Deakin University Practical Assignment
VicSuper Case Study
Applying digital marketing theory to an Australian organisation
Website http://www.vicsuper.com.au/
Background
The superannuation industry in Australia now has assets totalling $1.94 trillion (31/12/14), which is a new record for the sector. This growth is mainly due to working Australian’s contributing 9.5% of their salary to their superannuation account. Along with this exponential growth, the superannuation sector is currently experiencing a period of change with increased government regulation and increased competition. The sector as a whole has lagged behind other financial service companies, especially when looking at their digital offering to members (such as the big four banks). Because of the increasingly competitive landscape, superannuation companies are being forced to increase their digital capabilities quickly,otherwise face being left behind.
About us
VicSuper is a profit to member superannuation fund managing approximately $15 billion for around 240,000 members. We are not part of the ‘Industry Fund’ group and we do not represent a particular industry (even though the majority of members are part of the public service and education sector) and are structured as a not for profit similar to industry and unlike retail funds where profit goes to shareholders.
VicSuper Fund is open to employers and anyone earning over $450 a month no matter where they work or live. The clear majority of VicSuper members live in Victoria and the current business strategy is to remain Victoria centric for the next three years.
VicSuper Objectives
VicSuper has achieved substantial growth in funds under management (FUM) over the past 7 years, growing from $7 billion to $14 billion. However, this growth has largely been from investment returns rather than member numbers increasing. OurBoard have set a strong organic growth agenda and the Marketing team have put together a 3 year marketing plan to support this push to acquire more members.
Our objective is to become the most personally referred superannuation brand.
Competitive environment and business need
The new Stronger Super environment has meant super funds are marketing more aggressively. With MySuper products levelling the playing field between not for profit/industry funds and banks (who are now offering products with significantly reduced fees) the need for funds to demonstrate value to prospects and members has never been more important. In an increasingly homogenous market VicSuper needs to stand out from the pack. Unlike other larger funds we do not allocate significant spend to above the line advertising so we need to make smart use of digital. Because of this competitive landscape, we believe that establishing a relationship or being aware of the VicSuper brand as early as possible in someone’s working life is crucial to winning market share. Our strategy is to capture early and continue the relationship throughout an individual’s working life and then help them use their savings as an income in retirement.
Superannuation and our new Customer Value Proposition
To try to stand ‘out from the pack’ VicSuper have just undergone a process to redefine our customer value proposition. There is a high level of apathy towards superannuation within Australia – even though we have one of the highest levels of mandated savings for retirement in the world.
We went through an exhaustive process to arrive at our new customer value proposition. We found that there are 10 main reasons people have low engagement with superannuation, these are:
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Our new customer value proposition is to position VicSuper as a “super coach” empowering members throughout life’s journey. This means we have to make super interesting, engaging and most of all relevant for the stage of life of the member we are talking to.
Key Market
Given we want to engage with potential members early we are looking to target university students and recent university graduates entering the workforce in their chosen profession.
What we know:
There is a high level of apathy around superannuation (most people don’t see super as relevant to them today)
Low level of understanding around superannuation or how to find the information they need
The super industry is full of jargon and complicated legislation or regulations which can be hard to navigate
Some in our target market may already have existing super accounts, we need to show them the value of VicSuper and make it easy to switch to our fund.
Key Messages
When you graduate, VicSuper can take you right through your working life
Your superannuation is your money so need to take notice of it – it’s not something to ignore or be scared of
Superannuation is a long term savings account that you can engage with now – even if you can’t access the money
For many in our target market, their superannuation saving will be the largest amount of money they have – this is something to celebrate and make sure it’s looked after.
What we’d like from you
We’d like you to make recommendations around how we (VicSuper) can engage university students and recent graduateswith our brand and ensure they understand that superannuation is their money, so we’re top of mind when they start working, or even so they switch if they have a super account now. These recommendations should use a structured digital strategy combining: paid advertising, owned channels and earned support. Feel free to be as creative as you like and possible look to reframe superannuation (e.g. to savings).
We would like your recommendations to consider how we can create advocates and implement a ‘member get member’campaign to acquire new members, whether that’s via friend to friend advocacy, employer to employee advocacy, parent to working child advocacy or other.
Some ways of increase engagement with our brand may be through putting together a competition, creating a viral campaign that has enough cut through to be noticed, or creating a campaign that can engage your peers in their languagethrough the digital channels they use.
Paid
Owned
Earned
Fans
Strangers
Customers
Source: ADMA (Aust. Direct Marketing Association) 2013
Search engine optimisation, viral, social media, reviews and ratings, forums, social bookmarking
Brand website, microsites, blogs, mobile apps, email, video podcasts, social media
Display
advertising search engine marketing, email lists
