Power in super advertising

Capturing an audience in the superannuation industry remains a challenge and in recent months several funds have rolled out new marketing campaigns to attract the biggest possible market.

The question is, which Australians are paying attention?

Breakfast television viewers would have noticed a flood of superannuation and pension products being advertised by companies such as IOOF, Sunsuper, MLC and Challenger Annuities among others.

Speaking at a recent executive roundtable hosted by Bravura Solutions, Colonial First State head of customer marketing Todd Stevenson, said a lot depends on the objective of the advertising — is it to acquire new customers or build brand recognition?

“Superannuation is, typically, not a directly purchased product. It is typically either ‘sold’ or acquired by default when you join an employer. A lot of the advertising we see today in the superannuation space is about brand recognition and loyalty,” Stevenson said.

“And industry funds have done a brilliant job at that. We have conducted research recently and found that people love their industry fund. When you ask them why, they do not know or can’t really tell you but the perception the advertising creates for this is that their industry fund is great value — perception is reality in the eyes of the individual.”

— via the FINANCIAL STANDARD, Aug 11