Plan Sponsor | |
Initial Education | |
Corporate | |
1st Place | Dean Foods Using the theme, "What's your game plan?" Dean Foods captured employees' attention and held their interest through a colorful, engaging, fun and creative campaign. The information was very well-packaged and complete. One judge said the company did "everything you can do to get someone to participate." Service Provider: The Hartford and PartnerComm |
2nd Place | Delaware North Companies, Inc. Delaware North's initial education package stayed true to its road-trip theme, "The Right Direction." Among the clever components were "roadside assistance" and a guide resembling a Triptik from the American Automobile Association. Service Provider: The Hartford |
3rd Place | American Airlines From magnets that looked like luggage tags to nicknaming the plan, the "Super Saver 401(k) plan," American Airlines did an excellent job branding its materials with a flight theme. In addition, they were clean, clear and easy to follow. Service Provider: J.P. Morgan Retirement Plan Services |
Public | |
1st Place | City of Los Angeles Los Angeles renamed its deferred comp plan "Premiere", and used a movie premiere theme to reintroduce the plan. The "movie" was "Attack of the Investment Anxiety Robot, paralyzing you with indecision." The information presented was excellent, highlighted by cool graphics like stacks of popcorn and movie reels. Service Provider: Great-West Retirement Services |
2nd Place | Commonwealth of Massachusetts The entry from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, featuring photos of Boston and the countryside, was visually appealing. At the same time, the information was presented in a way that was basic, straightforward and easy to read and follow. Service Provider: Great-West Retirement Services |
Conversions | |
Corporate - More than 5,000 employees | |
1st Place | Thermo Fisher Scientific Judges were struck immediately by the quality of the design of Thermo Fisher Scientific's brochure, including higher-quality paper stock and crisp, clean writing. Included was a monthly calendar in a CD-like case that sported investment education on the back. Service Provider: T. Rowe Price |
2nd Place | Arctic Slope Regional Corp. "Gorgeous" and "beautiful" were among the words judges used to describe Arctic Slope Regional Corp.'s colorful and attractive entry. The photos of Alaska were simply breathtaking and fit with the theme, "Your future - no boundaries." Service Provider: The 401(k) Company, A Charles Schwab Company |
Corporate - Less than 5,000 employees | |
1st Place | Kwik Trip Inc. Kwik Trip took a highly effective straightforward approach during a conversion that included adding 401(k) features to its profit-sharing plan. Identification with the plan sponsor was excellent, including photos of employees and a theme that is part of the corporate mission statement, "Making a difference." Service Provider: Wachovia Retirement Services |
2nd Place | Blue Diamond Growers The campaign of almond cooperative Blue Diamond Growers was called "Establish, Grow, Harvest." One smart move: Every printed piece had photos of almonds at each of the three stages of growth. Service Provider: Diversified Investment Advisors |
Not-for-Profit | |
1st Place | The Metropolitan Opera Two different creative devices that did a superlative job of targeting the audience made this a crowd pleaser: good imagery (lovely photos of the architectural angles of the Metropolitan Opera building); and lingo employees could relate to ("Bravo" and "Preparing for Act II"). Service Provider: Diversified Investment Advisors |
Union | |
1st Place | International Union of Operating Engineers Local 94 This New York City union chose the theme, "The Plan That Never Sleeps" because it's a takeoff of New York's slogan, "The City That Never Sleeps." Graphics of New York City at night were alluring, and the content was thorough and easy to read. Service Provider: Putnam Investments |
Ongoing Education | |
Corporate | |
1st Place | Bemis Co. Inc Bemis used a tennis theme to educate employees about the company match. Materials said "Join the team" and "Game, Set, Match," with a photo of a tennis ball about to be served. Judges loved the postcard with a fuzzy (really) tennis ball encouraging participants to increase their deferrals. Service Provider: J.P. Morgan Retirement Plan Services |
2nd Place | El Paso Corp. From the cover of the first mailing, where the employee's name looked like an election campaign sign, El Paso Corp.'s "Decision 401(k)" materials were highly personalized. Partisanship was avoided: A piggy bank replaced the donkey and the elephant. Service Provider: J.P. Morgan Retirement Plan Services |
