Boosting client engagement in workplace schemes, master trusts and retail solutions is one of the biggest challenges marketers face. At Financial Promoter Live! 2025, Robert Cochran, workplace savings engagement and innovation specialist at Scottish Widows and Tom Peterson, head of marketing and investor relations at Mallowstreet and SOFI ai discussed creative ways to keep customers interested.
Don’t overcomplicate the message
Peterson highlighted that at Mallowstreet, the marketing team consistently get strong engagement from email campaigns, emphasizing the importance of not abandoning the basics when it comes to engagement. Similarly, LinkedIn can be a strong tool for keeping customers engaged.
“One of the most important things you can do when you’re looking to improve your engagement is to look after your data and make sure your CRM is in a good position,” he said.
Stories of success
Cochran shared the story behind Scottish Widows’ hugely successful pension mirror campaign, which encourages people to scan their face with a filter to guess what age they are. After this, people are pointed towards an ONS page showing the average amount of money that other people their age have saved in their pension pots, and they can compare the figure to what’s in their pension on the Scottish Widows app.
From there, the initiative evolved to a large-scale scanner in Waterloo station, where commuters could stand and be scanned for their age. Cochran noted that the mirror has consistently improved engagement for the scheme since its launch.
Gamifying the system
Cochran added that this initiative is the first part of a wider gamification process Scottish Widows is looking to launch. “The key with these games is that you want to subvert people’s expectations, whether that’s through a short game they can play on our platform or in another format, we’ve had the most success with that subversion model.”
He added: “We see ourselves as a technology company that also does pensions.”
How can AI help
Peterson noted that as the mistrust of AI has waned, it has become an increasingly important tool in helping people to get access to financial advice. “People are less worried now about AI taking their job, but I think there’s more awareness that if you completely shun AI, there’s a chance that a person that does utilise it might take your job instead.”
Going to your customer
Finding the right platform to reach your customers on is also key to boosting engagement from the right people.
“It’s important to go to where your customers are instead of trying to drag them to where you want to be. TikTok is a great example of that, we were very cautious about using it for years but then that creates a gap that other people are going to fill, and they might not be offering the best advice,” Cochran said.