2015 Bronze Anvil Winner Highlight: Financial Engines and Allison+Partners Take the Work and Worry Out of Claiming Social Security
PRSAIn 2015, the U.S. retirement savings crisis had reached a critical stage. Social Security provided 50-75 percent of retirement income for most people, but there were more than 8,000 Social Security claiming strategies for married couples and hundreds for singles, divorcees and widows, making this a confusing, yet vital, retirement decision.
Financial Engines, the nation’s largest independent investment advisor and a fiduciary, expanded its service offering in 2014 to help near-retirees make better Social Security claiming decisions to maximize retirement income.Following a media audit to benchmark share of voice, Allison+Partners found 9.3 million impressions from 2013, and did a market analysis to determine how to differentiate against the competition.They also conducted a research study to determine why Americans were leaving money on the table, and how much, by not choosing the best claiming strategies.Greenwald & Associates conducted a survey of 1,008 near-retirees and retirees ages 55-70. The findings revealed that the target audience exhibited a high level of confidence about their claiming strategies, yet their understanding of the impact of their decisions was low.Allison+Partners then worked with Aon Hewitt to conduct a primary research study which found that 401(k) participants who get professional investment help in the form of managed accounts, target-date funds or online advice, earned higher median annual returns than those who go it alone.The study, “Help in Defined Contribution Plans: 2006 through2012,” examined the 401(k) investing behavior of 723,000 workers at 14 large U.S. employers, and showed that employees using help saw median annual returns that were 3.32 percent higher than participants managing their own portfolios.Results revealed the need for education and the dangerous under-prepared reality of most near-retirees.The campaign included:
- Launching Financial Engines’ Social Security planner, a free service that provides personalized claiming strategies
- Positioning Financial Engines as a leader in Social Security planning and its executives as thought leaders
- Linking the Social Security offer to a bigger story about the value of holistic planning and managed accounts
- Conducting a business media tour with CEO Jeff Maggioncalda.
By the end of the campaign, results included:
- Allison+Partners helped Financial Engines attract 37,149 visitors to use its online Social Security planner tool – with zero paid advertising, and 71,874 unique visitors completed the Social Security quiz
- They also generated a total of 80.2 million traditional media impressions
- The media coverage increased website traffic 84 percent over 2013, meeting and doubling our fifth objective
- Tonality results on the media relations front were highly successful with 86 percent of the 56 total media placements reported positive, including features with Reuters, Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today and TIME
- Best of all, the campaign helped tens of thousands of people find more than $5 billion in Social Security benefits through the online planner tool, immeasurably changing lives and enabling retirement dreams
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