1. Subject Coordinator: Stephen Singaraju
Tutor: Peter Matheis
Day / Time of Tutorial: Fridays/3pm
Name: Michelle Smith ID: 17709168
Name: Angela Ponniah ID: 17723441
Name: Anna Nguyen ID: 18072715
Name: Chris Devere ID: 17692315
Brand
Management
MKT2BBM
2014 Semester 2
2. 2
Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...............................................................................................4
INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................................5
CARESUPER COMPANY PROFILE...............................................................................6
SERVICES ....................................................................................................................6
VISION STATEMENTS .....................................................................................................6
COMPETETIVE ENVIRONMENT...................................................................................9
DIRECT COMPETITORS..................................................................................................9
REST Industry Super.............................................................................................9
AustralianSuper.................................................................................................11
INDIRECT COMPETITORS .............................................................................................13
COMPETITOR OVERVIEW ............................................................................................13
MARKETING OBJECTIVES.........................................................................................16
OBJECTIVE #1 ..........................................................................................................16
OBJECTIVE #2 ..........................................................................................................16
TARGET MARKET.......................................................................................................17
CONSUMER SEGMENTATION BASES .............................................................................17
Demographic ...................................................................................................17
Geographic ......................................................................................................18
GENERAL MARKETING STRATEGY ...........................................................................19
CHANNEL STRATEGY ..................................................................................................19
MARKETING CAMPAIGN ............................................................................................19
MARKET SUPPORT PROGRAM .....................................................................................21
ROLE OF THE BRAND................................................................................................23
BRAND POSITIONING STATEMENT...........................................................................24
BRAND AWARENESS ................................................................................................25
BRAND RECOGNITION ...............................................................................................25
BRAND RECALL .........................................................................................................25
POINTS OF PARITY & POINT OF DIFFERENCE ..........................................................27
P.O.P ......................................................................................................................27
P.O.D......................................................................................................................27
BRAND ELEMENTS.....................................................................................................28
BRAND NAMES AND URLS..........................................................................................28
LOGOS & SYMBOLS ...................................................................................................28
SLOGANS .................................................................................................................29
BRAND EXTENSIONS & LEVERAGING......................................................................31
4. 4
Executive Summary
This report was commissioned to examine and analyse superannuation
company CareSuper’s branding and ultimately recommend appropriate
strategies to rectify current issues and improve on brand awareness.
This analysis provides a detailed overview of the company’s positive
performance, with statistics highlighting CareSuper’s revenue of 3.7 billion
dollars in 2013, with the ability to offer its members a return up to 12.84%.
Additionally, the company is competing with competitors like REST and
Australian Super who also achieve high return rates but substantially have a
lot more members and brand awareness than that of CareSuper.
CareSuper have a number of marketing objectives in place in order to meet
their vision of being recognised as one of Australia’s leading super funds.
Particular focus has gone into the promotion of their company, which heavily
features brand ambassador Gianne Rooney. P
They have focused on positioning the brand as one with credibility and
trustworthiness. Utilising a well-known figure to boost likeability and awareness.
Furthermore, the use of particular brand elements to strengthen their current
image, such as slogans, helps to communicate this message of trust to their
target market.
Currently, CareSuper are trying to target young adults who are working full
time white-collar professionals. Therefore many of their promotional strategies
are focused on the importance of superannuation, enticing onlookers to
actively search about super through their campaign website.
Yet it is apparent that brand awareness is substantially low proven from both
secondary and primary research, and needs to be rectified in order for
CareSuper to strengthen and grow their company.
Recommendations discussed to try and remedy this include:
! Stronger focus on Internet marketing, improving on particular slogans in
online advertisements.
! Utilising particular events directed at a younger audience to promote
the brand and improve awareness long term.
5. 5
Introduction
The aim of the report is to give a detailed look at CareSuper’s brand and
attempt to rectify the issues made apparent through this analysis, in order for
future improvement and development.
Supported with both secondary and primary research the analysis aptly
measures CareSuper’s branding performance.
This report begins with an overlook of who Caresuper is and their current
performance and position within the market (including competitors), coupled
with a comprehensive look at their current marketing objectives. Following on
from this, there is a detailed analysis of the strategies, brand elements,
awareness and other brand supporting components of CareSuper.
The report findings are mainly positive in terms of positioning of the brand but
there is a major weakness of brand awareness amongst the general public.
Therefore the report concludes with two recommendations to try and rectify
this issue.
6. 6
CareSuper Company Profile
Established in 1986, CareSuper is one of the largest not-for-profit
superannuation companies in Australia. It has more than a quarter of a million
members and is holder of many awards such as Smart Investor Industry Super
Fund of the Year 2013/14 and Industry Fund of the Year 2013/14, (CareSuper
2014).
Services
CareSuper offers a varied number of services, which allow for greater
customisation to suit the needs of its members. They offer 13 options that vary
in risk level. This means that there is a higher chance of gaining little to no
profit with your super, or a possibility of gaining a greater amount, that’s
not possible in other options. The Balanced option is the default and most
preferred option as it balances risk/reward, which allows consistent growth
(CareSuper 2014).
These options are:
Mission Statement
A mission statement defines the state and purpose of the company (Evans,
2010). CareSuper’s current mission statement is as follows:
CareSuper are focused on providing the best possible service to their
customers as well as providing the best returns. To maintain this consistency,
CareSuper utilises its experienced team to ensure that member’s investments
continue to grow while also maintaining company stability.
Superannuation is what the vast majority of Australians rely on to retire with,
choosing the right company is paramount to the future of retirees and
because CareSuper is not-for-profit, members gain the highest possible returns
on their super.
