Tackling the ‘set and forget’ mentality

A new campaign from Colonial First State aims to overcome consumer apathy to superannuation, but can it get people to take control of their life savings?

Colonial First State Group Executive – Customer Office Josh Grace.

Half of all Australians admit their superannuation is on autopilot, with the majority of consumers uncertain about how to manage it, according to Colonial First State.

The investment business has launched a marketing campaign in a bid to address consumer apathy about super and encourage consumers to take control of their life savings. The campaign launch coincides with new research by Chant West for The Australian, which revealed Colonial First State’s superannuation strategies ranked first and second for delivering the best returns over the year to June 30, recording double-digit gains.

Colonial First State group executive – customer office, Josh Grace, told The Growth Agenda that the super category has conditioned consumers to adopt a set and forget mentality.

“People don’t pay attention to their retirement or their super until it’s too late, and that has a massive impact on the quality of their retirement. They’re on autopilot, and they’ve been conditioned by years of industry super comparison-based advertising. It’s really important that you take an active interest in your super and that’s really what we’re trying to get across to Australians here.”

The superannuation market is crowded, competitive and dominated by industry super funds, which spend more than $300m a year on media.

“It’s a lot of share of voice to compete against and that’s an incredibly big challenge to come up against. I think that’s the real battle that many of the retail funds, which don’t traditionally advertise at the same level, have on their hands.”

But even if you can cut through the noise, the battle to counter apathy is also significant, said Grace.

“As much as these brands will go on about trying to engage customers through their apps and stuff, most people just aren’t actively engaging in their super and so you’ve got to meet the customer where they are, and that means, you need to use media.

“… You’ve got to get out there and communicate to them in environments, in the moments where they’re seeking and paying attention to it.

“The other key challenge that you’ve got in this category is distinctiveness. If you’re doing work that’s inherently not cutting through, that’s not creative and doesn’t clearly make people remember what brand you are, who you are, you’re wasting the money that you’re investing in that media. So that’s a real challenge you’ve got here, to get the balance of those different elements right.

“I think also from us, one of our brand promises is simplicity, and I think that’s one of our ways of cutting through. We’re really clear on what we deliver for our customers, but also stripping away a lot of that complexity that we know people struggle with, and we know that makes it harder for them to make the right choice.”

Grace says Colonial First State is leveraging its legacy as an investment brand to engage customers and build trust.

“We came from being an investment powerhouse and we transformed more into super as the super category grew. That’s what we’re well known for. And I think that’s really what’s coming back into this brand, that investment, capability and credibility, and that’s shown by the performance returns we’ve achieved for the last couple of years.”

Colonial First State has 907,000 customers and manages $151bn in funds. It is one of the best performing super funds in Australia, according to Chant West, and one of the top ranking funds for members’ retirement confidence and preparedness, according to CoreDate Group.

Colonial First State’s campaign, which includes TV, outdoor, radio, social, and digital, was created by agency It’s Friday.