News Australia looks to build on trust and human guidance as finance decisions become more complex

News Australia presented four commercial solutions across banking, insurance, superannuation and utilities that position its trusted information and human guidance as increasingly important for consumers navigating complex financial decisions.

The products, unveiled at the Beyond'27 Finance and Essential Services showcase on Thursday, aim to give brands a platform to translate complex financial topics into clear information and guidance before consumers compare alternative providers.

READ MORE: News Australia puts trust before AI in travel push

Consumers still value human support when decisions matter

The launch was underpinned by The Growth Distillery research into changing expectations among Australian consumers across financial services.

Among its findings was that people still want human support when it comes to banking. While 82% of Australians use a mobile banking app, 66% still prefer human support when it counts.

Leigh Lavery, General Manager of The Growth Distillery, told attendees that looking ahead, “the winners will turn complexity into clarity, information into human guidance, and service into something people can trust again.”

READ MORE: The sports fan has changed. News Australia says marketers haven’t

Anxious, informed and still actively making financial decisions

Julie-anne Sprague, Wealth Editor at The Australian, followed with a panel featuring Gillian Bowen, CommSec’s Head of Media and Markets, PropTrack Senior Economist Eleanor Creagh and News24 Business Reporter and Presenter Ed Boyd.

The discussion explored consumer anxiety, the trust problem created by an abundance of information, changing financial audience demographics and the impact of housing on spending and decision-making.

Targeting different stages of the financial decision-making journey

Taylor Oberman, News Australia Finance and Essential Services Industry Director, introduced the new products to brands, marketers and agency leaders in the room.

She led with Invested, a campaign focused on women’s financial confidence, and Stress Tested, a video series exploring real stories of business success and failure hosted by news.com.au finance editor Benjamin Graham and senior reporter Harrison Christian.

The solutions also included Wealth of the Nation, an always-on editorial initiative exploring how Australians are navigating property, superannuation and personal finance, and Switch On, a digital-first series targeting key household review periods and reaching consumers as they research and compare providers.

Speaking to Mediaweek after the presentation, Oberman said she was proud to present the solutions and establish News Australia's presence in the finance and essential services market.

Looking ahead, Oberman highlighted how News Australia collaborates with AI as an interesting trend in the category.

“The way that we collaborate with AI is probably going to be the most interesting trend that we're going to see moving forward, like specifically within the category.”

“Trust in those platforms is evolving. So, I think that's why human interaction or the human role still plays a really significant part in any of the work that we've presented today.”

Audience, credibility and context

Michelle Martinis, Head of Home Ownership Marketing at NAB, was impressed with News Australia’s presentation, calling it market-leading, evidence-driven and data-led.

“Speaking for myself, I think the News Corp platform is incredibly important. Reaching 18 million Australians on things that matter to them and the ecosystem of solutions that News provides is something that needs to be considered by all in terms of financial services.”

Natalie Cohen, Senior Director, Strategic Implementation at Opteon Property Group, highlighted the breadth of News Australia’s environments and its audience reach as particular standout points.

“It's a varied narrative that really gets the eyeballs, and seeing that no matter who you're trying to reach, there's an environment where you can tap into, and it's a trusted, credible environment.”