3rd Place (Tie) | Meijer Good use of color and imagery were hallmarks of Meijer's entry. The year-long "Blue Skies Ahead" campaign to encourage diversification worked: The average number of funds per participant increased to 6.1 from 3.2. Service Provider: The 401(k) Company, A Charles Schwab Company |
3rd Place (Tie) | The Pepsi Bottling Group Judges liked Pepsi Bottling's holistic approach that was so comprehensive it even touched on financial planning. Materials were clean and easy to use. The company went the extra mile to make sure the worksheets would be valuable to participants. Service Provider: PricewaterhouseCoopers |
Not-for-Profit | |
1st Place | Yeshiva University Yeshiva University's campaign to educate participants about fund changes and plan changes was totally branded, featuring its own employees and the same colors as the school itself. The information was solid and complete. And, kudos for warning people about the negatives of taking loans. Service Provider: Prudential Retirement |
Special Projects | |
Corporate | |
1st Place | Parsons Corp. This entry was fun and engaging. "I've never seen anything like this," one judge said of the wooden Scrabble-like tiles that were the centerpiece of Parsons' separate mailings to increase deferral rates and move participants into target-date funds. "You have to take it out and mess with it," another judge said. Service Provider: Wells Fargo Retirement Plan Solutions |
2nd Place | M.A. Mortenson Co. Here is a company going to unusual lengths to promote its benefit plans. Mortenson distributed wallets containing a fake check - signed by the CEO and made out to the participant - showing the individual's profit-sharing contribution for the year. Service Provider: Wells Fargo Retirement Plan Solutions |
3rd Place | M.A. Mortenson Co. It took the judges a few seconds to "get" M.A. Mortenson's very focused project to increase deferral rates. It featured an in-your-face photo of a cow with the words, "Can you give an extra 2%?" Once they got the joke, they loved it! Service Provider: Wells Fargo Retirement Plan Solutions |
Public | |
1st Place | Ohio Public Deferred Compensation Program "Bold," "compelling to look at," "clever," "cool" and "very creative" all were used to describe Ohio Deferred Comp's special project. The fund did a takeoff on My Space - called "Smart Space" to promote its Smart Plan to younger employees. It looked authentic, down to the web banners. Service Provider: Nationwide Retirement Solutions |
2nd Place | North Carolina, Department of State Treasurer North Carolina's was the only public fund to personalize its message. It included the participant's salary and contribution, and combined data from multiple plans (DB, deferred comp, Social Security) to give employees a complete snapshot. Service Provider: Prudential Retirement |
Not-for-Profit | |
1st Place | Norton Healthcare Inc. Employees at Norton Healthcare in Louisville love the Kentucky Derby, so the company capitalized on that with its "Race to Retirement" project. The effort went way beyond photos to include a raffle ticket that looks like a ticket you get at a betting window and a horse head key chain. No wonder it got first. Service Provider: Diversified Investment Advisors |
2nd Place | St. Joseph Health System-Sonoma County St. Joseph's "Celebrate Retirement" campaign combined cupcakes and pigs, and it worked. Among the gimmicks: raffles for piggy banks; pig-shaped balloons; and cupcakes frosted the same colors as were used in the campaign. Service Provider: Diversified Investment Advisors |
3rd Place | Via Christi Health System Using the simple tagline, "Who wants to retire?" Via Christi came up with a highly visual campaign with one postcard and one poster. The picture: a Wheel of Chance. The caption: "Don't leave your retirement income to chance." Service Provider: Great-West Retirement Services |
Other Media | |
1st Place (Tie) | Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. Coca-Cola Enterprises' video wisely was filmed in the company's offices and warehouses, rather than in an impersonal studio It features footage of employees and Coke bottles and cans throughout, giving it immediate and consistent branding. Service Provider: J.P. Morgan Retirement Plan Services |
1st Place (Tie) | Harrah's Entertainment Inc. "This is one-stop shopping: a website and video combined," one judge said of Harrah's Entertainment's easy-to-navigate entry. It was slick and well-produced - even the talking heads weren't annoying - and the investment education was great. Service Provider: ING, vWise Inc. |
Service Providers | |
Training and Advocacy | |
1st Place | New York Life Retirement Plan Services Our judges love gimmicks and give high marks for creativity, and New York Life's program for Resorts - "Real Retirement, Real Employees, Real Fun" was loaded with both. But some critical points were made, such as educating trainers to urge employees to avoid loans, and only withdraw plan money after age 59 "You can put any HR person into this and they could run a meeting," one judge said. Client: Resorts Hotels and Casinos |
