Whether a brand’s story is told in local cities or across the world, we are at its side. The journey to the intersection of insightful thinking and your business growth starts the minute we rev the engine.
Water & Wall is an award-winning marketing and communications agency whose best work exists at the intersection of inspired thinking and your business growth.
In every engagement, we tailor our clients’ unique communications strategy to align with their overall business goals.
We only apply a given service if it gets clients on track to achieve their goals and we do this across the entire financial ecosystem: from asset management to RIAs, blockchain to crypto, consulting to accounting and more. We’re experts at designing integrated plans that serve as roadmaps…
Whether a brand’s story is told in local cities or across the world, we are at its side. The journey to the intersection of insightful thinking and your business growth starts the minute we rev the engine.
We’re business people first, communicators second.
Here’s a handful of the many friends we’ve made along the way:
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.
Solomon Partners has the unique distinction of being one of the first independent investment banks, yet unlike many of their peers who have long since sold, merged or fizzled away, Solomon Partners is not only still here… they’re thriving!
We were brought on to create an integrated communications strategy for their CEO, leveraging his decades of experience and insights – his fantastic personality was a bonus – across traditional and social media channels.
Supported by a strong M&A environment, we immediately got to work, securing media coverage in Bloomberg TV, Business Insider, Financial Times, Forbes and Fortune, among others. We also created a new LinkedIn series to help build up his digital network, writing a monthly column showcasing his thoughts on everything from M&A trends to the impact of COVID-19 to the future of the workplace.
The need for greater diversity within finance is fortunately (and finally!) gaining the attention it so desperately deserves. And at the center of this movement is a non-profit that is literally changing the face of investing: Girls Who Invest.
Water & Wall has been a fan of Girls Who Invest since they first launched and we’re still pinching ourselves that we get to work together. We were initially brought on board to develop their corporate messaging and positioning, as well as launch a media relations campaign to increase their awareness within the asset management and broader business communities.
As GWI grew, so did our communications strategy, and we took over their social media to help grow their digital presence and better connect with their audience. By combining our strong social experience and graphic design capabilities, we worked with GWI’s internal team to create an entirely new social strategy. In just one year, we’ve increased their LinkedIn & Instagram followers by more than 200% and launched a series of ongoing creative campaigns that is driving audience engagement.
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.
We’ve worked with Snowden Lane Partners, a $9 billion independent wealth advisory firm, for nearly their entire existence. As one of our agency’s first clients, it’s been a privilege watching them become the RIA powerhouse they are today, and there’s been no shortage of exciting news and stories to share along the way.
We’ve taken a largely earned media-first approach to help increase – and then maintain – their brand awareness in an increasingly crowded RIA landscape. This has led to hundreds of articles in leading financial advisor publications such as Citywire, Financial Advisor IQ, Financial Planning, Investment News and WealthManagement.com, among others, as well as top-tier outlets such as Barron’s, Forbes, Financial Times and The Wall Street Journal.
In recent years, we started creating thought leadership-driven content to help shine a light on their executive team and expand their reach on LinkedIn and other channels.
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.
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
For the EY U.S. Tax business, we rebuilt their earned media relations program from the ground up and took ownership of its executive leadership team’s social media presence all with the intention of giving them a leading voice on critical global issues.
Beginning February 2021, we helped the consultant hone its messaging, coached a new roster of intellectually diverse subject matter experts and strategically selected top-tier, trade and broadcast media outlets for those experts to dispatch that message. Water & Wall also managed the social media profile of the head of the 7,000-team-member U.S. Tax business, distributing content and increasing followers by 48% on Twitter and 17% on LinkedIn.
The earned media program addressed themes from global corporate tax policy, to crypto currency and blockchain, to payroll, to the implementation of technology as it relates to tax, among other topics.
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.
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.
with a focus on ESG
honoring our work
we've worked with
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.
AVP / Head of ESG & Sustainability
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
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.
Associate Account Director
As the shy kid who loved creative writing growing up, Rebecca (or Becks as her colleagues call her) found her passion when she entered the world of communications 5+ years ago. Having experienced the true agency life, Becks has represented clients in more industries than she can count on both hands, eventually finding her footing in the world of financial PR. Challenging industries with a great story to tell are Becks’ favorite clients and she’ll never get sick of pitching breaking news. When she’s not working from her (home) office, Becks can be found hanging with Corgi, Gideon at the closest brewery around.