• Capital Guaranteed
• Capital Stable
• Conservative
Balanced
• Australian Shares
• Balanced
• Sustainable Balanced
• Alternative Growth
• Direct Investment
Option
• Overseas Shares
• Capital Secure
• Fixed Interest
• Direct Property
• Growth
7. 7
$33,475,550
$240,999,915
$7,519,791
$758,030,069
$485,398,893
$78,240,797
$2,054,566,603
$50,798,119 $239,083
2013 CareSuper Revenue Breakdown
Investment Revenue:
Interest
Distributions
Other Investment Income
Changes in Market Net Value
Contributions Revenue:
Employer Contributions
Member Contributions
Vision Statements
Defines what the organisation wants to achieve for the future (Evans, 2010)
To be recognised as one of the leading super funds in Australia.
To empower our members to achieve long-term financial security.
CareSuper’s board of members, executive team and financial planners, as
well as its partners are highly experienced in their respective fields and are
key to the success of the company.
This experience allows CareSuper to better understand the market and
generate the highest possible returns to members. This coincides with their
current vision statements of wanting to secure long-term financial security in
order to be one of the leading superfunds.
CareSuper’s total revenue exceeded that of $3.7 Billion dollars in 2013, a
dramatic 300% increase over the previous financial year
(PricewaterhouseCoopers 2013), making CareSuper one of the most
profitable super industries in Australia. With the investment power to offer
customers a return of up to 12.84% CareSuper also ranks in the top 5 of
Australian superannuation companies with their Balanced option.
Source: PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2014
8. 8
$50,000
$70,000
$90,000
$110,000
$130,000
$150,000
$170,000
Earnings over 15 year period
SR 50 Balanced (60-76) Index CareSuper Balanced option
CareSuper has a strong history of profit and growth since its conception and
hav e always had a primary focus on benefiting their members. Unlike other
industry funds, CareSuper maintains low operations costs to ensure that its
member’s fees are kept to a minimum, maximizing account growth.
The figure above demonstrates investment growth over a 15-year period with
CareSuper and the average industry super assuming an account was
created with $50,000 net.
As most Australians will gain more than $50,000 of super in 15 years if working
regularly, the potential to earn more is much larger than what is shown
above.
The Brand: CareSuper
Branding is an important role within any industry and CareSuper has recently
began establishing and improving on their current Brand. Currently CareSuper
is heavily relying on brand ambassador Giaan Rooney to be the face of their
brand, coupled promotional efforts to raise their brand awareness, like their
recent “Why Should I Care?” campaign, which heavily features Rooney.
Currently, the Brand CareSuper has coupled elements like slogans and logos
with a specific colour pattern of various greens to help cement their brand
image and overall appeal.
Source: PricewaterhouseCoopers 2014
9. 9
$390,000
$114,304,000
$683,748,000
$234,491,000
$2,480,339,000
$3,599,259,000
$71,188,000
$157,246,000
$1,730,000
$692,375,000
2013 REST Revenue Breakdown
Investment Revenue:
Dividend Income
Interest - Bank
Interest Income -
Investments
Rental Income
Movement in Net Market
Value
Contributions Revenue:
Employer
Member
Rollovers
Other Revenue:
Competitive Environment
Direct Competitors
REST is one of the largest superannuation industries in Australia, boasting 2
million members and counting with tens of billions in members funds invested.
They are a not-for-profit fund and have some of the lowest fees compared to
other leading superannuation industries.
Geographic Market
While REST Industry Super cater for a large geographic, their current focus is
on Generation Z as they are the ones who will benefit most from a
superannuation account, as well as being long-term members generating
more revenue than Generation Y. REST’s ad campaigns such as ‘Carpe Diem’
and ‘Pizza Boy’ reiterate that they are focusing on the younger generation.
Current Marketing Performance
REST posted an $8 billion dollar gross income for the 2013 financial year. This
was an average growth of 30% over the previous financial year and indicates
a further increase for the 2014 financial year. The total net assets of REST
exceed that of $27 billion dollars proving a strong investment and marketing
performance.
Source: PricewaterhouseCoopers 2014
10. 10
Competitive Position
REST Super has the largest membership of any superannuation company
giving it a competitive advantage over the smaller CareSuper. REST is also
used as a default super fund for many large businesses and companies
because… .Due to a large membership, this creates a ‘halo’ effect where
friends or family can possibly join due to others being a part of what perceives
to be a bigger and better super company.
Current Marketing Objectives
REST have partnered with Headspace, a national youth mental health
foundation and created ad campaigns promoting both companies.. While
these ads primarily focus on individuals suffering from mental issues, there is
also a strong endorsement by REST in the end credits. A strategy that may be
effective long-term as more youth are exposed to REST and may possibly use
them as their superannuation company.
Future Goals and Strategies
REST has a heavy focus on long-term returns although still retains a smaller
focus on short-term returns. By balancing risk and return while minimalizing risks
as much as possible through investments of both growth and defensive
assets.
Strengths Weaknesses
• Investment power
• Large amount of assets
• Popular default super
• Community driven
Vulnerabilities
• Risk of financial crisis
• Australian dollar value dropping
Strategic Counter Strategy
Continuing to advertise CareSuper’s strong growth, focusing on iterating that
the company is not-for-profit and focus on proving a high return to their
members. This is the most cost-effective way of countering REST.
OVERALL ANALYSIS
REST is currently a major threat for CareSuper. Since REST is very much popular
amongst young adults, due to many retail outlets using REST as their super of
choice. This proves a problem for CareSuper who currently are trying to gain
more awareness amongst this target demographic.
