Reports and Guides

Customer-centricity isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s a growth strategy. Engaged, loyal customers don’t just spend more—they come back more often, cost less to retain, and fuel stronger lifetime value. But building the kinds of experiences that truly matter takes more than good intentions. Ace brands—as defined by Braze—are top-performing companies that put customer-centricity at the core of their operations. They’re data-fueled, experience-driven, and focused on the full customer lifecycle. Backed by exclusive findings from the 2025 Braze Customer Engagement Review and insights from VML’s proprietary research, this guide unpacks the 10 critical areas in which top brands excel—and how the potent Braze x VML partnership helps make it happen. What you’ll learn: What defines an Ace brand—and how to become one Where “Activate” and “Accelerate” brands are on their journey Real-world strategies to drive engagement, loyalty, and revenue

Customer engagement is a high-stakes operation for financial services companies entrusted with customers’ life savings, insurance coverage, refinancing, and more. As an industry built on trust, financial institutions can demonstrate their commitment to customers with every well-timed interaction or relevant message. The 2025 Financial Services Customer Engagement Review examines key trends for financial institutions in 2025. In this Braze analysis, uncover: The top trends in customer engagement for financial services in 2025, including how brands can use them to build trust with customers. Strategies for identifying blind spots in understanding customer sentiment that hinder long-term connection. How a modern tech stack enables personalized experiences and more robust customer segmentation.

Customers have been receiving text messages from their favorite brands since long before the availability of smart phones and apps. RCS (short for Rich Communication Services) introduces even more functionality to the channel, bringing branded messaging and rich media to customers—all within the native messaging apps they already use. Need a little help getting started with this powerful new channel? You’re in luck. We’ve curated a collection of 20+ inspirational RCS and text messaging use cases, inspired by real campaigns from Braze customers, to show you what’s possible. Check out this exclusive guide to uncover: An RCS marketing overview How leading brands are already using the channel Activation, monetization, and retention campaigns you can use immediately

Customer-centricity isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s a growth strategy. Engaged, loyal customers don’t just spend more—they come back more often, cost less to retain, and fuel stronger lifetime value. But building the kinds of experiences that truly matter takes more than good intentions. Ace brands—as defined by Braze—are top-performing companies that put customer-centricity at the core of their operations. They’re data-fueled, experience-driven, and focused on the full customer lifecycle. Backed by exclusive findings from the 2025 Braze Customer Engagement Review and insights from VML’s proprietary research, this guide unpacks the 10 critical areas in which top brands excel—and how the potent Braze x VML partnership helps make it happen. What you’ll learn: What defines an Ace brand—and how to become one Where “Activate” and “Accelerate” brands are on their journey Real-world strategies to drive engagement, loyalty, and revenue