Enhancing Retirement Storytelling with Data

CHALLENGE

As the growing B2B arm of the leading digital investment advisor, Betterment at Work was looking to compete against larger incumbents within the retirement benefits landscape in order to grow their 401(k) business. With this goal in mind, Mission North was tasked with developing new, creative ways to capture mindshare, increase brand awareness, and drive thought leadership on employee benefits and retirement planning topics that their target buyers (plan sponsors — HR/benefits leaders and CEOs at small-to-midsize businesses) cared deeply about. 

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STRATEGY

Mission North partnered with the Betterment Communications team to conceptualize and produce unique, public-release research on the state of financial wellness and retirement readiness among U.S. workers to support their ongoing thought leadership, product storytelling and employer education efforts, to ultimately drive awareness and consideration across their key audiences. We opted to make this an annual report that examined new and timely trends, and provided insight into year-over-year changes on key employee benefits topics to drive association between Betterment at Work and the report’s thought leadership topics. 

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While the survey was initially designed to drive earned media, speaking opportunities and contributed content, we also worked closely with various stakeholders to ensure that the data could be used across Betterment at Work’s sales and marketing efforts. In addition to our annual PR launch, the survey was amplified through a PESO campaign to maximize its reach and ROI.

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IMPACT

Since its launch in 2021, the Retirement Readiness Report has become a key element of the Betterment at Work communications and marketing program. The report has generated more than 100 pieces of media coverage to date and has contributed to a dramatic increase in overall earned media coverage across tier-1 and trade publications. It also serves as a critical top of funnel sales tool, and has directly generated thousands of new customer leads since launch. Our results underscore the value of data reports as a long-term asset, and their ability to serve as an effective PR and marketing tool that can equally captivate both earned media and current + prospective customers.

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HIGHLIGHTS

• Over 100 pieces of survey coverage to date, including features and mentions in Barron’s, BenefitsPro, CNET, CNBC, Employee Benefits News, Forbes, Fox Business, GOBankingRates, HR Dive,  Inc, MarketWatch, Money, The Motley Fool, PlanAdviser, SHRM, TODAY.com, and 401(k) Specialist
• Over 2,350 leads generated through Betterment at Work’s gated content campaigns tied to the surveys

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