This finalist spotlight has been provided by Emma Hill, Head of Marketing & Communications at LPPI.
The past year has been one of continued evolution for LPPI.
We’ve built on our existing foundations and welcomed several new Partner Funds into the fold, all while navigating major reform across the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS).
For our three-person Marketing & Communications team, this meant supporting LPPI through significant change while simultaneously transforming how marketing contributed to the organisation.
This focus has shaped much of our work over the past 18 months – and makes being shortlisted for Pensions Marketing Team of the Year, Pensions Marketer of the Year and Financial Promoter of the Year at the Financial Promoter Awards particularly meaningful.
The changing role of marketing
When I joined LPPI last year, marketing and communications already played an important role in supporting the organisation and protecting its reputation. As the business evolved, there was an opportunity to strengthen the function’s strategic contribution.
Our ambition was to work more closely as a strategic partner – understanding organisational priorities, bringing a stakeholder perspective into decision-making, and using marketing and communications to support LPPI’s ambitions within the LGPS.
The timing was particularly important. With LPPI responding to the Government’s Fit for the Future reforms, it was the right moment to consider how our brand and communications could evolve too, reflecting both the LPPI of today and its ambitions for the future.
More than a new look
Our brand revitalisation became one of the clearest expressions of that change.
From the outset, we were determined it wouldn’t simply be a visual refresh. Before deciding how LPPI should look or sound, we needed to understand what our audiences valued and where there was room for us to communicate more clearly.
We spoke to employees, senior stakeholders, existing and prospective Partner Funds and others across the LGPS, alongside undertaking competitor and market analysis.
The research gave us an important insight. People recognised LPPI’s investment expertise and valued the collaborative way we work, but those strengths weren’t always reflected clearly enough in how we presented ourselves externally.
With that direction, we worked with specialist brand consultancy Whole.hearted, to develop a clearer proposition and identity built around partnership, collaboration and collective strength – qualities that were already authentic to LPPI rather than simply attributes we wanted the market to associate with us.
Alongside the refreshed brand, we also needed to create an entirely standalone digital presence.
Our new website had to launch on 1st April 2026. That date was fixed, and there was a considerable amount to deliver.
Our team coordinated interconnected workstreams spanning brand strategy, website development and migration, governance, stakeholder communications, internal engagement and launch activity. That meant working closely with colleagues across technology, risk, compliance, investment, people & culture and senior leadership, as well as our external partners.
And we did all of that while continuing the day job, which included Partner Fund engagement and media relations, alongside corporate affairs, policy communications and industry events.
Measuring the difference
The programme helped LPPI navigate a changing LGPS landscape while maintaining continuity for our stakeholders. Marketing and communications also supported the organisation through a period in which its assets under management doubled and its Partner Fund base tripled.
Just as importantly, the way our function operated changed.
We introduced stronger planning and governance, enhanced measurement and approvals, created a central brand hub and established a brand champion model to help colleagues bring the LPPI identity to life consistently.
Marketing is now also becoming increasingly involved in strategic conversations earlier, rather than being brought in at the end to communicate a decision that has already been made.
For me, that is one of the most important measures of our progress.
What the shortlist means to us
Having the team shortlisted for Pensions Marketing Team of the Year means a great deal to me personally. My own shortlisting for Pensions Marketer of the Year is also an enormous honour, but the work behind it wouldn’t exist without the creativity and commitment of the people I work alongside.
We’re looking forward to celebrating that progress at the Financial Promoter Awards in November – alongside the other marketers and teams helping shape the future of financial services marketing.
