Listen to the ASX team on Brand Intelligence
How do you rebuild confidence in one of the world’s most scrutinized financial markets?
In this episode of the Brand Intelligence Podcast, William Tyree speaks with Theresa Lintvelt and Alex Skelton from the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) about the strategy behind their award-winning “Capital with Confidence” campaign. At a time when global IPO activity had slowed and market narratives had turned negative, the ASX marketing team set out to shift perception and remind audiences of the exchange’s underlying strength as a listings destination. 
They discuss how the campaign used powerful statistics, audience-specific messaging and data-driven insights to reach founders, bankers, lawyers and investors influencing IPO decisions. The team also shares how close collaboration between marketing and the listings sales team helped turn complex financial data into compelling creative — and why those insights became the backbone of the campaign.
You’ll also hear how the campaign performed, including a 270% increase in website traffic and strong adoption of campaign messaging by the sales team, who began using the creative in their own pitches.
Learn more about ASX at https://www.asx.com.au/
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Episode Transcript
William Tyree:
Welcome to the Brand Intelligence Podcast, the show where we pull back the curtain on some of the world’s smartest brands. I’m your co-host, William Tyree, and today we’re speaking with a team from the Australian Securities Exchange about how they reframed market confidence at a critical time.
Theresa and Alex, welcome to the show.
Theresa Lintvelt:
Thanks for having us.
Alex Skelton:
Great to be here.
William:
Before we get into the campaign, we like to start with a quick question. If you were walking out to give a marketing keynote, what would your theme song be?
Theresa:
I’m a huge fan of David Bowie, so I’d pick Changes. For marketers, it really captures the need to adapt as things evolve while still having the resilience to navigate those changes.
William:
Great choice. What about you, Alex?
Alex:
I love early 2000s dance music, so I’d go with Superstylin’ by Groove Armada. It’s high energy, memorable and a bit unexpected. For me, marketing should feel the same way — something people walk away remembering.
William:
I love that. Alright, let’s talk about the campaign. Your “Capital with Confidence” campaign won a Brandy Award, and ASX operates in one of the most scrutinized financial environments in the world.
What was happening in the market at the time that shaped the message you wanted to put out?
Theresa:
To answer that, it helps to step back a little.
Before COVID, there was a surge in IPO activity globally. Low interest rates and strong economic conditions meant companies were actively raising capital and investors were eager to participate. At that time, we were seeing around 130 companies list on the ASX each year.
By 2023, that momentum had slowed significantly. Market volatility had increased and annual listings dropped to about 50 — less than half of what we had previously seen.
By early 2024, the slowdown had created a persistent negative narrative about the IPO market, both in Australia and internationally. Much of that commentary came from external observers and media coverage questioning the health of listings markets.
However, because IPO sales cycles are long, we knew the reality was more nuanced. We still had a strong pipeline of companies considering listings.
That’s when we felt it was the right moment to launch the Capital with Confidence campaign — to bring more balance to the narrative and highlight the underlying strength of ASX as a listings destination.
William:
Why do you think the market slowed so dramatically?
Theresa:
It wasn’t just COVID. There were broader economic shifts happening globally. Different exchanges were adjusting listing rules and governance frameworks, and investor sentiment became more cautious.
Alex:
Exactly. When markets become volatile, people naturally become more conservative. That hesitation was reflected in the years following.
William:
One of the things that stood out in the campaign was the use of bold statistics. It’s not every organization that can credibly talk about trillions in market value.
How did you approach the research and decide which data points to use?
Theresa:
We worked very closely with our listings team to ensure the statistics we used were completely accurate. There were a lot of discussions about which numbers would resonate most and how best to present them.
Alex:
The listings team is extremely data-driven. When they walk into a pre-IPO conversation with a prospective company, the facts have to be right.
What we did was dig into those numbers and keep asking a simple question: Why does this matter?
For example, saying ASX is number one globally for metals and mining listings is a statistic — but when you understand why that matters to companies in those sectors, it becomes a powerful marketing message.
Once we found those insights, marketing could shape them into something compelling.