• No control over the market
• Limited to Australian residents
11. 11
$0
$5,000,000,000
$10,000,000,000
$15,000,000,000
$20,000,000,000
$25,000,000,000
$30,000,000,000
Employer Member Transfers from
other super
funds -
accumulation
Transfers from
other super
funds - pension
Total
Australian Super Revenue 2012/13
2012 2013
Australian Super is a one of the country’s largest industry superfunds. The
company focuses on using their size and strength to obtain low fees and gain
profit for their members, not shareholders (australiansuper.com, 2014)
Geographic Market
For the year of 2013 AustralianSuper conducted all its business in Australia.
Current Marketing Performance
The company has had a 48.8% increase in Total Revenue Growth between
2008-2013. Not all of this can be contributed to its marketing performance,
but it is safe to say that without proper marketing this kind of growth could not
be achieved.
Competitive Position
Is the 2nd largest super fund out of 271 funds, with 2050275 members. (Barnes
2013)
Current Marketing Objectives
AustralianSuper reveals on their website that they are “focused on managing
and promoting the AustralianSuper brand, harnessing marketing insights of
members. Core responsibilities include brand advertising, public relations,
research and campaigns.”
They believe that “advertising is one of the most cost effective ways to do
so”. They cite that it helps them retain current members, attract new ones
and inform people about our product and service offerings.
Source: PricewaterhouseCoopers 2014
12. 12
• Volatility of investments in the global
share market
• Limited market
Corporate Strategy
“At AustralianSuper we take our investment seriously, to ensure the future
looks good for you and your family.” (Ibisworld report, 2013)
“AustralianSuper is committed to providing quality service. We employ
managers and specialist staff in-house, and complement their expertise with
external service providers.“ (ibisworld world, 2013)
Future Goals and Strategies
• Increase their investments in the global share market
• Build their internal investment capability
• Ensure the Fund continues to operate efficiently and successfully for
members.
Strengths Weaknesses
• Large Market Share
• Strong return on investments
• Large Work Force 180 +
• High Assets
• More than 2 million members
Vulnerabilities
• Constantly changing market
• Highly competitive market
• Risk on investments
Strategic Counter Strategy
As Care Super does not possess the high market share of AustralianSuper,
they should specifically target those joining the workforce and try and poach
those increasing the current market to try and encroach on their large market
share.
OVERALL ANALYSIS
AustralianSuper are a major threat to CareSuper, especially in terms of market
share and awareness. While both companies excel in performance,
CareSuper very much lacks the recognition needed to really improve their
overall business, unlike AustralianSuper. Ultimately, CareSuper can only try to
achieve better awareness through marketing strategies to better compete
with AustralianSuper.
13. 13
Indirect Competitors
Indirect competitors are defined as “Competition among the suppliers of
different types of products that satisfy the same needs.”
(BusinessDictionary.com, 2014)
Indirect competitors for CareSuper are industry super funds who target
significantly different markets but provide the same need, which is
superannuation. Additionally, they are also companies who, at this current
time, are not as popular or outperforming CareSuper.
This includes the likes of Hesta (Health community), ReiSuper
(residential/commercial real estate), Energy Super (Electrical/energy industry)
and plenty other super funds in the market. (Industrysuper.com, 2014)
Competitor Overview
The following is a general overview of CareSuper’s main competitors within
the marketplace, ranked from most to least significant in terms of
performance, awareness and target market.
COMPETITOR SIGNIFICANCE MARKET SHARE/GROWTH
1. REST
• REST was labeled the number
one super fund in Australia for
2014 (Superratings.com.au, 2014).
• Provides its members with
exceptional long-term
investment returns and
competitive fees (Power, 2014).
• Has more general awareness
than CareSuper and is
exposed to the younger
generation more often due
to many retail companies
using REST.
• Rate of return of 17.4% for
2013 financial year.
(Barnes 2013)
• 8th largest super fund out
of 271 funds, with 2021023
members. (Barnes 2013)
• 13 investment options
(Barnes 2013)
2. Australian
Super
• Is one of the top 10 funds for
both accumulation and
retirement (Superratings.com.au,
2014).
• Rate of return of 13.9% for
2013 financial year.
(Barnes 2013)
14. 14
• Is one of Australians leading
super funds with more than
two million members.
(Australiansuper.com, 2014)
• Is a lot more popular and
targets all Australians,
including Care Super’s niche
target market of white-collar
workers.
• 2nd largest super fund out
of 271 funds, with 2050275
members. (Barnes 2013)
• 35 investment options
(Barnes 2013)
3. Host Plus
• Is one of the top 10 funds for
both accumulation and
retirement (Superratings.com.au,
2014).
• Has more awareness
amongst the younger
generation due to many
having jobs within the
hospitality industry.
• A rate of return of 14.9%
for 2013 financial year.
(Barnes 2013)
• 8th largest super fund out
of 271 funds, with 1012101
members. (Barnes 2013)
• 19 investment options
(Barnes 2013)
4. AMP
• Stronger brand awareness
amongst the general public
compared to CareSuper.
• One of the leading industry
super funds with around four
million customers in Australia
and NZ. (Amp.com.au, 2014)
• A rate of return of 13.2%
for 2013 financial year.
(Barnes 2013)
• Largest super fund out of
271 funds, with 2730663
members. (Barnes 2013)
• 99 investment options
(Barnes 2013)
5. Self -
Managed
Supers
• Self-managed super funds
are becoming more popular
with over 530,000 SMSFs in
Australia. (Main, 2014)
• Differentiates itself from all
competitors as the consumer
has control over their money
rather than trusting others
with their earnings.
