Guild Mortgage Strategic Media Relations and Thought Leadership Campaign

The Challenge

NST was tasked with supporting Guild Mortgage’s overall growth initiatives and marketing plans through a strategic media relations and communications program. Our primary objective was to build wider awareness of Guild Mortgage and its various loan programs in existing and emerging markets, while working to differentiate the company from major competitors in an increasingly fragmented and competitive marketplace.

Guild Mortgage needed strong messaging and positioning to stand out from its competition, including the biggest lending institutions in the U.S and independent non-bank mortgage lenders. NST developed a comprehensive communications campaign showcasing the quality of the company and its innovative mortgage programs, the depth and experience of its people, and its commitment to opening the doors to homeownership in every community it serves. The positioning was also important to help build brand image and reputation in support of Guild’s national growth strategy to acquire smaller firms and enter new markets.

The Tactics

As part of our overall strategic media relations efforts, NST developed a comprehensive thought leadership program designed to position Guild Mortgage and its executive team as industry leaders on key topics important to its business. We worked directly with Guild’s vice president of corporate marketing and communications to establish a team of company executives who would contribute industry insights and expertise for the program. NST provided recommendations on key topics that would generate interest from targeted media, presented them to the thought leadership team and coordinated media outreach on behalf of each subject matter expert.

Once the topics were approved, NST worked directly with the appropriate Guild representative to get their feedback and perspectives on the specific topic, conducted additional research on the latest data and trend information, and drafted the article on their behalf. Our team facilitated placement of articles in major industry trade publications under the bylines of Guild executives. Additionally, NST proactively pitched Guild’s executives to speak on key topics and worked to secure opportunities for them to provide insights and analysis on industry trends.