communication is the key to building great relationships and building partnerships. His love for communication led to him making multiple podcasts throughout the pandemic. Utilizing his deep understanding of social media and marketing trends, he has helped multiple non-profits with their brand awareness. After working with non-profits and their digital campaigns, he brings his passion for marketing and writing to Water & Wall. Hopefully, you don’t get him confused with his identical twin brother in New York City.
Creative Director
After 14 years of working in the music industry as a photographer, designer and art director Katie got an itch to see who else might need the “rockstar” treatment (besides her two young daughters). Since joining the W&W team, she’s helped clients see things differently. Katie’s expertise in the psychology of advertising, paired with her strong technical design skills, result in the creation of attractive, effective and thoughtful materials that reach the right audiences. She is a constant champion for creative ideas, and executes with a precise, pithy and approachable design aesthetic.
IT Director
Conrad knew his future was written in the stars the moment he disassembled his first computer just to see if he could put it together again. He was only 10-years old at the time. Apparently his experiment was successful, since he went on to build a highly successful career as an IT specialist. When he’s not fine-tuning Water & Wall’s tech infrastructure with new gadgets and gizmos, Conrad, a native of Brazil, indulges his dual passions for soccer and music.
Is this our agency book case or a trophy case? Either way, we’re keeping what’s on it…just in case. Each...
READ MOREIn a recent blog for Business Wire, Matt Kirdahy, Partner at Water & Wall, continues his series of commentary on...
READ MOREOur co-founder, Andrew Healy, recently chatted with Matt Halloran of the Top Advisor Marketing podcast, where they talked about: –...
READ MOREIs this our agency book case or a trophy case? Either way, we’re keeping what’s on it…just in case.
Each year-end the internet fills with gift-guides and roundups, such as the Water & Wall favorite New York Times 100 Notable Books yearly list. Inspired by the best books of 2020, we bring to you today “The Books We Keep,” a handful of books chosen by Water & Wall staff that we’ve enjoyed this year, years past, and will continue to love for years to come.
Let us know if any of these are your favorites too or drop us a comment to tell us your favorite five. And if you’re gifting any books this year, we’d like to recommend shopping at stores like Books are Magic, Rizzoli, Marcus Books, or others at Bookshop to support small business and local bookstores this year.
Alaina Hay
I tend to only keep books that remind me of specific places, ideas, or people. I usually give books I’ve loved away – I want everyone around me to read them! I kept Where the Crawdads Sing for pluff mud. Delia Owen’s 10-year master-piece brought me home to the Carolinas each time I turned the page; I could smell the marsh. F. Scott Fitzgerald is for my infatuation with stories. His books sparked my love for reading. A Tale of Two Cities for the reminder that you really can’t judge a book by its cover. I dreaded reading Dickens’ classic, but thanks to a required high school reading list, I quickly tore through page after page. Edgar Allan Poe is for my grandma. She has a beautiful collection of his on her bookshelf, so The Complete Tales and Poems is my mini New York City version.
Andrew Healy
Music, food and soccer are some of my favorite things in the world, and you can’t get much better than Bob Spitz’s The Beatles, Fever Pitch (please read every Nick Hornby book immediately) and Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential. I was genuinely upset when I finished each one. The Things They Carried is one of the most powerful and well-written books I’ve ever read, and On the Road is an absolute American classic and this is my father’s old copy.
Casey Sheets
Toni Morrison’s Beloved I’ve read a handful of times and each time I love it more. With Exhalation, Ted Chiang shares a collection of science fiction short stories with “The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate” being my favorite piece. Every time I read Murakami I think, “this is the book where I’ll finally understand Murakami.” I never quite do and that is why I cannot get enough. A Wild Sheep Chase was my intro to the author and this copy happens to be a gifted first edition. Stephen Fry’s Mythos is an excellent retelling of Greek myths full of humor and suspense. Finally, David Mitchell is another ‘take me into a new world’ favorite. (He’s said Murakami is a huge influence, so no surprise for me here.) Utopia Avenue takes you through the life and times of a psychedelic British band set in the 60s, complete with scenes from their interactions with greats like Syd Barret and Jimi Hendrix. A must for any lover of rock music and captivating storytelling.
Jesse Chen
If you pick up anything this winter, I recommend I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman, and The Opposite of Loneliness, and also for good measure Trick Mirror if you’re the one person left who hasn’t read it. I’m a sucker for essays and these represent some of the funniest, well-written, thought-provoking ones I’ve read—pieces that punch you in the gut with that feeling of being seen and understood, that make you laugh and tear up and immediately send your friend a quote demanding they read the whole thing. When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities is a must for all my fellow poets, and I’m not just saying that because I share a name with the author. Finally, if you live in New York, and talk about leaving New York, or have friends who have left New York, or you left but dream about coming back, read Joan Didion’s “Goodbye to All That” and then read the Goodbye to All That essay collection, and perhaps find yourself falling in love with this city all over again.
Katie Healy
The Revenge of Analog is film and record players and print magazines… tell me everything David Sax! Saint Marks is far from dead, when you read about its decades of gritty history (Saint Marks is Dead), and thanks to Hank Green for adding aliens to some of my other beloved NYC streets in An Absolutely Remarkable Thing. Kim Gordon (Girl in a Band) is my guitar-wielding Mom Goddess, and when you combine music and time travel you end up with my #1 favorite book of all time, Mo Daviau’s Every Anxious Wave.
