Increasing Participation in Your 529 Plan

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Increasing Participation in Your 529 Plan

• Grassroots Marketing Non-Paid Media

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GRASSROOTS MARKETING

• Grassroots marketing is connecting with existing
  and prospective customers through alternative
  mediums.
• Goal To build strong relationships that can
  stand the test of time.
• Advantages gt Fosters customer loyalty
• gt Creates feel good effect
• gt Builds brand awareness
• gt Tends to be less costly

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GRASSROOTS MARKETING

• What did we want to do?
• Maximize existing marketing dollars by
• Supplementing traditional marketing efforts
  throughout the year to create a continuous market
  presence.
• Complementing seasonal campaigns with alternative
  mediums to reinforce the message.

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GRASSROOTS MARKETING

• Questions we asked
• How do we leverage existing state relationships
  to reach our target audience?
• Who cares for or provides a service to our target
  audience (i.e. families with children)?
• How can we reach our target audience at little or
  no cost?
• How do we create a story within a story to
  extend media coverage?

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GRASSROOTS MARKETING

• How did we do it?
• Sought mutually beneficial partnerships with
  public and non-profit entities
• Designed a marketing piece that could be used in
  all grassroots marketing
• Kept an open mind and lived by,
• you dont know until you try

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SCHOOL SYSTEM INITIATIVE

• Partner with school system superintendents to
  distribute information on the GA 529 plan to all
  their students and staff.
• Annual project
• 1st round September (College Savings Month)
• 2nd round January (Tax Season)
• Communication methods
• Email
• Fax
• Mail

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SCHOOL SYSTEM INITIATIVE

• 3rd year of operation
• 2002/2003 school year 190,000 flyers
• 2003/2004 school year 294,000 flyers
• 2004/2005 school year 297,000 flyers
• (already surpassed last years total and weve
  only completed the first round)

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SCHOOL SYSTEM INITIATIVE

• Project serves as a low cost direct marketing
  campaign and helps to build brand awareness among
  our primary target audience.
• Unanticipated benefits
• Web site linkage
• Payroll deduction
• PTA/PTSA presentations
• Counselor support

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VITAL RECORDS PROJECT

• Leveraged state relationship with Department of
  Human Resources to include a one-page flyer with
  every birth certificate mailed.
• During 2003, Georgia mailed over 135,000 new
  birth certificates.
• Our flyer is also included in all duplicate
  birth certificate mailings.

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PHYSICIANS PROJECT

• Leveraged existing relationship with the State
  Composite Board of Medical Examiners to obtain a
  comprehensive mailing list of all physicians
  licensed to practice in GA.
• Requested that the list include specialty
• Targeted pediatricians with a GA address

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PHYSICIANS PROJECT

• Brochure stand with 225 one-page flyers sent to
  1,031 pediatricians.
• Total flyers distributed ? 231,975
• Only 20 out of 1,031 packages were returned.
• 2 refused the package
• 13 were returned unable to forward or vacant
• 5 were address related returns
• Overall, less than 2 (1.94) were
  returned/undeliverable
• May expand project to include family practice
  physicians and dentists.

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CHILD CARE CENTERS PROJECT

• Leveraged state relationship with Department of
  Human Resources to obtain a comprehensive list of
  all licensed child care providers.
• Enlisted the support of the 2,347 child care
  providers to distribute GA 529 information to
  their customers.
• Unanticipated benefits
• Invited to various events to provide a
  presentation
• Invited to employee orientations
• Payroll deduction offered

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PUBLIC LIBRARIES INITIATIVE

• Partnered with 57 library systems around the
  state to display GA 529 information in 371 public
  libraries.
• States role in 529 administration made
  partnership possible
• Targeted marketing initiative through display in
  childrens section

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GA AARP PARTNERSHIP

• Utilized a state relationship to include GA 529
  information in the state AARP newsletter.
• Allowed us to target grandparents and provide
  valuable estate planning information

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GA PTA PARTNERSHIP

• Formed an on-going partnership with the state
  level leadership to incorporate our message in
  all areas of their marketing.
• Presentations at two annual conferences
• Regular newsletter article
• Program participation at district and council
  level events

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NON-PAID MEDIA

• Work closely with public relations staff at
  TIAA-CREF to issue milestone and special event
  press releases.
• Results
• More often than not the story has been picked up
• Guest appearances on financial radio shows and
  local talk and news shows
• Provided coverage of the program in secondary
  markets

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PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT COMPETITION

• Goal To increase awareness of GA 529 by
  generating free media surrounding a national
  event (i.e. National College Savings Month) and
  tying it to the local connection (i.e. state
  proclamation).

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PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT COMPETITION

• How it works
• Marketing and mass communication programs around
  the state invited to participate in a state-wide
  PSA competition.
• Participating programs submit a ready-to-air PSA
  (radio and/or TV).
• Submitted PSAs judged by a panel.
• Winning PSAs (radio TV) announced at an awards
  ceremony honoring the participants.
• Winning radio and TV PSAs distributed to media
  outlets around the state.

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PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT COMPETITION

• Objectives
• Utilize competition among postsecondary
  institutions (both public and private) to
  generate program specific press coverage.
• Leverage awards ceremony to generate free media
  for both College Savings Month and the GA 529.
• Increase airing potential for PSA by creating a
  story within a story.

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CONCLUSION

• Grassroots marketing is just a small piece of the
  marketing puzzle.

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CONCLUSION

• Its ok to fail failures tend to provide the
  most valuable lessons.

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CONCLUSION

• Alliances and partnerships can be an effective
  complement to traditional marketing methods.