Merrill Lynch Plan Sponsor Internal Poster

Problem

Financial institutions like Merrill Lynch sell their 401k plans to companies who are called “plan sponsors.” These plan sponsors then inform their employees about the benefits offered by the plan providers. Some of these communications are created in house, and others are provided by the plan provider (Merrill Lynch). The problem was that, for some plan sponsors, there was low employee participation in the offered 401k plan.

Objective

Encourage Merrill Lynch’s plan sponsor participants to enroll in their 401ks. The goal was to be direct and encouraging, but not pushy. These posters hung throughout the offices of Merrill Lynch’s plan sponsors.

Concept

“Reality Check” was about a gentle wake up call to take advantage of the 401k offered through the plan sponsor. The challenge was balancing some directness in the messaging with a friendly and encouraging approach. This particular series of posters targeted the youngest segment.