• Control more than 30% of
super fund assets and is
growing. (Power, 2014)
15. 15
CareSuper share many common traits with there main competitors,
specifically in terms of good performance and customer loyalty. Though it’s
evident CareSuper lack the popularity that these other super funds have.
Ideally, CareSuper need to increase awareness amongst their brand and
focus on promoting both points of parity and points of difference to compete
in the same market share or possibly even dominate their current direct
competitors.
16. 16
Marketing Objectives
The following marketing objective analysis has been conducted with the
SMART Approach: Setting specific, measurable, Action Oriented, Realistic and
time specific objectives (Pendergrass, 2014).
Specific
Needs to pinpoint problems or opportunities in one
precise area.
Measurable
Can a quantitative and qualitative attribute be
applied?
Action Oriented Can the information be used to improve performance?
Realistic This goal can be achieved given companies resources.
Time Specific
There is a specific amount of time objective should be
achieved.
Source: Pendergrass, 2014
The following marketing objectives represent the problems CareSuper need
to address and how they are going to do this.
OBJECTIVE #1
Increase brand awareness and recall amongst the Australian general public
in 2015 by improving exposure to brand promotions through media channels
and direct marketing.
OBJECTIVE # 2
Generate awareness of CareSuper amongst young adults by positioning
superannuation as an important and exciting aspect of ones life, focusing on
utilising social media and specific marketing techniques designed to interest
only this specific demographic.
17. 17
Target Market
The current target market that CareSuper is currently focusing on is “young
adult”. This is not necessarily in usual sense of teens – mid twenties, but rather
refers to those young, full time working white-collar professionals.
CareSuper currently caters to a broad range of target markets including but
not limited to Pensioners and Business Professionals across a broad range of
industries. Though the current marketing focus is to increase the percentage
of Young adults.
Consumer Segmentation Bases
Demographic
Age
Outline: To define young adult CareSuper would be looking for individuals
between the ages of 18 – 35.
Size: This market size is quite large at “5.4 million…or 24% of the (Australian)
population were young adults” (ABS 2013), which means that it’s a viable
market for CareSuper to target.
Accessibility: This demographic is highly accessible through the use of social
media. “Consumers, in particular, younger consumers, do not utilize the same
media types as in the past.” (Hanna, Rohm, & Crittenden, 2011). With more
than 2 billion users across the globe, social media provides an excellent
avenue to engage the intended young adult target market.
Job Status
Outline: CareSuper relies on its members having consistent work; this means
that they must target those whom have jobs. Without a job members will not
be making super contributions.
Size: Currently in Australia there currently are “11,604,900” (ABS 2014)
employed people, making this a massive segment for CareSuper
Accessibility: With only “746,600” (ABS 2014) not having jobs, employed
workers are one of the largest segments in all Australia. This makes it a highly
accessible segment, whether it is through traditional media or more modern
forms, such as social media.
18. 18
Industry
Outline: The industry that CareSuper identifies its self with is white collar. This
includes a range of different jobs, but usually those in an office environment
e.g. accounting or administration.
Size: In 2013 “69 per cent of employment” (Adonis 2013) in Australia was
classified as white collar. This is quite a large sector for the Australian industry,
although there is no specific definition of what qualifies as white collar.
Accessibility: This is a tricky sector to classify its direct accessibility, because
there is no specific classification for it the line between what it is become
blurred. To have a specific direct marketing campaign for
Geographic
Location
Outline: CareSuper currently only caters to individuals in Australia, limiting it in
comparison to some other super funds
Size: All though not world wide, the Australian segment is still massive with an
estimated 23,648,258 (ABS 2014) people.
Accessibility: With the entire geographic segment including the entire
country, this is a highly accessible segment. Anyone in Australia who views
any marketing material for CareSuper fits into the geographic segment
19. 19
General Marketing Strategy
CareSuper want to position themselves as “the industry super fund for
professionals”. They want to be recognized as a small boutique industry fund
that is simple and easy to use and understand. Additionally, the goal is to be
known as the industry super fund that has big member value because of
strong positive outcomes from the long-term investments showcased by well-
devised marketing strategies.
Current Marketing Strategies
Channel Strategy
Channel Strategy is the manner by which a product is sold or distributed and
can have a profound impact on the equity and ultimate sales success of a
brand (Keller, 2007).
CareSuper take advantage of the channel strategy through direct channels
and online strategies. CareSuper offers their services via many different
methods including mail, phone, and electronics.
Direct channels enhance brand equity by allowing consumers to better
understand the depth and breadth, and variety of the product associated
with the brand as well as any distinguishing characteristics (Keller, 2007).
CareSuper's website allows consumers to research the benefits of moving to
CareSuper and access to financial planners.
Additionally, non-members can register themselves online; CareSuper has
made registering for superannuation straightforward and uncomplicated. By
incorporating this method CareSuper is fulfilling their objective to be easy to
use for all consumers.
Marketing Campaign
Marketing campaigns are the main method for both communicating with the
target market to reinforce the company’s positioning and building brand
equity. CareSuper utilises Giaan Rooney as brand ambassador, using a brand
ambassador is a shortcut to creating personality for the brand.
CareSuper has been received awards including; Smart Investor Industry super
fund of the year 2013 & 2014, Selecting Super ‘Retirement Product of the Year
– Value Choice’ 2013, SuperRatings Platinum rating and many more. They
make sure to illuminate this in their campaign to gain credibility for their
performance.
People are more frequently on their computers or their smartphone than any
other device, therefore it is very crucial for CareSuper to have an online
presence and they have done so in their current campaign.
