Grabbing attention for the nation’s pensions

On a mission to transform the world of finance for the better

From planning to communications to PR and more.

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Our integrated PR team work alongside creative, social, and digital to deliver:

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Public          relations

We create head-turning communications that get people talking about your brand.

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Creative campaigns

Creating and measuring the connections that matter.

-	ABM
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B2B data marketing

Everything from online banners, to social media reach, to smart strategies.

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Content marketing

Our team develop and design digital solutions to help you connect with audiences.

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Digital design and build

We can help manage brand narratives, navigate tough crises, and more.

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Corporate reputation

Using insights and creative storytelling, we build brands with purpose.

-	Brand narrative development and naming
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Branding and design

Fintech Propel

TS Analytics

We’re excited to reveal that the winner of our 2023 Pro Bono “For The Better Award” is... [Lurgan Credit Union](https://www.lurgancu.com/).   

Each year we partner with an organisation and donate £15,000 of our time to aid their growth.  

Run in partnership with the Finance Innovation Lab, our award supports organisations that are helping to change the world of finance for the better, putting people and/or planet at the heart of their business model. This year we were specifically looking for organisations tackling financial exclusion during the cost-of-living crisis and received a number of high-quality entries from credit unions, building societies and ethical banks that are delivering life-changing work across the UK.   

Entering a landmark 60th year, Lurgan Credit Union’s mission is to make a positive difference to lives of the people it serves in Northern Ireland. A lifetime partner to its members, it provides access to responsible credit and savings, equips members with tools to build financial literacy and contributes to the financial wellbeing and resilience of the wider community.   

__Lauren Johnstone, Digital Services Officer, Lurgan Credit Union commented: __

### *“Every day we put the needs of our members and our local communities first, helping people access and get the financial support they need. But there is so much that we can do. The cost-of-living crisis has, and continues, to put huge pressure on people’s finances in Northen Ireland and really difficult decisions are being made each day. For many, it really is a decision between food on the table or the heating going on.*

### *“As we enter a landmark year, we want to help more people with the immediate challenges they face, but also equip them for the future. We’re so pleased to be working with Teamspirit to achieve this and I can’t wait to see what we can do in the coming months.”*

We’re looking forward to meeting the team at Lurgan CU and working closely with them to deliver against the remit over the coming months.  

__Montserrat Tojeiro, Managing Director, Teamspirit said: __

### *“Lurgan Credit Union has for a long time been creating a more equitable financial environment for people in Northern Ireland, and its work is truly inspiring. From the support it provides to its members at different life stages, to the local schools initiative, which gives young people the tools they need to manage their money through life. Its work aligns closely with our mission to transform the world of financial services for the better. This is why we are so delighted to announce Lurgan Credit Union as our pro bono partner for 2023 and we can’t wait to start work.”  * 

You can read more about our For The Better Award and the work we’ve done in previous years in the pages below: 

[https://www.teamspirit.co.uk/for-the-better](https://www.teamspirit.co.uk/for-the-better)

[https://www.teamspirit.co.uk/news-insights/pro-bono-team](https://www.teamspirit.co.uk/news-insights/pro-bono-team)

[https://www.teamspirit.co.uk/news-insights/for-the-better-2022-now-open-for-entries](https://www.teamspirit.co.uk/news-insights/for-the-better-2022-now-open-for-entries)

We are thrilled to meet the winners of our pro bono "For The Better" award – Lurgan CU and are excited to join their mission to make finance accessible for everyone! Find out more about our new partnership. 

Proud to announce our new pro bono partnership with Lurgan Credit Union

In our best year ever at the MarComs we recently carried off no less than seven awards for creative and branding work for clients. Three Platinum and Four Gold.

The MarComs are long-established creative awards that recognise the best in marketing and communication worldwide.  Great to win one, so seven was a fantastic and hard-won achievement.

For M&G Wealth we won two Golds, one for our creative approach to trade advertising and the second for digital display advertising

For Shawbrook Bank, we were awarded Gold for our integrated b2c campaign that gave UK savings ‘a kick up the AERs’.  Our design and branding work for specialist international insurer NorthStandard also carried off Gold.

We won Platinum for the ABI/PLSA, for our multi-award winning pensions engagement campaign ‘Pay Your Pension Some Attention’ which featured grime rapper and TV chef Big Zuu.

Our rebranding of Smart Money People also hit the heights and won Platinum.  As did our design and branding work for digital communications platform, Orbyt.

Big shout out to our clients for collaborating closely with us and enabling us to create distinctive work that has led to better outcomes for their businesses.

In our best year ever at the MarComs we recently carried off no less than seven awards for creative and branding work for clients. Three Platinum and Four Gold!

We win seven at the international MarCom awards

My favourite collective noun, (thanks for asking), is that for pandas – an embarrassment. It should be the one we adopt for gaps too, particularly when we’re talking about pensions. It’s wonderfully apt. 

