The Vanguard Tough Mudder Takeover

Despite being one of the world’s largest active managers, Vanguard is not front of mind for UK financial advisers when it comes to active investing. Their solution? Get active—literally. They hosted their own Tough Mudder event for financial advisers, designed to challenge perceptions and reinforce their active credentials. Our task was simple: convince investment professionals to swap ties for trainers and embrace the mud. And in doing so, ensure that everyone who saw the ads or attended the event walked away with one key message—Vanguard is active. But how do you persuade an industry where most professionals are 50+ to ditch the comfort of their office for a cold, wet challenge on a Friday afternoon? By tapping into what defines active managers: competitiveness. They strive to beat the market. Beat their peers. We just needed them to want to beat us. This insight became the foundation of our campaign—not just telling advisers about Vanguard’s active approach but getting them to experience it firsthand. We issued a bold challenge: “Are you more ACTIVE than we are?” set against striking visuals of financial advisers in business attire, covered in mud. It was impossible to ignore, cutting through the usual finance sector advertising. The results were undeniable. 4% of the entire UK adviser population took part, with ~1,400 event sign-ups (8% above target) and nearly 1,000 participants—including 627 potential new prospects. The campaign drove Vanguard’s highest-ever unprompted ad recall among advisers, reaching 19% in Q3 2023 (up from 11% in Q4 2022). The ‘Active Woman’ execution was the most-seen asset management advert by UK advisers. Brand attribution hit 90%—the highest in the industry. Engagement rates doubled industry benchmarks across publications and exceeded 10x the standard in FT Adviser (2.7%). Vanguard’s active awareness rose from 29% to 34% among DFMs and hit 68% UK-wide in Q2 2024. Usage of Vanguard’s actively managed funds increased from 23% in Q1 2024 to 27% in Q2 2024—with no other active advertising live.

All that was left? A well-earned hot bath.