Susan Bray

Chief Strategist & Head of Financial Services

Susan Bray
19
Years at BFT

Recognition

W3 Silver Award, Davey Silver Award, Financial Communications Society Portfolio Awards

It starts with strategy…and Susan. She oversees the research, discovery and analysis that informs our brand-building and marketing campaign strategies. Whether it’s one of our investment or wealth management clients or an automation client, for Susan, it’s not just about the thinking at the onset of a project. It’s also about connecting the dots throughout, being ready to spot opportunities, and helping guide client initiatives to smooth launches.

While Susan has made BFT her work home for more than a decade, she leverages her previous client-side experiences as Director of Marketing at Morningstar Investment Services where she helped launch a managed portfolios program and Director, Marketing Communications at Business Logic to develop strategies and tactics that will deliver against their campaign objectives. Having spent much of her career working with financial companies, Susan is among the SMEs we rely on when creating marketing solutions for our investment management, wealth management, fintech, and banking clients.

“Strategy is the glue that shapes the solution, holds everything together, and ensures initiatives stay on point.”

Fast Facts

  • Has led marketing initiatives for more than 50 financial services brands.
  • Has interviewed hundreds of financial advisors, registered investment advisors, and portfolio managers.
  • Loves being a marketer in one of the most regulated industries.
  • An urban-minded suburbanite.
  • Admits to being a little bit competitive.
  • Never stops asking questions.
  • The AI Tool We Actually Built (and Why Strategy Came First)

    The AI Tool We Actually Built (and Why Strategy Came First)

    See the AI marketing tools BFT actually built for clients and why strategy, not the tool, is still what makes them work.

  • Trade Show Marketing for Manufacturers: The Digital Campaign Around Your Booth

    Trade Show Marketing for Manufacturers: The Digital Campaign Around Your Booth

    B2B buyers don’t search for generalists. They search for the firm that solves their exact problem. Here’s how to make sure you’re the one they find.

  • Owning a Niche: Digital Marketing for Specialist Firms

    Owning a Niche: Digital Marketing for Specialist Firms

    B2B buyers don’t search for generalists. They search for the firm that solves their exact problem. Here’s how to make sure you’re the one they find.

  • AI for Institutional Fund Marketing: Smarter Positioning, Targeting, and Growth

    AI for Institutional Fund Marketing: Smarter Positioning, Targeting, and Growth

    Marketing investment solutions to RIAs, institutional allocators, plan sponsors, and platforms has never been easy. These audiences are sophisticated, selective, and constantly evaluating new opportunities. They’re also inundated with information. At Blue Flame Thinking (BFT), we’re seeing AI reshape how asset and investment managers approach institutional fund marketing. AI can help teams work smarter, uncover…

  • B2B Marketing Benchmarks in 2026: Targets vs Diagnostic Lens

    B2B Marketing Benchmarks in 2026: Targets vs Diagnostic Lens

    Our asset management clients often ask what benchmarks they should be aiming for. It’s a fair question, but a tricky one. Many financial services marketing benchmarks don’t focus solely on asset managers and may mix different audiences with varied buying behaviors. The result: measuring your marketing against misaligned benchmarks can lead to misleading conclusions. That’s…

  • Key Trends Shaping Investment and Wealth Management Marketing in 2026

    Key Trends Shaping Investment and Wealth Management Marketing in 2026

    As a B2B digital marketing firm with a specialty in investment management and wealth management marketing, we know how important it is to stay on top of the trends affecting our clients. You face a rapidly evolving landscape where success depends on AI-driven personalization, trust-building strategies, and intuitive digital experiences. Firms that embrace these trends…

  • Financial Marketing in 2026: What Advisors Really Need to Focus On

    Financial Marketing in 2026: What Advisors Really Need to Focus On

    What should financial advisors really focus on in their marketing in 2026? Drawing on insights from a recent Wealth Management/Informa webinar, our team breaks down three core principles every advisor should embrace: being intentional with your strategy, using the right channels to reach your audiences, and showing up consistently with a clear message. Here’s what…

  • From Leads to Revenue: How a RevOps Strategy Bridges the Gap

    From Leads to Revenue: How a RevOps Strategy Bridges the Gap

    Marketing teams increasingly rely on a RevOps strategy to align data, processes, and technology across the buyer journey. As revenue operations marketing grows in importance, B2B organizations need connected systems and shared revenue goals to scale predictably.

  • Setting Your B2B Digital Marketing Strategy for 2026

    Setting Your B2B Digital Marketing Strategy for 2026

    Learn how to build a forward-looking digital marketing strategy for 2026 to drive growth in B2B/industrial sectors.

  • Wealth Management Marketing: Why Working with an Experienced Marketing Firm Matters

    Wealth Management Marketing: Why Working with an Experienced Marketing Firm Matters

    The last few years have brought significant activity in the wealth management space, with headlines featuring acquisitions, consolidations, expansions, advisor movement, marketing trends, and new efficiency solutions. Recent reports project that 20% of asset and wealth managers will be acquired by the end of 2029 and discuss reaching wider audiences and planning for future growth.  At BFT,…

Grand Rapids, Michigan

625 Kenmoor Ave SE, Suite 301-3
Grand Rapids, MI 49546

Chicago, Illinois

Remote offices in Chicago and suburbs

Firestarters

Subscribe to our newsletter on LinkedIn

Blue Flame Thinking

© 2026 Blue Flame Thinking