The Financial Planning Association (FPA) has revealed the results of its $2 million advertising campaign, saying it well and truly exceeded expectations.
According to research released by the FPA at its National Conference last week, consumer awareness of the FPA brand increased by 14% as a result of the campaign. In addition, the online campaign activity resulted in over 20,000 unique visits to the FPA’s website, and more than 1,500 ‘Find-a-Planner’ searches.
The campaign – which ran across print, TV and online – was designed to position the FPA brand as a ‘mark of trust’. An independent study found the advertising delivered on its objective, describing it as ‘…strong on appeal, attention-grabbing and providing a relevant message’.
Lindy Jones, FPA General Manager, Marketing, said the campaign’s success could be attributed to the simplicity of the concept and clarity of the messaging.
“There was a very, very specific brief which we worked to on this particular advertising campaign,” Ms Jones said. “It (the campaign) was specifically around leveraging the FPA’s three-year strategy to raise professional standards for our members, and (to) make sure that we got that message out there to the Australian community.”
We gave over 7 million people an opportunity to see our ad during the campaign
She added that while the majority (64%) of members supported the advertising campaign, planners had issued a challenge to the FPA to ensure the message reached regional consumers.
“One of the key aims of this campaign was to make sure it was high profile and highly visible,” she said, explaining that over half the budget was spent on national TV spots.
“We also ran a press component,” said Ms Jones, “Which comprised newspaper and magazine advertising, and in particular a lot of exposure in regional and local newspapers to support our members who were living outside of the capital cities, which is about 25% of our membership.”
“In the end… we gave over 7 million people an opportunity to see our ad during the campaign.”
The FPA says it will now conduct an in-depth analysis of the campaign results, with a view to continuing its advertising activity over the next 12 months.
