By this point in January, many Canadians are probably more focused on paying off what they spent over the holiday season than meeting their long-term financial goals, but Manulife is trying to make sure they’re ready before it’s too late.
Like many other players in the financial services industry, Manulife faces the challenge of getting consumers to think about things that may seem like an unpleasant chore. This includes not only getting their debt in check, but planning for retirement, having an emergency fund in the event of job loss or covering the costs of a family member’s sudden illness or disability. That’s why the firm used Financial Literacy Month this past November to run a campaign so successful its results will inform much of Manulife’s marketing activities for the year ahead.
THE STRATEGY
Plenty of banks and insurance companies run ads suggesting all the great things people could do if they saved more. Manulife took the opposite approach. As Marketing reported last March, the company launched a series of TV spots that depicted scenes with multiple endings — having a baby for example, or having an elderly relative move in — representing various unexpected financial challenges.
According to Jeronimo De Miguel, Manulife’s vice-president of branding and creative, the company was pleased with the level of engagement from those spots, but wanted to learn more.
“The plan was to move from that, which was more about asking people to reflect about their financial readiness, into the idea of readiness associated with tools and things to understand their specific financial situation,” he said.
The “Are You Ready” campaign pointed to Manulife.ca/Ready with more information. But this time, rather than just present data, Manulife intended to gather some. It launched an online Readiness Quiz, which became the centerpiece of its microsite, leveraging previous research from its group benefit retirement benefit services team to create a questionnaire that could be filled out in three minutes. At press time it had been completed more than 54,000 times.
THE RESULTS
Manulife discovered only 28% of Canadians feel they are ready to meet their financial goals. That statistic gives the company a lynchpin around which to develop stories that will help the remaining 72% of the country explore different options to make sure they have peace of mind, De Miguel said.
“In fact, it’s allowed us to talk about readiness more broadly speaking, not just entirely based on financial readiness,” he said. “We are in the business of life and enabling people to life life to the fullest. That’s important, since we are often seen as a company primarily focused on financial products.”
Manulife kicked off the next phase of the campaign by introducing a “Readiness Week” in November with OOH executions, videos and other digital initiatives. The company’s Canadian AOR, DentsuBos, developed a second set of commercials called “Readiness Stories” offering real-life profiles of various working professionals. “Elio the Chief,” for instance, ties the concept of being ready in the kitchen with financial readiness.
A complementary set of “Client Stories” show how Canadians are already working with Manulife to find an advisor and achieve financial stability. Manulife also sponsored a personal finance series in the Globe and Mail (Mindshare works as the company’s media buyer).
On social media, Manulife used the hashtag #LifeReady, which De Miguel said has received more than 10,000 mentions so far.
A fun and interesting quiz to measure your financial readiness. Compare yourself against the nation. #LifeReady https://t.co/ETncnLn7hz
— Marc Hamel (@MarcHamel2) December 18, 2015
THE TAKEAWAY
Of course, data analysis and financial planning have always gone hand-in-hand, even from a marketing perspective. CIBC, for instance, conducts an annual poll to track how Canadians feel about their finances, which was covered by The Toronto Star and other outlets. Online quizzes and calculators are nothing new, either, but De Miguel suggested the key for marketing leaders is to create them with a sense of how you’ll use the data.
“We wanted to be able to look into areas where we could offer a lot more. When you saw people go online, we knew the click-through rates were indicative in where people were least ready – finding an advisor,” he said. “It gives us a chance to be a little more tailored, a little more mindful with curated or created content.”
The other lesson, which may be particularly important for those leading marketing efforts in the financial services sector, is that the value of an online utility can be measured by how few incentives you have to offer.
“What I found was interesting — and we debated this at the beginning when they designed the quiz — is that when you don’t ask for something in return, you get different types of participation. This was done as a bit of a service,” he said, adding that what Manulife is giving back through its most recent creative is better than a gift card or some other prize. “People relate to people. They relate to stories.”
