Discussing a project between research agency The Nursery and investment firm Vanguard, Laura Parsonage, head of client and brand insight at Vanguard Investments Europe, said a good advert “just doesn’t wear out”.

“Consumers are not immersed in brands enough to know if an ad has been around for a year or five years,” she said. “A good idea does endure, and if you are consistently changing your direction, you risk throwing the baby out with the bathwater.”

Parsonage said that Vanguard had approached The Nursery with a project intended to help Vanguard understand UK investors and communicate with their target audience in an engaging and accessible way.

This meant tackling misconceptions and preconceptions about the investment industry. “Most investors felt alienated and overwhelmed by the language used in the industry,” said Parsonage. “Our job was to demystify investing and present it as being an easy and empowering activity.”

Vanguard needed to not alienate people, and its advertising focused on showing everyday people in order to highlight investing as something that is accessible and not intimidating.

This also meant making sure people “could see themselves reflected in our ads” and replacing the voice of the brand with the voice of the customer, using everyday language to connect with people.

Nicola Wright, account director at The Nursery Research & Planning, said that research and brand tracking played a key role in understand customer feelings towards Vanguard, including highlighting support for using the word ‘love’ in its branding, for example, as it ”gave additional warmth to a category that can seem cold and rational – talking about loving something seemed more natural than saying you liked it”.

Wright added that “the synergy between insightful market research, strategic advertising and a courageous client can yield extraordinary results”.

Deep consumer insights can also “drive meaningful and effective brand communication and the power of strong partnerships”, she said. 

*Photo is from Vanguard’s 2022 advertising campaign