“We realised over three years ago that we need to simplify our investment proposition to the market,” says Wynand Gouws, head of marketing at Old Mutual Investment Group.

Gouws also says; “Market research continues to indicate that we had to make our boutique model accessible for consumers.”

Following last year’s launch of the first phase of their wealth expertise led campaign — How much is enough? — to position Old Mutual Wealth, Old Mutual has just launched its latest advertising campaign, with the aim of positioning the strength of its existing investment proposition.

The key message of the campaign focuses on bringing to life the personal investment that the Old Mutual fund managers have in their funds, creating an emotional link with consumers through the message “Invest where our fund managers invest”. This is an emphasis on the fact that Old Mutual Investment Group’s (OMIG) fund managers are required to invest a set percentage of their annual bonuses back into their own funds, thus taking on the same risk as their clients.

“It’s as simple as that; we are all in this together,” says Gouws. “Our fund managers invest alongside their clients, meaning they too are clients of their own funds. Their livelihoods are on the line and their children’s future depends on how well their funds are managed. Ultimately, they have a vested interest to deliver on the ambitions of our clients and treat their money as if it were our own.”

Old Mutual emerging markets chief marketing officer, Mokaedi Dilotsotlhe, says that this integrated marketing campaign is putting its weight behind the Investment Group’s ‘As invested as you are’ value proposition by demonstrating how the company puts its money where its mouth is. “By creating an emotional break-through it aims to strengthen our investment credentials and performance perceptions, demonstrating that our Fund Managers essentially ‘eat their own cooking,’” says Dilotsotlhe.

“Ultimately, we designed this campaign to build credibility as well as showcasing an investment philosophy of accountability, discipline, hard work and a quest for excellence,” says Dilotsotlhe.

Gouws says that he and his colleagues have been building this investment capability for 10 years.  “The second phase of this investment campaign aims to reposition Old Mutual as the investment destination of choice, offering financial expertise, superior performance and responsible investment,” he points out. “We want to show that, while fund managers are extremely clever people, they are just like the rest of us. They also have goals, dreams and ambitions.”

The campaign will be rolled out using above-the-line media such as TV, print, radio and out of home advertising; as well as below the line, digital and public relations strategies. The campaign’s TV commercial was filmed over two days in Braamfontein and the Johannesburg CBD.

Erin Brooks, creative director at Old Mutual’s creative agency FCB, explains that the agency was briefed to come up with a creative concept that gives consumers a compelling reason to believe in OMIG as the most trustworthy investment group to help them achieve their personal greatness.

“We worked off the ‘As Invested as You Are’ proposition to create the big idea of ‘Invest where our fund managers invest’. The proposition and what goes into it is so compelling and that is what made the creative task easy. So seldom in financial advertising do financial service providers have such a strong proposition to take to market,” she says. 

For more information, visit www.oldmutual.co.za. Alternatively, connect with them on Facebook or on Twitter.