It must have been my eighth trip to the New York Stock Exchange. Each time I step on to the floor, I close my eyes and try to imagine what it must have been like to get wrapped up in a typhoon of traders dashing across the exchange to fill their orders before the closing bell. It makes my hair stand up on the back of my neck.
Today, it’s a foray of flat screens, ambient lighting and computerized pods which enclose the last of the human brokers. It’s no secret that the floor of the exchange has become a marketing tool. The place is iconic if not the structural epicenter of American capitalism. It also makes the perfect environment for launching an IPO as well as an exciting backdrop for reporting financial news.
“NYSE’s several hundred traders and brokers are the face Wall Street, and form a crucial part of the NYSE brand, which is perhaps the best known in the financial industry. The stock exchange packs a marketing punch few, if any, businesses can match. But given that computers dominate stock trading just about everywhere else around the world—and play a pretty big role at NYSE, too—it’s reasonable to ask whether the people milling around the trading floor at 11 Wall Street in Manhattan are worth keeping around. Critics argue that it’s a façade for television cameras, a kind of capitalist Disneyland.” –Why robot traders haven’t replaced all the humans at the New York Stock Exchange—yet
When I left my car in Jersey City on Thursday, the Dow was coughing up nearly two thirds of its monster 1000 plus point rip from the day before. “Figures,” I said to myself as I made my way to the PATH station and crossed the Hudson River. While walking through the exchange’s metal detectors, I caught a glimpse of TV screen. I did a double take. The Dow was now slightly up. Something was happening.
I once again stepped onto the floor of the exchange. This time, I chose not to close my eyes since the Dow just reversed 700 points in what seemed like an instant. While no one was running around screaming with buy orders in hand, you could feel the additional energy as veteran brokers pointed up to the big board in awe. I was led to the greenroom. A small little balcony perched above it all.
Face ripping.
The US markets ripped straight into the closing bell as I bared witness to one of the biggest intraday swings in market history. Across the way, at my eye level, I watched The United Way of Greater Union County rap the gavel to close out the day’s wild session. Ironically, I happen to live in Union County. People were cheering. Babies were being born (kidding). I then closed my eyes and imagined order tickets filling the air like confetti on New Year’s Day.
“Mr. Boneparth, are you ready for makeup?” I snapped back to reality.
I often joke that I spend 50% of my day marketing, doing something to promote my business and brand. While that number might be a bit exaggerated, it’s probably not far from the truth. I broke down how my marketing machine works in the past, but the shorter version in this. Content creates credibility. Which is exactly what you need when you’re just one of several hundreds of thousands of financial advisors in the country. You must answer the question, “Why me?”
It’s always a high honor and privilege to go on TV and broadcast your professional opinion to millions of viewers. I’ll admit some of the allure of being at the exchange is lost on me, however the opportunity to create meaningful content never is. I rarely say no to a reporter looking for lines, so I’ll bend over backwards for a TV segment. How can I afford not to seize these moments of instant credibility? I simply can’t. Just look at what I get to do with it.
Within 15 minutes of the closing bell’s final ring, the once bustling floor was now empty except for a few final tours making their rounds. The energy that had once engulfed the entire room was sucked out to streets of Manhattan just as quickly as the Dow went from deep red to bright green. In an eerie yet quiet moment on the floor, I was brought on the CNBC stage and mic’d up. The producer wished me luck through my earpiece as I sat there, chest pounding, smiling into Camera 6.
It is the fool that believes I incorrectly traded several hours of my day (on vacation nonetheless) for a few seconds of airtime, feeding my ego more than anything else. It is the same fool that thinks the floor of the exchange is where the real trading takes place. However, when you view things through a marketing lens, you can extract more value than what lies on the surface, or in this case the floor. You can dig up troves of content to be used for your own devices. The NYSE gets it. News organizations sure as hell get it. Do you get it?
Sara: How much anxiety is there from your clients right now?
Me: Very little, if not none.
Sara: Really?
Me: Absolutely. You know, content wins.