20. 20
The ‘Why should I care?” campaign explains, through informative videos on
YouTube and Television advertisements, why it is essential to care about what
super fund is and importance of taking care of your super.
Their brand ambassador Giaan
Rooney explains to the public why
people should hold more
importance to their super as it is
investing for their future.
CareSuper has also used search engine marketing, which has posed to be
the most lucrative form of advertising for the firm, as it leads to more views on
their website. The financial planners available in the CareSuper offices allow
members to acquire financial advice in order to achieve their financial goals,
free of charge over the phone and even online. Demonstrating that
CareSuper is dedicated to ensuring member value.
Social Media has become an efficient method to communicate to
consumers if they have feedback about the service; social networks such as
Facebook and Twitter are the main sources for CareSuper to respond to any
issues their members may have which consequently enhances the consumer
relationship if the issues are dealt with appropriately.
When you type
CareSuper into
Google, their website
is first preference.
21. 21
CareSuper also employs the traditional types of promotion for example,
television ads and bus ads, as they are methods that are delivered to a more
varied audience and are difficult to go unnoticed.
Market Support Program
CareSuper outsourced external support for their social media strategies in
order to enhance their social media presence as it difficult to keep up with
technology and social media internally.
Additionally, CareSuper has used their current ‘Why should you care?‘
campaign to generate more viewers to their website by expressing the
importance of having control of your super through a separate website to
their main website, ‘http://www.whyshouldyoucare.com.au/’.
Here are two
examples of
CareSuper’s
online marketing
strategies.
Advertisement
situated at a bus
stop enticing
onlookers to look up
the website
www.whyshouldyou
care.com.au
22. 22
By emphasizing the importance of super through creating this separate
website alongside the tv ads, bus ads and search engine marketing, it
persuades consumers to join CareSuper as well as producing more awareness
to their website as it links back to the CareSuper website.
Results
The marketing strategies and campaign built a foundation for CareSuper’s
brand equity by highlighting great performance and credibility. CareSuper’s
marketing campaign positively enhanced brand recall among the general
public, however only by 4%. Similarly unaided brand recall rose by 3% post the
2014 campaign. The statistics demonstrate that the marketing campaign
effectively improved the growth of brand awareness however there is still a
long way to go in terms of brand awareness.
23. 23
Role of the Brand
Branding plays a significant role in an organization as its more than just the
logo or brand name; it is your website, your social media experiences, the
way the staff communicates with customers, essentially it is your entire
customer experience.
Marketing Objectives
In the firm’s marketing objectives, the brand should aid in securing a
competitive advantage. (Keller, 2007)
CareSuper have established this by emphasizing their abundance of lucrative
returns and various awards in their advertising, as well as enhancing the
portrayal of superannuation by focusing on customer experience to ensure
that their brand maintains their objective to guarantee that consumers have
a sense of security in the brand.
Target Market
The role of the brand in the target market is to ensure that consumers can
identify whom CareSuper is for (Keller, 2007). They have accomplished this in
their brand slogan, “The industry super fund for professionals.” Although to try
and reach a younger audience CareSuper need to specifically use
promotional strategies specifically aimed at young adults.
General Marketing Strategy
The role of the brand in the general marketing strategy is to highlight
CareSuper’s great performance and credibility. They do this by emphasizing
their awards and member value through the extensive channels that allow
consumers to research their member benefits in addition to the access to
many services that assist consumers to take better control of their super.
24. 24
Brand Positioning Statement
The positioning statement communicates the intended perception of what
the company encompasses within the minds of consumers. Thus it is a
statement that acts as the foundation for any marketing activities. (Stayman,
2014)
Current Positioning Statement
The first Positioning Statement is a general use statement to entice and
position CareSuper for the general population. This Positioning statement
focuses on the general reasons CareSuper is the best fund, but offers no
personality and but highly comparable to the competition:
CareSuper is the Industry Super that ensures all members’ needs are
met and also providing great returns. They do this by providing high
quality customer service, enticing benefits and quality fanatical
security.
New Positioning Statement
This second statement is specifically targeted at the young adult target
market. This statement highlights the direct benefits for young adults whilst
demonstrating why CareSuper is better than other competitors;
For young adults who want to retire millionaires, CareSuper is the
Industry Super Fund that provides incredible returns. Unlike the
competition, the CareSuper “cares about you”, they don’t see you as
consumer, rather an important member. They do this by providing high
quality customer service, enticing benefits and quality fanatical
security.
25. 25
Brand Awareness
Brand Awareness is important for any business to achieve strong brand equity.
Without sufficient brand awareness, prospective consumers will not consider a
company within their choice set. Awareness consists of two main
components, recognition and recall. What have CareSuper done to achieve
brand awareness amongst their target market?
Brand Recognition
Brand recognition is consumers’ ability to confirm prior exposure to the brand
when given the brand as a cue (Keller 2012).
What have CareSuper done to achieve RECOGNITION?
The use of Australian Olympic swimmer Giaane Rooney helps establish a face
to the name CareSuper. By utilising her as brand ambassador in all aspects of
promotion like advertising and events, helps achieve easier recognition. But
this could impose an issue to a much younger audience who may not be as
familiar with her than the older generation. This is proven with the primary
research data shown in the appendix, where all partcipants did not associate
Giaan with the brand.
Repetition increases recognisability (Keller 2012). Not only does continuous
use of Rooney help with recognition, but also keeping to the same colour
scheme of black and white coupled with the light green within the
campaign, is a great way to associate these particular elements to the
brand. This also helps to differentiate CareSuper from the competition with
such a unique colour scheme.
Yet repeated contact to all of these elements is low, not enough people are
being repetitively exposed to these advertisements and therefore have not
largely improved CareSuper’s brand awareness.