Senior 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
Kevin’s path into financial communications began at the sports desk of his college newspaper, of all places. He fell in love with writing, ditched his original plan to apply to business school and opted for a communications degree instead. Post-graduation, a passion for storytelling served as the thread that tied both plans together, as he began serving clients in the corporate and financial services group at his first agency. Having spent the past three years working with private equity firms, alternative asset managers and hedge funds, Kevin relishes opportunities to turn the small details into significant stories for his clients. And if he’s not at his desk, he’s either fulfilling his duties as The Fun Uncle to his eight nieces and nephews, or less importantly, continuing his search for the perfect egg sandwich.
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.
Our co-founder, Andrew Healy, recently chatted with Mark McClennan of the Ethical Voices podcast, where they talked about: Why honesty...
READ MOREMothers deserve more than a once-a-year holiday—especially moms who have endured hardships. That’s why Water & Wall sponsored a week-long...
READ MOREIs this our agency book case or a trophy case? Either way, we’re keeping what’s on it…just in case. Each...
READ MOREOur co-founder, Andrew Healy, recently chatted with Mark McClennan of the Ethical Voices podcast, where they talked about:
The episode is available here and you can check out the full list of Ethical Voices podcasts at https://www.ethicalvoices.com. Let us know what you think in the comments.
Mothers deserve more than a once-a-year holiday—especially moms who have endured hardships. That’s why Water & Wall sponsored a week-long 5k virtual charity run, spanning from Mother’s Day, May 9th through May 16th, in partnership with a charity near and dear to our heart: Providence House.
For more than 40 years, this Brooklyn-based non-profit has provided housing and other support measures to homeless, abused, and formerly incarcerated women. Providence House also assists women in the justice system who would otherwise be awaiting trial at Rikers Island—New York City’s main jail complex.
“It’s well documented that the conditions on Rikers are quite horrific,” explains Providence House executive director Danielle Minelli Pagnotta. “It’s traumatizing for the people there as well as their family members—particularly for children whose mothers are in custody.”
Providence House consequently seeks to diminish the approximately 280 women currently on Rikers through its transitional housing program, known as an “ATD”—”Alternative to Detention.”
With eight homes across Brooklyn and one in Westchester County, Providence House’s trauma-informed approach helps women prepare to navigate their lives after justice involvement or homelessness. This is achieved by helping them advance their education, cultivate job skills, and obtain the long-term employment needed to secure permanent housing.
“Many of these women have experienced severe trauma, including domestic violence or sexual assault,” notes Minelli Pagnotta. “We aim to provide care in a way that doesn’t cause further harm while empowering them to move forward in a stable and meaningful way.”
Coping Through Covid
Despite challenges brought forth by the Coronavirus pandemic, Providence House maintained its logistical operations with minimal disruption. However, social distancing mandates forced it to abandon the traditional in-person gatherings it relied on to generate significant chunks of its charitable donations. So, last year the organization pivoted to a virtual fundraising drive that ultimately inspired this year’s virtual 5k road race, letting participants run (or walk) in a geographically isolated manner in compliance with CDC guidelines.
“This was something new to us, but it had two main benefits,” asserts Minelli Pagnotta. “One was obviously our ability to raise money. But it also let us build in some physical activity and motivation with our staff and our residents. It’s just amazing what a little bit of sunshine and fresh air can do after the year we’ve had.”
A Natural Partnership
Like many of the best collaborations, the alliance between Water & Wall and Providence House emerged organically, building on the charity’s existing relationship with our creative director, Katie Colleary, who has done pro-bono work for Providence House for more than 10 years and who designed the logo for the race’s official T-shirt.
“Katie very willingly said ‘yes,’ when we asked for her help with the logo,” recalls Minelli Pagnotta. “And the agency took it a step further by becoming a sponsor to help underwrite the cost of the event, and forming their own team, inclusive of many staffers. For that, we’re forever grateful.”
The nearly $30,000 Providence House raised from the event will help hundreds of mothers and families over the coming weeks and months. Giving back to our communities has always been important to us and our employees, and it was great for everyone to come together for this fantastic event. To all who donated and lent their support, THANK YOU!!!
You can learn more about Providence House, as well as make a donation, at https://www.providencehouse.org/donate.
Is 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.
If your firm needs help changing perceptions, raising awareness, or driving growth, you’ve come to the right place. Reach out to us–we’d love to hear from you!
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