Lisa Boyce
First off, I love The Great Gatsby and I’m not afraid to say it! I’m a sucker for gorgeous prose and creative structure, which explains my Nabokov and Nelson picks. Fun fact: the first time I read Pale Fire, I only read the poem, which is (spoiler alert) not where any of the actual story is. I read Bluets in a coffee shop and gasped out loud at every other line. The last two are a bit more personal connections, in addition to being great books. Stephanie Danler (Sweetbitter) graduated from my MFA program and this book was a beacon of inspiration while I was working on my thesis, and Colson Whitehead (The Nickel Boys) was one of my creative writing professors in undergrad. (I try not to think about the fact that this two-time Pulitzer Prize winner has read the one time I decided to attempt sci-fi.)
Matt Kirdahy
Wonder Boys was my “I saw the movie first” moment then read the book five times. Casino Royale is the first and best James Bond story. Did you know Bond had a three-inch scar on his face? Where was that in the movies? The World According to Mister Rogers is a daily hug made up of the simplest and most essential thoughts. Astrophysics for People in a Hurry makes me feel like I’ve got the IQ to be an astronaut. The Dictionary. I open it daily, as the distressed binding lets on. If only I retained all of what’s inside. I guess then I’d be an astronaut.
Scott Sunshine
I love to travel. I love to cook. And I love to come home and relive my journeys through local dishes made in my own kitchen.
In a recent blog for Business Wire, Matt Kirdahy, Partner at Water & Wall, continues his series of commentary on the changing tone and role of ESG initiatives across the business landscape.
To think, under the fog of a global pandemic, social unrest and economic duress, we started a decade that, in a look back years from now, could rank as the year we not only just talked about but acted the most on the initialism that’s just about everywhere in the business community. Those initials are E, S, and G.
One could argue – and I attempt to do so hastily here – that what helped the business world make such progress is human curiosity. Though, if ESG’s best friend is curiosity, then it wouldn’t be much of a friend without action.
For years, people have been asking questions about how they can use their resources to push for positive change in global business.
In the U.S., what we’ve learned in 2020 is that more and more people care about how their investment decisions could and should influence positive change at less of a financial risk than once thought.
Major U.S. corporations have finally followed suit behind their European counterparts.
In the case for motivating more companies to weigh their climate, social and governance-driven business decisions, what will matter in the months and years to come – notwithstanding the results of the 2020 U.S. presidential election – are the voices of corporate leadership, more positive change, as well as people’s appetite to remain informed.
In the last 12 months, ESG as a search term in the U.S. reached near peak popularity
(94) in January, according to Google Trends. Google rates search terms on a scale of 1-100. A value of 100 is the peak popularity for the term. At the time, MSCI CEO Henry Fernandez said investment managers would be greatly remiss if they ignored sustainable investment criteria. As reported by CNBC: “We are sounding the alarm bells that if you are an investment institution and you’re not embracing this and taking it into account, it’s going to be at your own peril.” In 2019, Morningstar reported ESG funds saw record inflows.
“ESG” search fell off a cliff in March and April, clocking in at a Google Trends score of 29-59, as interests shifted to the pandemic. Then something happened in May and June when the score shot right back up to 100.
The investment community connected the dots between global health and the eventual economic crisis to how private sector attitudes and action could lead to a more prepared world, a better world.
One where a greener planet, more workplace diversity, and a more inclusive definition of the word “stakeholder” wasn’t just lip service.
Wall Street responded. On the equities front, the Wall Street Journal reported that amid market turmoil, ESG-themed investments performed well and in some cases better than non-ESG plays.
On the policy front, Bloomberg reported The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Investor Advisory Committee advised the “time has come” for the agency to consider requirements for certain environmental, social, and governance factors in public company disclosures.
On the corporate front, Reuters reported that Citigroup launched a new ESG investment banking unit. Several weeks later, Citi would become the first among the largest banks to name a female CEO.
Of course, progress is not without its roadblocks.
In June, the U.S. Department of Labor said it would try to keep ESG investment options from retirement plans because they put the fiduciary in a position to potentially prioritize social good before investment returns. Then we were reminded why balloons aren’t made of lead.
People spurred into action.
ThinkAdvisor reported that since the DOL announced the proposal, “the department has reportedly collected about 1,500 comments, though it only posted 1,100 comments on its website — most of them negative, except for a handful from conservative political groups such as Americans for Prosperity and the Conservative Union.”
What’s more, we’ve still got three-and-half months left! Just what will our questions, our conversation, and our curiosity bring before we ring in a new year? Whatever positive change that may be, there is science to help make the case. This is me reaching but check this out.
In November 2015, two scientists published a report titled “The Psychology and Neuroscience of Curiosity.” Among the things they considered is how much of our time we spend seeking and consuming information that goes beyond our basic survival, this includes those Wikipedia and IMDB rabbit holes that we fall down into from time to time. Among many other things, what the scientists learned is that “our insatiable demand for information drives much of the global economy.”
How about that?
The production, distribution and consumption of goods and services in the entire world relies on your constant desire to learn.
Now, it stands to reason that this curiosity could be driving ESG, too.
Check out the blog and more from Business Wire here.
Our co-founder, Andrew Healy, recently chatted with Matt Halloran of the Top Advisor Marketing podcast, where they talked about:
– How COVID-19 forced RIAs to adapt – and in many cases, adopt for the first time – their digital marketing approach
– How it changed the client experience overnight and how advisors can use technology to their advantage
– And why fundamental aspects of advice-giving was able to shine during the dark early days of the pandemic
– And more!
The episode is available here and you can check out the full list of Top Advisor Marketing podcasts at https://topadvisorm.blubrry.net/.
Let us know what you think in the comments.
If your firm needs help changing perceptions, building awareness, or driving growth, you’ve come to the right place. Reach out to us–we’d love to hear from you!
Way cool! Some very valid points! I appreciate you
penning this article plus the rest of the website is really good.