storytelling-for-a-good-cause

Storytelling for a Good Cause: Helping a Not-For-Profit Support Its Members

The good people at ESSSuper came to The Walk with a worthy challenge. They wanted to help their members live better lives in the future, and there were a lot of lives to consider.

Emergency Services and State Super is a not-for-profit superannuation fund serving Victoria’s emergency service and state employees. It has the second largest payroll in the state of Victoria and manages more than $35 billion AUD in assets.

Members dedicate their lives to helping society, ESSSuper exists to ensure they are able to have the comfortable retirement they deserve, after a life of service.

But general apathy around superannuation and low engagement with the complex world of financial services meant many of their members didn’t fully appreciate how contributing more in super now could lead to significantly better financial outcomes once they’ve left the workforce.

This value is what needed to be impressed on members, giving them the opportunity to make an informed choice about their future. This was marketing to help people who help people, and The Walk jumped at the opportunity to capture their imaginations.

The Project’s Challenge

Tugging on Heartstrings to Grab People’s Attention

There’s so much ‘noise’ in the digital information age. The media is constantly bombarding our minds with stimuli designed to grab our attention. The Walk wanted to cut through the cacophony of brands ringing their own bells and beating their own drums to resonate on an emotional level with ESSSuper’s two main member groups – teachers and emergency workers.

To do so, the agency strategized two subtly different campaigns that would communicate directly to each group, and by doing so, provide ESSSuper with two campaigns for a touch more than the cost of one.

The Project’s Strategy

Marketing is for people, and so The Walk knew it needed to tell a story that affected those who engaged with it. A creative campaign was devised, focusing on someone living their lives far into the future.

This protagonist was a retired member of the super fund – a teacher or emergency services worker, and at a senior age, was now looking back at their life.

Their realization focused on how by reviewing their super fund contribution rate so many years ago, they now were reaping the benefits by having the means to live a wonderful retirement – the type someone who dedicated their own life to helping others truly deserves.

The Walk employed an integrated marketing strategy, using numerous digital and non-digital channels to promote the new campaigns. These included print ads and emails using simple to-interpret visual graphs showing the tangible benefits of having increased one’s superannuation contribution rate early on in one’s career.

The various remuneration rates associated with contrasting contribution rates showed people in easy to visualise metrics the vast cumulative difference these rates have on returns over time. The aim was to get people excited about the difference they could make to their own futures.

The Project’s Results

The campaign delivered an ultra-clear, simple message showing the real-world impacts of adjusting one’s super rate now, so valued members could live out the type of retirement they deserved.

Excited by the positive impacts of this campaign, The Walk continues to partner with ESSSuper on a broader range of marketing projects aimed to help its members, and is proud to be part of such a positive cause.

Sparking People’s Imaginations to Make Them Move

If you’re a not-for-profit organisation doing exceptional work for the world, you need to partner with a marketing agency who specializes in real-world creative, designed to relate with real people. The goal is to get results, and the best outcomes stem from communications using stories that resonate directly with your intended audience.

That said, NFP or not, big brand or small, The Walk has proven itself as more than competent when it comes to solving business problems and achieving optimal outcomes for its partners’ communications.

About The Walk

The Walk is a full-service integrated marketing agency. They will help you build your brand, and attract and nurture the leads that grow your business.