Pension gaps are about inequality of retirement outcomes – and there are a lot of them.

Some quick stats.

The gender pensions gap is estimated to be more than twice the size of the gender pay gap, while women’s retirement wealth averages only one-third of men’s in the UK [[NOW:Pensions]](https://www.nowpensions.com/about-us/fairpensionsforall/gender-pensions-gap/). 

Over a quarter of people aged 55+ (28%) currently have no pension provision from a workplace or private pension scheme, and will only receive a state pension [[Barnett Waddingham]](https://www.actuarialpost.co.uk/article/are-we-sleepwalking-into-a-ticking-pensions-time-bomb-22489.htm). 

There is also still a massive 40.3% difference between the pension savings of men and women [[Fidelity’s Women and Money research]](https://retirement.fidelity.co.uk/news-insights/financial-wellness/about-workplace-pensions/the-pension-gap-cost-of-living-friendly-tips/#:~:text=You%20might%20be%20shocked%20to,savings%20of%20men%20and%20women.). Then, beyond the more publicised gender gap, only 25% of ethnic minorities had a private or workplace pension, compared to 38% of the general population - among black people, only 23% have a pension [[Social Market Foundation]](https://www.smf.co.uk/ethnic-pension-gap-puts-millions-at-risk-of-retirement-hardship/). 

And while one fifth (22%) of UK adults are currently living with a disability, this cohort on average has a pension wealth that is around a third (36%) of the typical UK pension pot [[Pensions Policy Institute]](https://www.independent.co.uk/money/people-with-disabilities-have-pension-savings-worth-third-of-average-pot-b2083311.html).

Truly an embarrassment of gaps.

![worky](//images.ctfassets.net/sxw14dxmazhg/6321uYeBKFTQgkbIs5P6XW/0287c94252ca39ec9e5cce84287ce3ce/worky.jpg)

*Worky, the pension monster, has been out of work since his starring but ill-fated role in the Government’s 2016 pension campaign.*

Part of this is undoubtedly down to a lack of understanding.  
For example, one in four 18–24-year-olds with a workplace pension think that their contributions end up in a bank account, according to research by [Royal London](https://www.ftadviser.com/pensions/2023/09/12/third-of-women-unaware-of-what-happens-to-pension-contributions/#:~:text=Third%20of%20women%20unaware%20of%20what%20happens%20to%20pension%20contributions,-Search%20supported%20by&text=One%20in%20four%2018%E2%80%9324,to%20research%20by%20Royal%20London.). It’s also been highlighted by Barnett Waddingham that one in ten women (10%) don’t even know whether they have a pension, and a further 4% believe they have a pension but aren’t sure which type.

It is important to note there have also been some wins in the quest to ease inequality and there continues to be real movement in the right direction.

The impact of auto-enrolment has also had a monumental impact since it was introduced in 2012. And with the bill having now received royal ascent, 600,000 18 to 21-year-olds working in the private sector are set to benefit. 

But the problem with trying to solve all of this is that is that there’s no magic bullet. Like equality gaps more broadly, the solutions are unwieldy, complex, and require a joint effort from an often-disparate group. 

The closest that we can come to is ‘awareness’ and or ‘engagement’. The hope that by getting people a bit more involved in their later life planning, they might manage to avoid some of the pitfalls that litter the pathway. 

These campaigns are often big and bold. 

The 2022 Big Zuu-led ‘Pension Attention’ campaign gained plaudits from across in industry, and this year saw Timmy Mallett lean on 90’s nostalgia to prompt older millennials to think about how they’re saving for their future. 

The race is on to empower people to make changes to their saving patterns now, and there is a real impetus for financial services firms to think bigger, bolder, and braver. We must be willing to confront problems we don’t necessarily have solutions to – identifying a particular area like disability and committing time, money, and resources to bring people together with the explicit aim of delivering meaningful change.

Crucially, for every pound that is successfully squirrelled away for retirement now, a multiple of that benefit is felt further down the line by consumers, FS firms, and Government alike. It’s more than worth it. 

What’s painfully clear is that the effort to tackle pension inequality and the embarrassment of pension gaps can’t ease. The challenge is how to tackle the problem afresh each time.

Maybe it’s time for a pension panda...

David Sells, PR Associate Director discusses tackling the UKs embarrassment of pension gaps.

An embarrassment of pension gaps

Listen now to George Roffey, Chief Sustainability Officer, Centrus who welcomes the ESG shake down, and argues that with ESG now entangled in everything, we need to get to a place where sustainability is embedded and becomes the norm. Discussing the pros of recently becoming BCorp accredited, hear why the increasing focus on the ‘s’ for social impact is a natural progression onto common ground that everyone can relate to.

