The situation

Financial advisors who work at big-name firms are ambitious, but the benefits of their hard work largely fall to the companies they represent. Even so, motivating advisors to take a step as big as leaving their firms and starting their own businesses is no small task. Schwab needed to reveal a more compelling reason for independence than simply the potential for an attractive financial payoff

What we did

We zeroed in on one critical insight: Advisors are entrepreneurs at heart. The digital, print and video campaign, titled “Define Yourself,” helped celebrate independent registered investment advisors and the moments when they made huge life- or career-defining decisions. Every individual we featured has demonstrated a lifetime of taking a road less traveled. In the end, we helped Schwab’s prospects see themselves in the stories, reignite their own sense of self-determination and reach out to Schwab to take the next step.

What happened next

• The campaign contributed to a 50 percent increase in leads generated for Schwab’s business development officers
• It also achieved a 510 percent increase in landing page visits, a 113 percent increase in web-generated leads and 31 percent more video views
• “Define Yourself” has continued to be a guiding light for videos, white papers, direct mail pieces, advertisements and more.