“Investing isn’t just for elites”: How Vanguard claimed V for victory in the UK market

Vanguard is continuing to lean into its core brand characteristics in the UK as it evolves its V for Value platform, says its Head of Client and Brand Insight for Europe Laura Parsonage.

The asset manager, best known as the pioneer of index trackers but also a growing player in the active space, entered the UK market in 2019. Since then it has gone through three versions of its brand platform, each of which have advanced a different aspect of the brand. It has supplemented this with its sponsorship of the Tough Mudder competition, aimed at building awareness around its active offering amongst the advisor community.

Speaking to FSF in an interview, following a talk at the Market Research Society (MRS) conference, Laura explained that brand in Vanguard is downstream of culture.

“We have got a very clear message at Vanguard, which was developed by our founder John Bogle,” says Laura. “Our message has stayed the same for 50 years. The reason it hasn’t changed is because it’s the right message and has those four principles: think about goals, stay balanced, keep costs low, be disciplined.”

Vanguard’s association with low fees gives it a message that can be applied whatever the market conditions.

“You can’t control what markets do, but you can control what you are paying for your investments. We’re saying you should find a provider that’s low cost. Markets are going to go up and down and that’s part of investing and you just need to ride through it.”

This core message, alongside the message of inclusive investing (“investing isn’t just for the elites, it’s for everybody and that comes through in all that we do”) has been the foundation for Vanguard’s push into the UK market and its various evolutions.

As the MRS presentation explained, the first version, devised in partnership with creative agency AML and research agency the Nursery, focused on what Vanguard stands for. At the centre of it was the V sign – a handy shorthand for both Vanguard and “V for value”.

The Nursery’s research found that the V sign encapsulated the approachability the brand wanted to convey. The campaign was pitched at the casual investor, recognising that there was not just an awareness gap around the brand Vanguard, but around the concept of investing.

As Laura pointed out during the talk at the MRS conference, the biggest competitor in getting people to invest with Vanguard is not necessarily other companies but “inertia – people just doing nothing and sitting on their money.”

“It was using that straightforward language and showing that investing can be simple,” she says. “We talked about demystifying investing, which had this almost elitist feel about it.”

As ever with Vanguard, brand and advertising here lined up with culture and customer service – both the onboarding journey and the product range were both made as simple and easy to understand as possible.

“We try to bring all that to life so it isn’t a massive chore for people to be thinking about investing. We know that investing is a chore for most people apart from the extreme hobbyist.

“We felt this campaign really helped to get people thinking if they are going to do anything then Vanguard feels like the right place because it’s easy and straightforward and welcoming, and there are other people I can see reflected in those adverts who are doing that as well, which was quite different from the industry at the time.”

The second version brought out investor voices, allowing them to speak about what they valued about Vanguard. The third and most recent iteration focused on the idea of brand “love”, featuring clients saying why they “love” Vanguard.

Underpinning it all was the idea of “taking a stand for investors”. As Nicola Wright, Account Director at the Nursery, points out, this often includes things that don’t fall under the domain of marketing. This includes engagement with the FCA and regulators to make sure investors are getting the best deal.

“The overall reduction in fees that investors have experienced across the UK is very much considered to have been kick started and driven by Vanguard,” she explains.

“That really resonated with people – that idea that an investment company was on their side. I think it’s easy for companies to pay lip service about purpose, but within Vanguard there’s been a lot of demonstration of how they effectively put money back in investors’ pockets.”

So where to next for Vanguard in the UK? Laura says that the core messages and assets (the red colour, the V, the use of end investors as brand spokespeople) will stay the same and the next phase will again be an iteration.

What may change is the breadth of the focus. While so far the campaigns have focused on the personal investor platform, the campaigns have generated a halo effect for Vanguard funds, including through other platforms or advisors.

“It’s about how do we then get that message out more broadly to end-investors about Vanguard and what we stand for.”

Nicola adds that the next phase may also focus on highlighting other aspects of value outside of lower fees, such as service and new products such as the managed ISA, which offers a bit more of a “guardrail” for investors in the context of market volatility and falling interest rates.

“It’s helping people who aren’t very confident about investing and those who are just starting out to take those first steps.”