Initial Education | |
Corporate | |
1st Place | The Hartford and PartnerComm Using the theme, "What's your game plan?" The Hartford, PartnerComm and Dean Foods captured employees' attention and held their interest through a colorful, engaging, fun and creative campaign. The information was very well-packaged and complete. One judge said the company did "everything you can do to get someone to participate." (This entry also won first place in initial education for plan sponsors.) Client: Dean Foods |
2nd Place | The Hartford This initial education package from The Hartford for Delaware North Companies stayed true to its road-trip theme, "The Right Direction." Among the clever components were "roadside assistance" and a guide resembling a Triptik from the American Automobile Association. (This entry also won second place in initial education for plan sponsors.) Client: Delaware North Companies Inc. |
3rd Place | J.P. Morgan Retirement Plan Services From magnets that looked like luggage tags to nicknaming the plan, the "Super Saver 401(k) plan," J.P. Morgan and American Airlines did an excellent job branding the materials with a flight theme. In addition, they were clean, clear and easy to follow. Client: American Airlines |
Generic | |
1st Place | Lincoln Financial Group Lincoln's "You Can Fly" program had a great hook (flying) to get participants into it. Information presented was comprehensive, with a lot of investment information. This was a full campaign, the way initial education should be. |
2nd Place | Tri-Ad It can be tricky to provide participants with basic and complete materials without making them suffer from data overload. Tri-Ad succeeded, though. Judges especially liked the interactive worksheet. |
Conversions | |
Corporate - More than 5,000 employees | |
1st Place | T. Rowe Price T. Rowe Price apparently borrowed the type font from Hello Kitty to create the engaging "Hello Retirement" campaign for Honda of America. The result is colorful and easy to read, with a consistent message and consistent graphics and strong identification with Honda. Client: Honda of America Moanufacturing Inc. |
2nd Place | The 401(k) Company, A Charles Schwab Company "Gorgeous" and "beautiful" were words judges used to describe the 401(k) Co.'s work for Arctic Slope. The photos of Alaska were simply breathtaking and fit with the theme, "Your future - no boundaries." Client: Arctic Slope Regional Corp. |
3rd Place | Mercer Mercer wisely incorporated the CBS "eye" logo into all of the graphics for "CBS & You." The materials look like the company. Judges liked the mouse pad. "You'll always see it and be reminded of the plan," one said. Client: CBS Corp. |
Corporate - Less than 5,000 employees | |
1st Place | T. Rowe Price Danisco produces food ingredients, so T. Rowe Price capitalized on that by using an agricultural theme. It was a beautiful campaign, and the information had a nice flow. Branding was excellent, featuring carefully chosen words like "cultivate" and "grow". Client: Danisco US |
2nd Place | Wachovia Retirement Services Wachovia took a highly effective, straightforward approach to educate Kwik Trip employees about new 401(k) features in the profit-sharing plan. Identification with the plan sponsor was excellent, including photos of employees and a theme that is part of the corporate mission statement, "Making a difference". Client: Kwik Trip Inc. |
Ongoing Education | |
Corporate | |
1st Place | J.P. Morgan The back-to-school theme J.P. Morgan and Hospira used was cleverly executed. The main brochure resembled a composition notebook. Judges laughed at the teachers' names, such as Ivana Retire for economics. They also admired how every piece mailed built on the previous one. Client: Hospira |
2nd Place | Mercer "Shape Your Retirement Your Way," the campaign Mercer did for Clark Construction Group, targeted different age groups with different messages, but everything was branded with Clark's corporate colors and was tied together by a bendable figure wearing Clark's logo. Client: Clark Construction Group LLC |
Generic | |
1st Place (Tie) | The Hartford The Hartford's bold and brash program featured catchy food posters, each addressing a different behavior. One for example, showed a juicy burger and fries with the question, "Are you eating up $130,037 of your retirement savings?". |
1st Place (Tie) | Lincoln Financial Group Lincoln Financial's version was more gentle and subtle, using pastel colors and much smaller pictures. It targeted only one behavior - increasing deferral rates. |
Special Projects | |
Corporate - More than 5,000 employees | |
