case studies

scottish provident high wire britain

In December 2008, Scottish Provident commissioned a study through Ipsos MORI, one of the most highly regarded research companies in the UK. The survey set about investigating attitudes towards money, consumer habits, debt, financial planning and issues related to protection and insurance. The findings of the study revealed that across Britain there is a significant gap between the high standard of living that people enjoy and their willingness to protect the income that makes their lifestyle choices possible. Therefore they are balancing on a high wire. For this reason, the outcomes of the study and the campaign that followed became known as ‘High Wire Britain’.

the brief

Scottish Provident were keen to publicise the findings of the ‘High Wire Britain' study in order to provide an insight for their IFAs allowing them to recognise the major gaps and understand the attitudes of the end consumer.  Scottish Provident wanted to provide sales tools and literature for IFAs to use with their clients, to ensure they are adequately protected for whatever life may hold in store. 

LEWIS was asked to develop a strategy for the digital output of a campaign to promote High Wire Britain's research findings.  We worked alongside the client and their offline agency to create a plan for the roll out of the campaign throughout the year.  It was decided that, rather than one large campaign covering a variety of messages, it would be more effective to run a series of mini campaigns throughout 2009. Each phase focusing on a few key findings thus developing momentum and creating continual interest as the findings were gradually revealed.

our idea

Throughout 2009, three ‘High Wire Britain' mini campaigns were launched as follows:

‘High Wire Britain' - The launch of the High Wire themed campaign focussed on the concerns and values that respondents had about maintaining their standards of living.

‘Your home is your castle' - The follow-up campaign illustrated how important it is for home owners to secure the investment they have made in their home, especially if they have to face a serious life event such as a debilitating illness or redundancy.

‘Blissfully unaware' - The third campaign demonstrated the extent to which consumers turn a blind eye to the likely financial repercussions of not being able to work for a period of time.

Each phase was creatively themed to illustrate its key messages explaining how Scottish Provident protection products could help IFAs' clients plan for the worst case scenario in each instance.

For each campaign LEWIS developed all of the digital elements which included banner advertising, email communication and a dedicated microsite which was updated with the latest theme and material at each phase.  The microsite contained all of the key facts of the campaign from the Ipsos MORI research. These included a literature area inviting IFAs to download sales aids and fact sheets helping them explain the benefits of protection to their clients and a quick quiz. IFAs were encouraged to take part in the quick quiz to further illustrate and understand the findings of the research and, ultimately, to compete to win a prize at each campaign stage.

The online strategy was supported by offline elements including press advertising which followed the same campaign themes and messages.

the outcome

Across the activity period the campaign achieved 3,160 unique visitors to the microsite and generated an additional 81 new leads for Scottish Provident's sales team.  The strategy to stagger mini campaigns throughout the year proved a success in raising awareness and generating increasing interest amongst IFAs as the roll out continued.  Varying the messages and updating the site with fresh content not only kept the user engaged but encouraged search engines to continually visit and index the site.

The ‘High Wire Britain' campaign has allowed Scottish Provident to position themselves as a trusted source of knowledge and a key provider of information and support for IFAs.  The campaign strategy, themes and creative routes transformed what could have been a somewhat dry, statistical information piece into a dynamic and engaging communications channel for Scottish Provident.