Many people find investing in financial products intimidating and complicated, and so they procrastinate and miss out on the benefits of being invested for longer. Our new advertising campaign aims to show that investing does not have to be 'scary'.
Most advertising is an invitation to purchase a product or service. For us it is more than this, and more than just building brand awareness; we aim to communicate a message that allows investors and potential investors to deepen their understanding and knowledge of Allan Gray.
Although our advertising typically focuses on our investment philosophy and the long-term investment approach we follow, our research has shown that potential investors who may share our approach often have perceptions about Allan Gray (and the financial services industry in general) that prevent them from considering investing with us.
With this in mind, our new print and online advertising campaign aims to tackle the barriers that prevent people from entering the investment space. Our objective is to remind you, our valued investors, of our core values as they are expressed in our products, while at the same time communicating to potential clients that it may be easier to invest with Allan Gray than they realise. As usual, we aim to do this in a way that is congruent with the Allan Gray brand.
The rationale behind the idea
The financial services industry in South Africa presents investors with a vast amount of choice - there are a number of brands to choose from, each offering investors a wide selection of products and funds. But although spoilt for choice, many would-be investors are intimidated by the industry, perceiving it to be only for the in-the-know and the wealthy.
The creative idea behind our new campaign hinges on taking something that generally creates a sense of fear and then decreasing the scariness, to show investors how we make investing 'not so scary'. Look out for these adverts in newspapers and magazines: you may see a fierce-looking dog with bows on its ears; a cute little girl trying to make a scary face with a torch or a big, hairy spider which on close inspection has a 'made in China' sign engraved on its rear.
If you read the text with each picture you will see that we aim to create a better understanding of Allan Gray by highlighting key attributes that make the investing process less intimidating:
OUR NEW PRINT AND ONLINE ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN AIMS TO TACKLE THE BARRIERS THAT PREVENT PEOPLE FROM ENTERING THE INVESTMENT SPACE
Investing with Allan Gray is simple and affordable
You need only R500 per month to invest with Allan Gray. We have a simple range of nine unit trusts designed to meet the needs of most investors. These unit trusts provide you with an affordable way to access the financial markets. For a relatively small amount of money, you can benefit from the expertise of a team skilled in managing money, and backed by highly experienced researchers. Our unit trusts are intended to be easy to understand, with names that clearly reflect their investment mandates.
You get flexibility and accessibility
You can invest a lump sum and/or set up a monthly debit order to invest a regular amount, and you can make additional contributions whenever you like. Meanwhile, we keep things flexible by giving you the ability to switch between unit trusts at no charge as your needs change. In addition, although we believe that it is best to leave your money invested over the long term, you may withdraw some or all of your money from our unit trusts at any time, with no notice and at no cost.
But you need to understand our investment philosophy
As with our other advertising, this new campaign reminds investors that all you need is patience and a long-term attitude. We are committed to consistently delivering the best investment performance to our clients over the long term. Ultimately it is the returns that an investor achieves that matter, not just the investment returns we generate - and investor returns are a combination of fund manager performance and investor behaviour (as we have discussed in detail in previous issues of the Quarterly Commentary). Although it is relatively simple to invest with Allan Gray, it is important to us that investors understand this partnership.
We welcome your opinion
We know that advertising is subjective, but we hope that our new campaign manages to deliver its message: investing does not have to be as complicated as you might think. As always, we are interested in hearing your thoughts and feedback.
