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Scudder
Slide Show
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Scudder 401K plan – “Think Big”
Situation: Scudder asked me to write a series of
weekly postcards aimed at HR professionals at 20,000
American businesses. I asked for the opportunity to
analyze that plan before proceeding.
Goal: Scudder hoped to generate enough business off
this plan to move from the 38th largest provider of 401K
plans to the top 15.
Marketing insight: 401K plans are sold both “bottom
up” and “top down” in companies. In other words, we had
to sell the HR people choosing Scudder as well as the
C-Level executives on approving them.
Creative insight #1: We needed a plan that made a
long-lasting impact, because it’s not possible to predict
when a company will add or change a 401K provider. So we
designed a 4-part, high-impact direct mail campaign,
concentrated over 3 months, to HR pros.
Creative insight #2: Somehow, we had to give C-Level
executives “permission” to approve Scudder. So we ran a
concentrated advertising campaign in high-impact business
magazines like Forbes and Fortune.
Creative insight #3: Scudder had to be different
somehow from the “default” choices (Fidelity, Schwab,
etc.), so we positioned them as the company that would
allow the consumer to help create the plan they wanted
(“Think Together”).
Results: Direct mail generated a response rate of 8%.
Of the plans sold on leads generated by the campaign, 2
were larger than ANY plan Scudder had ever sold before.
At the conclusion of this campaign, Scudder had become the
12th largest provider of 401K plans.
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NEJM
Slide Show
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The New England Journal of Medicine
Situation: The New England Journal of Medicine is the
world’s leading medical journal. However, in recent years,
they have faced increased competition from specialty
publications.
Goal: To reaffirm subscriber’s connection to the Journal,
strengthen the brand and create a consistent foundation for all
marketing efforts.
Marketing insight: Physicians and the Journal share a set
of core values. The Journal reinforces the humanistic values
that lead doctors to become doctors in the first place.
Creative insight #1: Physicians are scientists, and believe
in “show” not “tell.” That means our ads are open to interpretation
based on their experiences, and that our direct mail efforts draw
liberally on the breakthroughs the Journal provided.
Creative insight #2: Physicians subscribe to the Journal
because they are curious and interested in learning (often, they
fell in love with it in med school). That led to our tag line
– “Never Stop Learning.”
Creative insight #3: Physicians are busy. We can’t waste
their time with features that are not benefit-driven, ads that
are copy-laden, web pages that are hard to navigate – usability
is part of our brand.
Results: The New England Journal of Medicine is one of the
strongest brands in the world, for any product.
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WBUR
Slide Show
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WBUR
Situation: I worked on direct mail for WBUR for more than
10 years. When I started, they were raising about $60,000 through
the mail.
Goal: To increase the amount and percentage of money raised
through the mail, so on-air fundraising could be reduced.
Marketing insight: There is more than one target audience
– some people give whenever asked, some people only give once a
year, some people are on the fence about ever giving again.
Creative insight #1: We needed different messages for
different audiences. Accordingly, we adjusted our mailings to
reflect these differences in each target.
Creative insight #2: Public radio listeners are curious,
informed, and extremely dedicated to their stations. We needed
creative executions that were in sync with that ethic.
Creative insight #3: Part of our new strategy was to ask
for donations more frequently; that meant we needed many more
creative executions. Over my time working on this account, I
created more than 30 different creative approaches!
Results: At the end of my tenure, WBUR had increased the
money raised through direct mail by more than tenfold!
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