These days, with the bear often wreaking havoc on Wall Street, it can be a tough sell to persuade anyone to invest. But in 2000, Charles Schwab & Co. recognized an
opportunity to expand its mindshare with a burgeoning demographic: female investors.
Women generally were more anxious than men about investing and were much more conservative when they did invest. According to Schwab's research, women lacked knowledge about
Wall Street, but were open to learning more. They tended to learn through seminars and women's investing clubs, however, vs. the books, tapes and Web sites men preferred.
Research also showed that younger women were just as likely as older women to express misgivings about investing: Gen X women found investing "scary" as often as seniors.
Schwab and PR firm Patrice Tanaka & Co. set out to break down the perceived barriers for women with a program dubbed Women Investing Now (WIN). The program would offer
women motivation, expertise and resources to help raise their financial acuity. Plus, it would position Schwab and Carrie Schwab Pomerantz, VP of consumer education and daughter
of the company's founder and chairman, as leaders and innovators with female investors.
WINning the Race
Other financial services firms had recognized the lucrative potential market women represented as well. Merrill Lynch and Salomon Smith Barney were also launching initiatives
geared toward women. The PR team set out to differentiate Schwab's program by focusing on the numbers: The team touted Schwab's research (conducted by Harris Interactive) showing
that there was a 29 percentage point gap between men's confidence in their investing skills and women's confidence. Schwab pledged to help women close the gap.
That survey data became the foundation for the WIN program. The company developed a comprehensive online resource for women featuring investing resources and information as
well as forums, message boards and other interactive features that allowed women to communicate with experts and with each other - fitting women's tendency to seek knowledge from
"communities."
The company also leveraged the fact that, unlike many financial firms, approximately 40 percent of Schwab's employees are women. Thirty-six percent of the company's officers
are women, and more than two-thirds of employees report to a woman.
Because the campaign was using the fact that its workforce was so heavily female, the company recognized the importance of starting its education initiative close to home. It
used videos and other programs to encourage female employees to increase their knowledge of investment and become "money mentors" to other women.
Building Community
In addition to the grassroots, inside-out approach used to bring Schwab employees in touch with other women, the PR team promoted local WIN seminars and other community
functions where women could learn in a comfortable setting. Plus, they helped create, promote and distribute Life Event brochures, designed to help women navigate emotionally and
financially challenging situations like the death of a spouse or a divorce.
Media outreach also comprised an important element of the campaign, including a major press conference to kick off the initiative and introduce Pomerantz, widespread
distribution of a press kit, a press release on the launch of the WIN portal online, promotion of the Life Event brochures, and one-on-one interviews for Pomerantz.
The WINning Results
The WIN program and the results of the Harris Poll totaled more than 254 million media impressions. Key print placements included The New York Times, BusinessWeek, Money,
Newsweek, the Associated Press, Dow Jones News Service and Financial Times. WIN also made it to the airwaves via CNBC, NBC, CNNfn and CBS Marketwatch. Jean Sherman Chatzky, Money
editor-at-large and contributor to the "Today" show; Sharon Epperson, CNBC correspondent; and Toddi Gutner, BusinessWeek columnist, all spotlighted the WIN program in their
outlets.
Pomerantz was identified as the pioneer behind WIN in 66 percent of placements. She was also named one of four Market Movers by Working Woman. Best of all, more than 5,000
women participated in a WIN seminar or workshop, and 25,000 Schwab employees were touched by the program. (Contact: Ellen LaNicca, PT&Co., 212/229-0500)
Campaign Stats Timeframe
September - December, 2000
Budget: Undisclosed
Key Campaign Strategy
Commissioning a study on women and investing proved to be an invaluable part of this campaign. Having numbers available on the gap between women and men investing - and their
knowledge and confidence about investing:
- Helped Schwab get a better grasp of the problems women faced when tackling investing and, as a result, helped the company create a more effective program for reaching out
to potential investors; - Positioned Schwab as a company truly concerned about the challenges of investment for women;
- Provided a basis for extensive media coverage of the campaign.