This case study explores the nature of what it means to be successful in life. Old Mutual, a wealth protection and investment company, had been trying to attract the affluent market unsuccessfully for a few years. They had focused on individual material success. We repositioned the brand towards a new definition of success – one that focuses on the idea of a legacy, which is less concerned with how much money you’ve made, and more concerned about what you have done to make the world a better place. This repositioning was rooted in insight, but nevertheless posed a risk, because the stereotype of success in the South African market was very outer-directed, and focused on status through material success.

The strategic shift from a materialistic brand to a legacy brand was expressed in the call to action ‘Do Great Things’ which inspired people to use whatever resources they have to create something lasting and meaningful for themselves and their loved ones and generations to come.

The brand advertising campaign was very successful in many ways. Firstly, it achieved the primary objective of making Old Mutual aspirational to the affluent classes. But what made this more remarkable, is that we maintained our appeal in the mass market. The affluent were drawn to the wisdom of the brand, while the mass market was drawn to the sense of caring implicit in our tone. We therefore managed to stretch the brand beyond its traditional market.

The campaign was also successful in creating differentiation – the risk paid off. Everyone else says “you’re successful because you’ve got lots of money” and we say “You’re successful because you do great things with your talents” – our message stands out and people like it.This campaign has started the process of fixing a brand image problem in the affluent market. But to really connect with the affluent market takes more than an advertising campaign about greatness and wisdom – it takes wisdom in action. Phase 2 of this campaign breaks this year, with a stronger focus on PR, activation and experiential.