My name is Robert Fulcher, and just in case you want a better idea of who I am:

Complex topics, even difficult ones, are fun for me.

I could market shoes or TVs (nothing wrong with either), but writing about financial topics, including taxes, creates a challenge. They’re the marketing equivalent of a sonnet. So many restrictions, nuances, and details that force me to be better. And I’ve spent the last twenty plus years doing just that—writing copy about financial situations that helps people understand the issues, see the opportunities, and take the right actions.

I’m as strategic as I am creative. Whether creating strategy for Go-To-Market, product launches, content, crisis communication, or getting compliance approval on a new marketing approach, I look for better ways to target, reach, engage, and convert. I excel at strategery, those all too frequent instances where the “strategy” provided has too many holes to move forward quickly, if at all. But we need to get moving, so I help fill in the gaps with strong ideas that provide a solid basis for success. At Prudential, I was hired to train the Editorial team to think more strategically. They all have become strategic assets, and some are managing teams of their own.

My resume states that I want “a team who seeks solutions in the space where art and data meet…” The right data doesn’t limit creative any more than financial regulations or complex topics do—it does force them to find other paths. Data diffuses arguments, reveals myths, and recalibrates directions. It results in creative that is “subtle science and exact art,” to quote Prof. Snape. I scare other writers because I prefer not Word, but Excel, in which I’ve discovered better targets, conversion rates patterns, and even risk-defying investment allocations.

All the types of marketing material and advertising listed in almost any job description, I’ve done, on almost every financial product in investments, insurance, and banking. Some of them even won awards. And many (so many) discussed taxes, for individuals and their families, retirees, hope-to be retirees (even hopeless ones), business growers and legacy distributors. I speak financial professional, salesperson, estate planner, lawyer (too well for them), and, to a degree, corporate accountant.

I’m able to take complex topics, about taxes and messy financial topics, and distill them for the unfinancial. I’m as comfortable persuading customers as industry professionals, focusing on the challenges they face and presenting benefits in a compelling and memorable way.

I’ve created stories and narratives that caused a team of financial wholesalers to stop asking me “What’s the next brochure?” and begin asking “What’s the next concept? What’s the next story?” I teach a college app essay workshop to seniors; the focus is brainstorming what they’re passionate about, crafting stories that illustrate those passions, and turning those stories and the lessons learned into an effective, memorable essay. 

I have taken my teams on wild rides at times. Some they appreciated immediately, and others they didn’t, until the completed project gave them a wider perspective. I push them to push the boundaries. I believe in mentoring team members, improving their craft, helping them think more strategically, and lifting them up to the next level of their career. We win as a team, so we all must stretch ourselves to make it happen. 

I will admit that I haven’t much experience marketing software. However, at Lincoln Financial, I helped launch and market a retirement income planning software that focused heavily on addressing both taxes and inflation. It was the fintech lynchpin of a campaign that was meant to rebrand the enterprise. Much like any product team in financial services, the dev team wanted the collateral and digital marketing to show how it worked, but we were able to convince them of the need to focus on the benefits advisors and their clients would gain by using it.

I’ve played many roles in company, officially or unofficially, as lead creative, creative director, director of marketing, marketing strategist, content strategist, even chief value prop manufacturer. I would love the opportunity to a company about joining their team. 

Check out my work and get in contact with me if you would like to know more.