1st Place | The Principal Financial Group "Objects in the future are closer than they appear." That's the theme of the campaign chosen by employees at Advantage, a wonderful device Principal Financial Group used to engage them before the campaign even began. Other highlights were terrific giveaways for taking action, such as a backpack and an atlas. Client: Advantage Sales and Marketing |
2nd Place | Wells Fargo Retirement Plan Solutions This entry from Wells Fargo for Parsons was fun and engaging. "I've never seen anything like this," one judge said of the wooden Scrabble-like tiles that were the centerpiece of Parsons' separate mailings to increase deferral rates and move participants into target-date funds. "You have to take it out and mess with it," another judge said. Client: Parsons Corp. |
3rd Place (Tie) | J.P. Morgan Retirement Plan Services "Start your engines" was the perfect tag line for J.P. Morgan to use with this engine and school bus manufacturer to boost participation in the union plan. There were good giveaways at face-to-face meetings: a little "stress" car and t-shirts. Client: International Truck and Engine Corp. |
3rd Place (Tie) | ING Boeing's special project done by ING was two postcards (one to non-savers, one for low savers). The campaign was very simple, very targeted, featured total identification with the plan sponsor, and had excellent results. Client: Boeing Co. |
Corporate - Less than 5,000 employees | |
1st Place | Wells Fargo Retirement Plan Solutions It took the judges a few seconds to "get" Wells Fargo's very focused project to increase deferral rates at M.A. Mortenson. It featured an in-your-face photo of a cow with the words, "Can you give an extra 2%?" Once they got the joke, they loved it! Client: M.A. Mortenson Co. |
2nd Place | New York Life Retirement Plan Services Good giveaways strike again! In this case, they included a stadium cup and a candy roll. The project was to promote 401(k) Day, and New York Life and Ingram put together a simple, very focused campaign with bright colors that grab. Client: Ingram Industries Inc. |
Not-for-Profit | |
1st Place | T. Rowe Price T. Rowe Price and Intermountain Healthcare produced a fully customized project with lots of giveaways. The judges' favorite: hand sanitizer with the remark, "Enroll in the 401(k) and wash your worries away." Results were excellent, with participation exceeding the target. Client: Intermountain Healthcare |
Generic | |
1st Place | Nationwide Retirement Solutions Nationwide has clients give away lunch bags to promote the idea of saving money for retirement by packing lunch twice a pay period. "Food for thought," it said. The message was simple, clear and targeted, and all of the components were connected. |
2nd Place | Lincoln Financial Group "Where do you want to go?" was the tagline of Lincoln Financial's special project that tackled changing jobs and approaching retirement. Judges were drawn to postcards topped with clear plastic as if they were looking out the front window of a car. |
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3rd Place | The 401(k) Company, a Charles Schwab Company The 401(k) Co.'s catchy and colorful entry focused on traditionally popular games. "Retirement: one game you don't want to lose," it said. Most of the game references were to Clue, but Boggle and Life also were featured. |
Other Media | |
1st Place | J.P. Morgan Coca-Cola Enterprises and J.P. Morgan wisely chose to film this video in the company's offices and warehouses, rather than in an impersonal studio It features footage of employees and Coke bottles and cans throughout, giving it immediate and consistent branding. |
2nd Place | Wells Fargo Institutional Trust Services "You want to click on stuff to see what happens," one judge remarked about Wells Fargo's totally interactive web-based program. "It forces you to make choices, but in a painless way," by asking the user to choose whether he/she is a hip hop, disco or waltzing kind of investor. |
3rd Place | T. Rowe Price T. Rowe's animated flash e-mail to participants, launched in October, features portfolio manager Jerome Clark. Yes, he's a "talking head," but he's unusually personable as he discusses diversification and other investment topics. |
Best in Show | |
Best in Show | New York Life Retirement Plan Services New York Life and client Resorts Hotels and Casinos explain it better than I can: "This kit is designed for one purpose: to help you promote the 401(k) plan to employees. So put it to work - and have some fun with it," the trainers were told. In addition to a huge silver notebook of education materials, trainers also got fun stuff to work with, from a casino table "shoe" filled with cards giving suggestions on how to promote the plan, to a slot machine-like box filled with candy coins. Everything was totally branded and just plain awesome. Client: Resorts, Hotels and Casinos |
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