MissionSquare Retirement

Launching an omnichannel brand campaign–and a new brand–from scratch in a matter of weeks

Test Data

Related Industries
  • Financial Services
Related Capabilities
  • Performance Media Planning & Buying
  • Strategy & Consulting
  • Performance Content & Creative
Firefighter smiling in front of a firetruck in a fire station.
Mission Square Retirement Logo.

Results
Achieved

350 million

impressions since launch

800

new qualified leads

+21%

website visitor increase year-over-year

Mission Square Retirement Logo.

The Ambition

MissionSquare retirement had been ICMA-RC for decades. They brought together a dream team of agencies, including Level Agency and Sullivan, to launch a brand-new brand with a splash that would make the niche world of public sector retirement plan administrators and those around them take notice.

The rebranding was well underway and rolling out on their website and digital channels as we onboarded. The challenge: develop a full-blown launch campaign consisting of both creative and omnichannel media to be in market as soon as possible to launch the brand story along with the new branding online. And to do so in a matter of weeks, not months. Could a project like this act as an agile marketing roadmap for digital marketing for financial institutions?

Results
Achieved

350 million

impressions since launch

800

new qualified leads

+21%

website visitor increase year-over-year

The Results

Not only does MissionSquare have a more positive brand image, but awareness and interest are higher than ever before.

  • Since launch, generated over 350 million impressions for the new brand, as well as over 800 MQLs
    • New brand marketing campaign launched in September 2021 following the rebrand and a brand study was conducted in June 2022 to determine the impact
    • New brand had a top-of-mind awareness of 31.2% among all respondents and an unaided awareness of 55.7%
    • New messaging was resonating with the audience: 92% said MissionSquare was committed to serving the public sector
  • Website visitors are up 21% from 2021 to 2022 and search interest is at an all-time high, even when compared to the old brand:
Chart showing brand lift for MissionSquare after Level Agency launched a brand campaign online.

Approach

Partners & Resources

  • Sullivan
  • Google Premier Partner
  • Meta (Facebook and Instagram) Partnership
  • Advanced Digital Out-of-Home
  • OTT/CTV

A successful alliance was built through careful operational and strategic alignment to accelerate the process without sacrificing quality. Key parameters were established to keep three dynamic teams in lockstep through the expedited timelines.

  • Deep client immersion from week one
  • Planning for consistency and campaign scalability from go
  • Defining clear roles, accountability, and checkpoints
  • Clear expectations understood by all
  • Alignment on strategy before moving into tactical execution
  • Agile marketing frameworks – we build the plane as we were flying
  • Data-driven success measurement – we made it about the outcomes, not just the activity
  • Be in the right place, not every place – hyper-targeted digital buys around industry conferences paid dividends

Launching MissionSquare Retirement was a massive undertaking and we are grateful for the partnership with Level Agency. They brought strategic thought leadership, audience insights and media expertise to the table to shape our brand. Their dedication and agile marketing approach combined with innate understanding of what we needed to succeed was a key to the success of this rebrand.

Sheri Gilchrist

SVP, Chief Marketing Officer, MissionSquare

Launching MissionSquare Retirement and continuing to grow their brand has been one of the most rewarding of my career. They are competing with some of the largest financial services companies in the US and we have put them on the same playing field. Their collaborative approach to the partnership and focus on efficiency has empowered us to make great strides quickly.

Amy Stettler

VP, Growth Verticals, Level Agency