Brand Recall
Brand recall is consumers’ ability to retrieve the brand from memory when
given the product category, the needs fulfilled by the category, or a
purchase or usage situation as a cue (Keller 2012).
What have CareSuper done to achieve RECALL?
When people think superannuation, the ideal response would be CareSuper.
Currently the company is performing poorly in terms of recall among the
general public.
This is mostly due to little brand recognition and therefore it presents a difficult
challenge in creating recall when most of the general public is not even
aware of the brand.
26. 26
Additionally, when consumers were to think “super”, the word money would
come to mind. CareSuper utilises slogans like “under 40? Your Super is almost
10% of your earnings” and “under 40? Shouldn’t you care who is looking after
your super?” as a smart way of linking money and super to their brand. This is
imperative as the name CareSuper can be mistaken for a more health-
centered organisation.
Furthermore it entices consumers to find out more about Super and thus the
company is linking customers to their campaign website,
www.whyshouldyoucare.com.au. Unlike their main website, this page deals
more exclusively with superannuation rather than information about
CareSuper, which is mostly found on their main web page.
Results
These elements within the campaign have improved brand awareness as
pictured in this graph.
Source: CareSuper, 2014
CareSuper is still struggling to properly create awareness among the general
public. This is mainly due to the lack of repeated exposure to these
advertising efforts combined with a general disinterest about superannuation
within the community. There are a number of ways to try and rectify this issue,
which will be further discussed in ‘recommendations’.
27. 27
Points of Parity & Points of Difference
P.O.P
As there are many superannuation industries in Australia, it can be difficult to
advertise ones difference to the public, however, CareSuper offers some of
the highest returns of any super industry while also keeping maintenance
costs to a minimum, allowing its members to gain the best possible returns of
any super industry.
P.O.D
CareSuper is one of the most award-winning super industries in Australia due
to providing the best possible customer service, investment experience and
management, and also listening to its members. CareSuper have strong
company values they stand by:
• Service
• Professionalism
• Integrity
• Relationships
• Innovation
• Teamwork
Or SPIRIT for short (CareSuper 2014). These values as well as the attention to
detail CareSuper possess when investing future retirees earnings create a
uniqueness that no other super industry shares.
28. 28
Brand Elements
1. Memorability
A necessary condition for building
brand equity achieving a high level
of brand awareness.
2. Meaningfulness
General Information about the
function of the product or service.
Specific information about particular
attributes and benefits of the brand.
3. Likability
Do customers find the brand element
aesthetically appealing? Is it likeable
visually, verbally, and in other ways?
4. Transferability
Measures the extent to which the
brand element adds to the brand
equity for new products or in new
markets for the brand.
5. Adaptability Is it adaptable over time?
6. Protectability
Is the brand element protectable –
both in a legal and a competitive
sense?
Brand elements are trademarkable devices that serve to identify and
differentiate the brand (Keller 2012). Good brand elements meet six specific
criteria – they are:
CARESUPER’S BRAND ELEMENTS
Brand Names and URLS
Memorable Transferable
Meaningful Adaptability
Likeable Protectable
The brand name is an important aspect that often captures the central
theme of the company (Keller 2012). The title CareSuper is simple and easy to
remember, but also is meaningful. It encompasses what the company is all
about. The name also meets all other criteria in terms of a successful brand
element such as being a likeable title that’s both transferable and
adaptable.
Additionally, CareSuper has two URLS, caresuper.com.au and
whyshouldyoucare.com.au.
(Keller 2012)
29. 29
Where did CareSuper come from?
er come from?
Logos and Symbols
Visual elements also play an important role in creating brand equity. Logos
are a means to indicate origin, ownership, or association (Keller 2012)
As seen here, CareSuper has gone through some logo changes. The final
product, while may not be as symbolic, has a very distinct and bright colour,
enabling the logo to standout.
Memorable Transferable Meaningful
Adaptability Likeable Protectable
Upon further inspection the logo resembles the letters ‘C’ and ‘S’ for Care
and Super. Yet this would not be immediately recognizable to a consumer
watching a ten second ad or walking by a poster. Therefore it’s hard to
associate any meaning to this logo in terms of both the brand CareSuper and
superannuation unless accompanied by the name.
Due to lack of meaning, the logo is ultimately harder to remember. Yet the
bright green colour does present a likelier chance of brand recognition
because it’s very much a symbolic colour of the superfund.
Slogans
Slogans are short phrases that communicate descriptive or persuasive
information about the brand (Keller 2012).
CareSuper’s main slogan:
This slogan is usually coupled with the brand name and logo. This focuses on
establishing what and whom CareSuper cater for.
Memorable Transferable Meaningful
Adaptability Likeable Protectable
30. 30
Meeting most criteria, this slogan is a great way to better identify who Care
Super are in conjunction with their name and logo. Additionally, this can be
adaptable and transferable, as it doesn’t limit itself to one particular
advertisement but can be used across multiple forms of promotional
channels like television or print.
Although the slogan can ultimately be hard to remember, as it doesn’t
necessarily role off the tongue or work in tangent with a jingle, which can
help make it easier to remember.
Another slogan the company utilises in many online promotions is:
“Making Super Easy”
This is a lot shorter and more precise than the slogan above, enabling it to be
a lot more memorable. Furthermore it portrays to consumers the companies
goal of removing the stigma of superannuation being difficult to understand,
enticing people to learn more about the brand.
CareSuper’s other slogans include:
“Under 40? Your Super is almost 10% of your earnings.”
“Under 40? Shouldn’t you care who is looking after your super?”
