Addressing diversity in scheme communications

As a self-confessed softie who looks forward to the reveal of all the major Christmas ad campaigns, I thought it was a good one.

Imagine my surprise when one of my clients told me she had telephoned John Lewis to complain because she believed it to marginalise those without a ‘significant other’ at Christmas. 

It is an extreme example, I know, but it is a good illustration of how one size rarely fits all.

It is also a great example of how emotion often trumps logic. For those of us in the pensions industry who, let’s be honest, rely mostly on logic when we design communication, it is a lesson to be learnt. 

Catering to differences

In an ideal world, we would speak on a one-to-one basis to all of our members. We would understand how they think and make decisions, what they value and what keeps them up at night.

Why? Because when we understand our members we are better placed to connect with and shape their behaviour.

While key information such as age, business and location is available to us, our industry does not always do a good job of catering to these differences.

Companies that use employee data to shape their communication strategies get better results.

They produce communications that are more likely to engage, educate and empower and, most importantly, drive action. 

In the UK pensions industry we may be a little cautious, but our US clients are already adopting this approach in targeting their members

So how can we incorporate this into our regular communication with members? 

Tailored communication

While there may be a tendency to assume an older audience is not necessarily ‘tech-savvy’, this is rapidly changing.

According to the Office for National Statistics, 95 per cent of 45-54 year-olds and 87 per cent of 55-64 year-olds are using the internet – and access by mobile phone is also on the increase, doubling between 2010 and 2014, to 58 per cent.

It’s a no-brainer: online communications make a lot of sense.

In the UK pensions industry we may be a little cautious, but our US clients are already adopting this approach in targeting their members.

In a recent campaign conducted for a large US provider, we split the audience into 24 segments, including by gender and age (using three age categories: 18-34, 35-54 and 55+). 

The campaign focused on personal reminiscence, conveying the passage of time and reminding members of how quickly time passes.

It connected them to relevant images, moments of history from their youth and urged them to make history today.

The moments (which included first man on the moon, colour TV, the launch of the internet, etc) were, of course, relevant to their own ‘lifeline’ and gender.

The messages were targeted as follows: 32 per cent were targeted to sign up, 34 per cent to save more, 23 per cent to look at their investment allocations and 11 per cent to consolidate their accounts.

The results were very telling. 

There was a 63 per cent increase in average savings during 2014, including a 38 per cent increase in response rate from females aged 18-34.

There was also a 72 per cent year-on-year increase in new enrolments. 

The evidence points to the fact that targeted messages drive results. The emotive power of personal reminiscence was effective.

Operating in the online space also allows people to do something in response to the messaging – the ‘big red button’ moment – facilitating their immediate decisions.

However, if we want to drive members to take action, we have to first get their attention, and to do that we need to recognise – and celebrate – member diversity.

Karen Partridge is head of client services, UK and Australia, at AHC