Experian: Money Positive

The launch of Experian Boost – a free service that could instantly boost your credit score – had received a strong spread of coverage in the national and personal finance media. However, Experian wanted to extend Boost’s reach, first targeting young adults – a notoriously hard to reach group – and encouraging them to take control of their finances.  Our challenge to help this audience understand why a healthy credit score is important and to position Experian Boost as an easy, effective way to improve it

Our key insight was that there’s still a stigma associated with talking about money – we commissioned a consumer poll which found 58% of people believe society needs to be less judgemental about others’ financial circumstances. It was time for the nation to get ‘money positive’ – to have more open and honest conversations about money so that people feel empowered to take control of their finances and ultimately put themselves in the best possible position for the future.

To instigate a rallying cry among the campaign’s target demographic, we recommended leaning on the reach and influence of talent. We wanted to engage someone who could not only authentically draw upon their own financial mistakes and champion our cause, but who would also pique media interest. Who better to help us achieve a new money positive attitude than previous winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, The Vivienne?  Following extensive research into her backstory – she hid from bailiffs and had a credit score so low a mobile phone contract was out of reach – and her social credentials, we knew that The Vivienne would help our audience understand the importance of a healthy credit score while positioning Experian Boost as an easy, effective way to improve it.

As well as profiling her story, and providing guidance in high-profile national and lifestyle media, we tapped into a popular social trend by inviting her to capture a 10 minute ‘get ready with me’ tutorial with a difference – applying her drag make-up while candidly discussing her own mistakes – which was shared via IGTV and YouTube.

The campaign secured over 45+ pieces of coverage – including 12 national pieces. Coverage included a five-minute interview on Channel 5 News, dedicated features in The i, Mail Online’s Femail, full page interviews in the Metro and Sunday Times, The Big Issue, as well as 17 radio interviews and a BBC Radio 4’s You & Yours highlight. Its organic social engagement reached over 175,000 people and The Vivienne’s Instagram grid content delivered an impressive engagement rate of 9.46% (against a benchmark of 3%) – the reaction to her content from her followers was universally positive.

SEO analysis revealed an uplift in clicks and position for “how does Experian Boost work” as a result of the campaign, while data from YouGov’s February BrandIndex found that Experian’s reputation, versus its key competitors, peaked for the month immediately after launch.