These two slogans were more prominent in advertising one of CareSuper’s
websites. It entices viewers to find out more about superannuation.
Results
With the combination of these particular brand elements, Care Super has
aptly established itself as an industry superfund. These elements bring forth the
desired brand image of being a trustworthy and capable company. With
continuous use of these brand elements, CareSuper has a higher chance of
achieving brand equity.
31. 31
Brand Extensions & Leveraging
Brand Extensions
Brand extensions involve launching a product or service by using an existing
brand name on a new product/service in a different category (Investopedia,
2010)
CareSuper currently does not endorse or have any parent companies. This
would be a great opportunity for the company to put some resources aside
for either a spin-off super company solely focused on the younger generation
to help them understand superannuation and why it is important. This would
provide both brand awareness and potential increase of members.
Brand Leveraging
Brand leveraging is the process of using the current brand name and position
to support the company in entering a new but related, product category
(Keller, 2012)
CareSuper has a very distinctive name in that it contains the word “Care”.
This provides a unique opportunity for care super, as any endeavor they
decide to take on can be positioned to be caring for customers whilst
keeping it under the central brand of “Care”. Some examples include:
CareFinance, CareBanking, CareInvestments. With CareSuper’s current
positioning the “Care” brand can easily expand to other financial industries
by using their current brand as leverage.
32. 32
The 4P’s
Products
The service is of an Industry Super Fund, which is a system where money is
placed in a fund to provide for a person's retirement. CareSuper are
particularly focused on customer retention in addition to providing free
financial advisors as a subsequent after-sales service.
Price
CareSuper is a non-profit organization so therefore the fees are to cover the
costs not to make a profit.
There is no joining fee or switching fee, however there is an exit fee of $40.
The administration fee is $78 per year ($1.50 per week) plus 0.15% – 0.20% per
year (a cap of $500 per year applies). These fees are calculated weekly and
deducted from your account balance, usually monthly.
Place
CareSuper offers their services to the whole Australia but there offices are only
located in Victoria, New South Wales, Northern Territory and Queensland.
CareSuper’s various distribution channels include; mail, phone and Internet.
Promotion
CareSuper utilizes the Social Media sites such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter
and Search Engine ads in the act of communicating the benefits and value
of their product to consumers through their brand ambassador, Giaan
Rooney. CareSuper also applies the traditional types of advertising such as
television ads, bus ads as well as through the mail.
33. 33
Brand Equity
Brand equity is described as determining the value that a company or brand
has, and the corresponding services or products they offer. It is essential to
possess brand equity as it affects the way the public perceives the company.
This is broken down into what is known as the 7 benefits of brand equity
(Marketing Research Association 2010).
Source: Brand & Butter Blog 2010
Identify
Brand Salience
As most Australians require superannuation to comfortably retire, CareSuper
needs to ensure its brand awareness is performing positively, which is key. The
name of the company itself implies what it is, a superannuation company
who cares about their customers. The nice clean colours of the brand also
help it to be more welcoming as well as having awards posted to ensure
customers know how successful the company is.
Because of the name, it allows easy recall for customers to remember the
brand and what it stands for and the brand colours also contribute to this. The
spokeswoman for CareSuper has been on almost every advertisement,
reinforcing her image with the brand as well (FujiFilm n.d.).
34. 34
All superannuation companies have a ‘default’ sometimes referred to as
‘balanced’ option that is designed for anyone who doesn’t know much
about how superannuation works, or who are not bothered by it. This is the
largest advertised option as well. There are however other options that are
listed for those who wish to have more control over their superannuation.
Meaning
Performance
CareSuper is an important company for many Australians as it assists them in
the future, providing investment funds that otherwise might not be acquired
through personal investment. CareSuper’s performance is consistent and
gives its members peace of mind when choosing CareSuper as their
superannuation fund (CareSuper 2014).
Imagery
Superannuation is inherently an intangible product until you reach retirement
age. Because of this, there must be reinforcement of the brand and
performance figures associated with them. However, many retirees can
explain the benefits and the tangibility of superannuation once they reach
retirement age.
CareSuper’s longevity in superannuation creates a sense of security when
customers choose them as their default super as they are aware that the
company will stay and continue to be profitable.
Response
Judgements
Many customers can ask “why not just choose whoever makes the most
returns?” but the issue is that superannuation is a fluctuating asset. While one
company may be performing greatly one year, it may fall short of
expectations the next. This is where a company like CareSuper who have a
high consistency of returns is more appealing and beneficial to the customer
(CareSuper 2014).
Feelings
CareSuper is designed to be a hassle-free superannuation option that
provides security and future well-being as customers’ investments grow over
the years.
35. 35
This allows its members to be worry-free and focus on the future wealth they
gain from investing their superannuation. It also creates a strong reputation
between CareSuper and its members, providing possible future investors from
word of mouth.
Relationships
Brand Resonance
CareSuper is customer focused and have always done its upmost to
financially benefit its members. This creates a sense of brand loyalty as
CareSuper is a constantly rewarding fund with a high reputation in member’s
benefits.
As brand loyalty is paramount to the success of a superannuation company,
CareSuper’s excellent customer service and a passion for benefitting its
members helps to reinforce its loyalty.
36. 36
Recommendations
Strategy #1: Slogan Change
Pitch
Devise improved slogans directly targeting young adults on social
media.
