NS&I
Positioning, tone of voice, copywriting
Leave no customer behind
Around 26 million customers invest with NS&I each year. In fact, to safeguard the economy, the government has to limit the amount NS&I can ‘take in’ each year.
When the organisation ended over-the-counter sales at the Post Office, and moved towards digital channels, a thoughtful and joined-up brand experience that supported customer behaviour change across key channels was crucial.
NS&I were ready to make a shift, in order to avoid their special place in the market being eroded.
Working within a cross-functional team, I led the process with senior stakeholders to define a revitalised brand personality.
From trustworthy organisation to valued companion
For the new Tone of Voice, copy, and content, our new valued companion persona meant being:
Conversational and easily understood
Vibrant but refined, and always accessible
Clear, smart, and delivered with a human touch
Shifting customer behaviour, gently
For the business, digital opened up a preferred, more efficient channel. But for many of NS&I’s customers, the change was not one they welcomed, or felt ready to adopt. I helped devise the strategy and tactics to support the shift that the business wanted to see.
We had to introduce the new customer experience with care and consideration.
And we had to make sure that what made NS&I special was preserved. We made more of their story, and found ways to highlight their unique place in our society.
A charming new digital experience
The revitalised brand ran through the entire customer experience, from brochures, leaflets, print ads and in digital. My role involved leading the digital UX development — so the experience of buying new bonds, claiming prizes, or raising a concern online all delivered against our new principles.
An enduring brand
This work was rolled out across all touch points, marking a major shift in decades for the business and its customers. The success of the launch, and the principles we put in place, laid the foundation for the updates and further improvements that have followed since — maintaining NS&I’d heritage while helping it take its place in the modern world.
Key takeaways
A heritage brand in a highly regulated sector brings multifaceted challenges and considerations when it comes to change. But as awareness of the need for change increases within any organisation, change is possible — in fact essential — in any environment.
Re-vitalising an established brand can bring with it all kinds of temptations for strategists and creatives to service their own visions for exciting new work. But — it will come as no surprise — the best and most effective work comes from keeping customer needs and business goals in your field of view at all times.
Building trust and providing joy or fun are not always easy to achieve at the same time. The fact that NS&I does both is very special — saving really can be fun.