M&G Investments was an ailing brand. Its funds were performing badly. Its market share was falling.Yet they wanted us to revive the brand in time for the crucial ISA (Individual Savings Accounts) selling season February–April 2002. In the UK, it is at this time of year that over 50% of private investments are made.

We had just three months to reposition the brand and start selling. And we had to do it while consumer confidence was falling and on a marketing budget that had been slashed by 35%!

Research told us:• the core audience were aged 45+ • they saw M&G as a 'trusted' brand• even the experienced investors were confused by the volatile markets.We saw an opportunity for a 'trusted' brand to take the high ground and explain the confusion surrounding the investment markets.We created 'brand response' press ads which offered guidance through the difficult times ahead. We also ran them as billboards for railway/underground stations (where we had a captive audience of commuters). Then we created product-oriented ads which ran in the financial pages of the newspapers and the channel IFA press.

Compared to the previous year:Response rates were up 30% ...... yet media spend was down 35%.Cost per response was down 48% overall and down 76% in the peak ISA selling month of March. Moreover, cost of acquisition as a percentage of sales was down 35%. Even Internet sales were up 38%. As a result, by 30 April M&G's share of the ISA market was up 25%.All this was achieved at a time when the markets (and consumer confidence) were falling. E.g. gross ISA sales across the whole market were actually down 31%.