THE CHALLENGE
To better market its closed-end funds (CEFs), asset management firm Nuveen needed to educate financial advisers on how CEFs could benefit their income investor clients while positioning the company as an established leader in the CEF field. Nuveen was already a leading sponsor of CEFs and had a website with key resources including a video knowledge base, market insights and the latest data on fund performance. The challenge was creating a campaign that would draw advisers to Nuveen and help them better understand CEFs so they would be more likely to recommend the funds to their clients.
THE INSIGHT
Research revealed that many financial advisers were either largely unaware or misinformed about CEFs. The best approach was to use Nuveen’s position as a category leader to launch a demand generation campaign to educate financial advisers on the benefits that these funds offer to investors.
The campaign focused on the key value of CEFs—adding balance to investment portfolios—with a theme of “Finding the Right Balance”. Using Nuveen’s existing prospect data and purchased lists, targeted informational mailers were created, customized based on the advisers’ years of experience. The CEF investment kit mailers provided an in-depth look at Nuveen’s unique offering and featured a refreshed visual aesthetic that became the campaign’s signature look.
THE RESULTS
The campaign resulted in 12,000 product engagements with unique financial advisers and an average of 2.5 product views per customer. The compiled conversion rate for direct mail, email, online banners, print advertising and search marketing was 13%, a significant increase over previous efforts.