Maryland 529 Communications Multichannel Campaign

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Maryland 529 Communications
Multi-Channel Campaign

Maryland 529 helps families save for education after high school. Hatcher’s process with Maryland 529 started with market research. We reviewed the websites of six other states’ 529 resources. We completed a deep assessment of the competitive landscape — reviewed what types of plans they offered, and their creative and how it was used to engage the public. We also reviewed Census data on Maryland households with children between the ages of 6 and 17, as well as the income levels by county. This information helped us develop unique audience personas to represent different people of various demographics who might be interested in creating or gifting to a 529 account for their loved ones.

After auditing Maryland 529’s communications approaches, messaging, and advertising, Hatcher developed a series of recommendations for how to tailor message to speak to each persona and demographic in a powerful, memorable way. The result was a comprehensive marketing plan and creative approach with four distinct campaigns. One campaign targeted middle- and low-income families, one targeted high-income families, and two targeted families of all incomes. The campaigns centered around the value of providing freedom for families. Campaigns featured real Maryland families in different recognizable settings and layered positive imagery throughout in radio, television, print brochures, simple motion graphic explainer videos, and digital media.

Even amid the turbulence of the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020, applications for a key program supporting a state contribution into the 529 accounts for low-income earners increased 27% over the previous year. Our digital ads for that program received 6.5 million impressions during a three-month run, with our Facebook ads driving a low cost per account start.

Social Media