At the moment, for the key demographic of young adults superannuation is
seen currently as being unnecessary. This is caused by two factors, the first is
many young adults do not necessary know what superannuation is, and why
its applicable to them. The second factor is that many of those who fall into
the bracket of young adult, are not thinking forward to retirement. Young
adults are thinking in the now, many struggle to find work whilst others can be
balancing work, study, social obligations and family. Our strategy is use social
media to present a range of “standard” pay rates and hours for young adults
and give them an immediate estimate of what super can do for them. An
example of this is “working 20 hours a week at 20$ an hour? How would you
like to have an EXTRA $2000 dollars more in your account by the end of the
year?”. This approach appeals directly to the consumer, and at a glace
giving them a reason to click.
Research
Andrew Worthington in 2008 published an article “Knowledge and
perceptions of superannuation in Australia”, in it he discusses the general
publics understandings and views of Australian superfunds. He discover many
startling facts in the knowledge of what funds do finding that many didn’t fully
realize what a superfund does or why their employers are paying part of their
wage to them. Our strategy aims to address this, by drawing new potential
customers in, these will include those who don’t know what a superfund is,
those who have a fund but are intrigued by what CareSuper can offer, and
those informed consumers who are currently seeking out a super fund.
Microsoft Advertising published an article in 2012 entitled “Young Adults
Revealed: The lives and motivations of 21st century youth” in which it
discussed the use of social media as an effective tool to promote brands and
products to young adults. It also provides information about how young
adults respond to ads that appear online with good ideas that have been
incorporated into the strategy.
37. 37
Benefits & risks:
The benefits of the strategy are immense, there are currently calculators to
work out how much super you can earn, but this involves the customer caring
enough to go to a website, find all the necessary figures and to finally get a
result. Our new strategy creates the reason to find out their personal figure by
first providing them a generic estimate with no work, just a straight estimated
number figure highly applicable for their demographic.
There a few risks that come with a strategy like this, the major one is that the
estimated figures aren’t applicable to everyone in the target market. This is
only worrying if the estimates are too high as its not applicable to the
consumer, if the estimates are too low the consumer will see and be spurred
to see how much more they will make. The other issue that must be
addressed is to make sure that the advertisement is not viewed as spam or
junk, as there are many institutions that take advantage of their consumers
with get rich quick schemes. The major way to avoid to confusion is to make
the add high quality with the CareSuper branding and any other legal
requirements, as usually scams and spam are missing there credentials.
Concluding Statement
This strategy with pre-determined superannuation estimates for potential
customers, reducing the needed input to receive a personalized figure is an
innovative idea that suits the target market ideally. This strategy is easy to
implement and cost effective with and by using social media has high reach
and frequency. This strategy can be adapted to work with a range of medias
including traditional media (television, radio and print).
38. 38
Strategy #2: Stall Setup
Pitch
Set up a CareSuper stall at the Melbourne career expo for 2015.
The Melbourne Career Expo is the largest careers event in Australia, that is
attended by many young people looking to gain further information about
careers, education, training, corporate and professional sectors
(Careerexpo.com.au, 2014).
This is a great opportunity to try and improve on brand awareness amongst
the young adult target market that CareSuper are trying to communicate to,
as it is fairly low as discussed earlier. Additionally, the attendees at the expo
would be more inclined to want to learn about super as opposed to being
out on the street or at home watching television when they encounter a
CareSuper advertisement.
By having a stall with the brand colour scheme of bright green with emphasis
on Gianne Rooney coupled with information packs and speakers to talk to
the attendees, this is a potential way to boost general awareness.
Research
VCE Students
18 - 30 yrs old
31+ yrs old
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
Attendee Age at Expo
Attendants
39. 39
The 18-30 year old demographic are majority of the attendants at the expo,
whom CareSuper are currently basing their strategies around
(Careerexpo.com.au, 2014).
Furthermore, statistics reveal at trade shows like these, 82% of visitors have
buying influence and 49% are planning to buy those products or services
(Gane, 2014). This ensures the prospect that consumers will be more
interested in what CareSuper are trying to promote and communicate, as
superannuation is very much an important factor in anyone’s career.
Primary research (in appendix) shows that Giaan is not being associated with
CareSuper. By exhibiting at this event, with a large emphasis on Rooney, this
could potentially help associate her more proficiently with the brand.
Hopefully having these attendees exposed to CareSuper in such an
environment will better guarantee brand recall when thinking of super.
RISKS BENEFITS
! Can be costly
! Competition at the expo
! Will take a lot of time and
effort to properly prepare
! Exposure to preferred target
market
! Increase brand awareness
! Create a customer database
from the visitors to your display
booth.
! Consumers more likely to
behave positively towards the
brand.
Concluding Statement
Superannuation is rarely considered something young adults actively search
for but by presenting the opportunity for exposure within a place where the
current target market is present and actively seeking career advice is
beneficial. Ultimately this has the potential to help increase brand awareness
long term by targeting the younger generation.
40. 40
Conclusion
CareSuper has successfully combined relevant brand elements and specific
marketing strategies, like the use of gold medalist Gianne Rooney, to establish
their superannuation brand. With continuous use of these elements,
CareSuper should have no real problem in differentiating their brand from the
competition. Though awareness is low amongst the general public, by
targeting the younger adults, this will potentially serve as a benefit long term.
Additionally, by creating marketing strategies focused on this specific target
market as identified by the recommendations above, brand recognition and
awareness should rise, ultimately improving CareSuper’s brand equity.
41. 41
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44. 44
Primary Research Survey
Conducted a survey with La Trobe university students (aged between 18 – 20)
to find out if they knew about CareSuper and is it their choice of
superannuation.
The results are as follows:
Do you know who and what CareSuper is?
Yes: 60%
No: 40%
Are you with CareSuper?
Yes: 0%
No: 100%
When you think Giaan Ronney, do you think of CareSuper?
Yes: 0%
No: 100%
Appendix
