How MLC took on COVID’s challenge to Australians’ finances

For those approaching retirement, COVID-19 came at a particularly worrying time. How do you ensure you’re financially secure in the long-term when there are so many unknowns being thrown at you today? MLC understood these concerns only too well when – with the help of Six Black Pens – it quickly and adeptly reworked its retirement workbook to reflect the current reality.

Scope of work

  • Strategy
  • 60-page digital workbook
  • eDM campaign
  • Campaign landing pages
  • Social media campaign

The content strategy

Before starting on the workbook’s content, we interviewed several NAB financial planning advisers about the financial strategies that mattered most to their clients. We used these insights to develop a highly practical workbook around the key strategies uncovered.

The content we created was a combination of pointed insights that referenced the new financial landscape and interactive worksheets that were above all practical in nature. It helped guide readers step by step through their current financial situation and goals and showed them what they needed to do to realise their long-term retirement plans. To provide additional value, we curated a wealth of information from supplementary sources.

The design challenge

The workbook’s design offered its own unique challenges.

First and foremost, this was a book for people over 50, which meant we had to consider accessibility issues – not just the legibility of the font but whether it would work on screen readers.

Once COVID struck, we also had to reconsider the imagery – to find photos of people in and around home, who weren’t in big groups, and that aligned with the content more closely. We also had to revise the document’s format, transforming it from a PDF that could be scrolled through and printed out to a truly interactive document where readers were able to click through and type notes on the document itself.

“Six Black Pens was fundamental in producing the workbook – the backbone of the consumer strategy produced. The engagement results achieved are testament to the need of Australians in the market and Six Black Pens’ contribution was paramount.”

Christine Alfonse, Consumer Advice Marketing Manager, MLC