![9995 ESG Podcast Stand and Deliver v1 2 1920x1080px](//images.ctfassets.net/sxw14dxmazhg/3uMZHY8uLyiUiR9dhpVAxL/5bfb61b986a412d3f72c7b14c16496e7/9995_ESG_Podcast_Stand_and_Deliver_v1_2_1920x1080px.jpg)

<iframe width="100%" height="166" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" allow="autoplay" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/1665665835&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true"></iframe><div style="font-size: 10px; color: #cccccc;line-break: anywhere;word-break: normal;overflow: hidden;white-space: nowrap;text-overflow: ellipsis; font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight: 100;"><a href="https://soundcloud.com/user-240158474" title="Teamspirit" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">Teamspirit</a> · <a href="https://soundcloud.com/user-240158474/centrus-mixdown-2" title="Stand And Deliver The ESG Activists Podcast Series From Teamspirit Episode 6:Centrus" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">Stand And Deliver The ESG Activists Podcast Series From Teamspirit Episode 6: Centrus</a></div>

<br><br>

More episodes from this series:

Episode 1: Ketan Patel, Fund Manager, EdenTree. Listen [here](https://www.teamspirit.uk.com/news-and-views/stand-and-deliver-the-esg-activists-podcast-series).

Episode 2: Chris Gardner, Joint CEO, Atelier. Listen [here](https://www.teamspirit.uk.com/news-and-views/stand-and-deliver-the-esg-activists-podcast-series-episode-2).

Episode 3: Tom Matthews, Sustainable Investments Senior Manager, J O Hambro Capital Management. Listen [here](https://www.teamspirit.uk.com/news-and-views/stand-and-deliver-the-esg-activists-podcast-series-episode-3).

Episode 4: Alex Struc, Founder and CEO, GOALSFIRST. Listen here [here](https://www.teamspirit.uk.com/news-and-views/stand-and-deliver-the-esg-activists-podcast-series-episode-4).

Episode 5: Lily Billings, Head of Sustainability, Foresight Group. Listen here [here](https://www.teamspirit.uk.com/news-and-views/stand-and-deliver-the-esg-activists-podcast-series-episode-5).

If you’d like to understand more about how to create credible ESG communications contact us at [hello@teamspirit.co.uk](mailto:hello@teamspirit.co.uk). 


Listen now to George Roffey, Chief Sustainability Officer, Centrus who welcomes the ESG shake down, and argues that with ESG now entangled in everything, we need to get to a place where sustainability is embedded and becomes the norm.

Stand and deliver. The ESG Activists Podcast Series: Episode 6

AI is becoming an indispensable tool for supporting the evolution and effectiveness of brand building. 

Undoubtedly it can provide the flexibility and data-driven insights necessary to allow brands to adapt and thrive, particularly to increase personalisation and content relevance.  AI’s capacity to analyse vast amounts of consumer data to identify emerging trends and preferences, can help brands adapt their hero assets to remain relevant and appealing. 

But while AI offers insights and data for planning, it falls short on creating truly distinctive brand assets, logos for example. The craft and insight gained from years of individual and collective experience, empathy and understanding remain a more powerful tool for creation.

Let’s explore what’s good about AI, what’s bad and what’s the reality when considering how to use it to build long-term brand fame and affinity. 

## The Good
AI assistance can help speed up several stages in the brand building process:

### AI and Colour 
AI can assist in colour selection by analysing a colour’s psychological and cultural associations. This data-driven approach can help brands choose colours that not only align with their values but also evoke specific emotions in consumers. 

But when AI algorithms monitor colour, it’s worth remembering that they’re just watching trends. So, while we may think it’s a good idea to make adjustments to keep a brand's colour palette fresh and appealing, it makes for a here-and-now-approach, not one that builds longevity. 

### AI and Logos  
AI can aid in logo design by analysing vast datasets of successful logos to identify patterns and elements that, at a moment in time, resonate with audiences. This data-driven approach can support with creating sets of potential logos as a starting point.

Some may say that AI-powered tools will allow you to continually assess consumer sentiment towards logos, helping brands to adapt and refine their visual identity based on real-time feedback. But is that ability to adapt to changing consumer preferences also able to ensure the logo remains a powerful representation of trust and reliability? We would say not. 

### AI and the words: Brand lines and TOV  
AI is able to assist in creating memorable lines, by analysing linguistic data and consumer sentiments. Natural Language Processing (NLP) algorithms can help brands understand what words and phrases resonate with their target audience. These insights can then guide the creation of straplines that not only encapsulate the brand's essence, but also align with the current cultural conversation. But the nuances and empathy that a writer, strategist and brand marketeer bring is still needed to ensure the lines truly do hit home.

