'Value to investors': How Vanguard's brand advertising has helped transform the way Britain invests

IPA Effectiveness Awards Case Study 2024

Vanguard, a pioneer of low-cost investing since 1975, launched direct to UK consumers at scale in 2020. At the time, British savers with pensions, ISAs and investments were faced with complexity, overcharging and a feeling that investing ‘wasn’t for me’. Leveraging its unique low-cost business model, Vanguard championed empowered savers and introduced ‘sticky brand assets’, used in its ‘Value to Investors’ campaign. Following communications, brand awareness quadrupled and more than 500,000 customers joined Vanguard. Assets under management (AUM) have grown 700% to over £18 billion.

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Client Statement

Rebecca Bond, Principal, Head of Marketing, Europe, Vanguard Investments UK Limited

How long-term investment in brand has built Vanguard’s culture of marketing effectiveness and is delivering on the investor-focused mission:

Vanguard is a business built on a unique customer-first model; since 1975 we have worked to “take a stand for all investors” with innovative, low-cost, straightforward products that deliver better value for people’s savings and pensions. Launching our D2C platform here was a logical (and research-backed) step to bring that mission to a mass UK audience. AML originally pitched the brand concept to us in 2019, and this formed the beginning of an outstanding partnership, including with the7Stars, The Nursery and Analytic Partners. ‘Value to Investors’ as a clear and emotionally resonant articulation of our brand has had a profound impact on our internal audience (our employees - ‘crew’) as well as externally. Every campaign has been shared with crew first and integrated into our workspaces, both physical and virtual. The ‘love’ our customers now say they feel for Vanguard, and by extension the work our crew do every day, is powerfully motivating. It aligns every employee behind the brand and founding mission. That creates a virtuous circle which ultimately delivers better value for our customers. Which means of course that we are able to grow our business, our customer numbers, our share of the market – in order to reinvest for clients and drive positive change across the industry. This long-term brand building strategy, consistently executed and measured over multiple channels, is the key to building Vanguard’s culture of effectiveness and delivering on our investor-centric mission.