At Northwestern Mutual, the numbers speak for themselves. They also speak for Deanna Tillisch, who, as PR director for the company, first proposed the idea that in-depth
consumer research could be a valuable PR tool for the investment advisory firm.
"The media like getting statistics and numbers, especially if you can throw in things that have some pop culture in to them: What do college students think about this or that?
So I saw this as a way to increase our general awareness through a fairly neutral, low-risk program," she says.
In 1997 Northwestern launched the first of its "Millennium" studies, surveying the college class of 2000 about its spending habits, financial foibles and general economic
understanding. Three years later, Tillisch launched a second research series, "Money Maladies," which looks at behavioral economics: How people make their spending and saving
decisions.
While it's unusual for PR shops to initiate a full-blown research program, Tillisch says there were several reasons for her communications team to lead the effort. For
starters, Northwestern was in a recruiting crunch -- the strong economy of the late 1990s was leading many candidates elsewhere -- so a PR effort was needed to raise the general
profile of the company among potential recruits. In a more general sense, the purpose of these polls was to take the pulse of public opinion, and who better to do that than PR
experts? "PR pros understand public opinion," Tillisch adds. "We have a feel for the issues that are affecting audiences that are critical to our success."
Tillisch still had to sell her idea to the rest of the executive team, and that took some heavy lifting. She needed to convince the firm's actuaries and accountants of the
research program's value. Fortunately, Tillisch holds an MBA herself, and knows how to do a cost/benefit analysis. She projected what the research would cost and ran focus groups
with Northwestern's field employees to estimate how much value they might get out of the data. "We didn't operate in a vacuum at all," Tillisch says. "We really extended
ourselves, and we lobbied beforehand."
Marketing gave it the thumb's up, as did recruiting, so that by the time Tillisch had a sit-down with the CEO, "we were able to show an interdisciplinary program that also met
a business need." The program subsequently got the green light from management.
Tillisch engaged Harris Interactive to do the actual polling, and once the numbers were in, the real fun began. Demand for this kind of financial data turned out to be higher
than expected: Tillisch had made up 500 media kits for consumers explaining the initial data from the first Millennium study. She ended up using a fulfillment house to meet the
5,000-strong demand.
Tillisch embarked on a speaking tour, addressing academic and business groups in 10 midwestern locations.
John Putnam, a Northwestern financial representative in Charlotte, N.C., says the research data has had a dramatic impact on the way people perceive the company. "The studies
and research have nothing to do with product: They are about people and about the challenges and concerns that we as consumers face every day," he says. "When people see that,
they come to see Northwestern as somebody who will provide them information and will help them, regardless of what product they own. There is a big trust factor in that."
Helping to shape those perceptions was a broadly receptive media. The results are too extensive to list, but consider just the 2001 media hits for "Money Maladies." These
included NBC-TV in Grand Rapids, West Palm Beach and other markets as well as Fox TV in Detroit and Jacksonville and other markets for a total of 2.8 million TV impressions. The
10 million radio impressions included AM stations in Houston, Miami, St. Louis and elsewhere, while 39 million print impressions included hits in the Associated Press, Dow Jones,
Working Woman, Working Mother and USA Today, among others.
Tillisch says the success of the research program was a big win for PR. "We do not have sexy products... You don't see our name everywhere. So getting our name out there in
front of key audiences, where they in turn can make a connection, is what really seals the deal," she says. And since other financial-services firms don't have research programs
of their own, "this is something that we can own, and it has become a real differentiator."
Running the Numbers
Thinking of using research data as a PR tool? Here's what Deanna Tillisch of Northwestern Mutual has learned:
Gifts that keeps on giving: Thanks to the Internet, Tillisch gets calls constantly from media reps who found her data while researching stories.
Complex task: Real research is a complex business best left to the pros. Tillisch hired a top-notch polling firm and let them handle the nuts and bolts.
Support is key: Pillisch and her PR team created brochures, Powerpoint demos and other materials in order to ensure that Northwest field reps could make the best possible use
of the data.
Northwestern Mutual
Staff on this campaign: Deanna L. Tillisch, PR Director; Betsy Rice, Manager of Field PR; Jean Towell, Media Relations Consultant; Lynn Heimbruch, Customer Affinity Consultant;
Joann Steidinger, PR Consultant; Erika Luckow, PR Specialist; Lisa Rosso, PR Coordinator; Felicia Bogdanski, Events Mgmt Specialist
Campaign time frame: Launched in 1997 and is still ongoing
Campaign Budget: To promote the findings -- approximately $150,000 for the 1st and 2nd Millennium Studies and 1st Money Maladies. The others were around $25,000 each to
promote/package/merchandise.
Contacts: John Putnam, 704.442.4414, [email protected]; Deanna Tillisch, 414.665.2705, [email protected]