Additionally, AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants are now becoming extensions of a brand's voice, helping to reinforce straplines and brand identities in customer interactions. Programming chatbots to assume a brand’s tone of voice can prevent customers feeling alienated in automated spaces. However, there is a bigger question at play: if authenticity is key to a brand, does the mere presence of an AI chatbot negate that brand experience? 

## The Bad
However sophisticated the AI, it still has various drawbacks:

### Lack of Creativity
AI is based on algorithms and patterns, which limit its ability to generate truly innovative and creative ideas. AI-generated designs that follow popular trends and templates are likely to result in brand assets that look generic and fail to stand out. Building a brand requires out-of-the-box thinking and emotional resonance, which remain challenging for AI to replicate.

### Loss of Human Touch
The most successful brands are built on creating genuine emotional connections with users.

AI lacks the human touch and emotional understanding that are crucial when crafting brand assets that resonate with the target audience.

### Inconsistent Brand Messaging
While AI can help automate certain aspects of brand communication, it may not always understand the nuances of a brand's values, mission, and voice. This can lead to inconsistencies in messaging, which can be detrimental to brand identity.

### Ethical Concerns
We strongly believe in using AI responsibly. This includes being aware that AI algorithms are only as good as the data they’re trained on. Biases present in the training data can lead to unintentional biases in brand assets, which can have negative social and ethical implications.

### Limited Understanding of Cultural Nuances
Branding often involves understanding and respecting cultural nuances. AI may not have the cultural sensitivity required to navigate diverse markets effectively, potentially leading to cultural misunderstandings or insensitivity. This is particularly true when creating global brands that are also locally relevant.

### Energy Guzzling
While undoubtedly a powerful tool to help explore brand building, using AI comes at a considerable energy cost. It relies heavily on the computational power of servers and vast server farms, often powered by energy-hungry data centres. These are packed with high-performance hardware and require an immense amount of electricity to function efficiently.

As we explore the exciting possibilities of AI in brand and content creation, it’s crucial to recognise the environmental impact of these energy demands. Balancing innovation with sustainability is paramount in harnessing AI’s potential, while minimising its environmental footprint.

## The Reality
While AI can be a valuable tool in the branding process, we believe that it must be used judiciously and in conjunction with human creativity and expertise. The downfalls of AI in branding for the long term largely revolve around its limitations in creativity, emotional understanding, and cultural sensitivity.

Successful branding efforts involve a harmonious blend of AI-driven data insights and human-driven creativity and intuition, to create brand assets that truly resonate with the target audience and reflect the brand's unique identity.

Our view is that AI is a useful tool to speed up exploration. But it’s not an answer in itself. It’s great for finding averages and trends. But not for standing out or disrupting sectors.
It can only remix the here and now.

__Here’s our best practice advice for brands thinking of using AI tools and approaches: __

1. __Balancing Human and AI:__ Use AI as a tool to enhance human creativity and decision-making rather than replace it. Combine the strengths of AI (data analysis, automation) with human insights (creativity, intuition).
2. __Ethical AI Usage:__ Be aware of potential biases in AI algorithms and take steps to mitigate them. Ensure ethical AI practices to avoid unintended consequences.
3. __Continuous Learning:__ Invest in ongoing training and education to stay updated with the latest AI tools and techniques relevant to brand management.
4. __Testing and Validation:__ Before implementing AI-driven changes to brand assets, conduct thorough testing and validation to ensure they align with the brand's core values and resonate with the target audience.
5. __Human Oversight:__ Maintain human oversight in the branding process. Human expertise is crucial for assessing the emotional impact of brand assets.
6. __Flexibility:__ While AI can provide valuable insights, be willing to adapt and make changes based on qualitative feedback and evolving market dynamics.

If you’d like to discuss how to assess your brand’s ability to thrive in an AI driven world of urgency, please contact us at [hello@teamspirit.co.uk](mailto:hello@teamspirit.co.uk).

AI is becoming an indispensable tool for supporting the evolution and effectiveness of brand building. But while AI offers insights and data for planning, it falls short on creating truly distinctive brand assets. Find out more in our latest article. 

Branding with AI: The good, the bad and the reality

I’m not the first to acknowledge that artificial intelligence (AI) has an inherent and systemic risk of producing biased results, which can have discriminatory consequences – especially sexist and racist ones. It’s a product of the society which built it – expecting it to be exempt from those trappings is unrealistic. I’m also certainly not well-versed enough in computer science, sociology, or AI to posit a solution to the problem – and this piece isn’t about that.

Instead, I’m interested in an AI issue which is very particular to the comms world. I recently joined a webinar on generative AI in PR and beyond – we’re not talking about using AI data tools to track coverage, spit out monthly reports, or create GANTT campaign timelines. We are, however, talking about leaning on the generative technology to: 

a)	Create mood boards and inspire creativity

b)	Help build bespoke pitches/ press releases

c)	And create imagery to align with PR and advertising campaigns

The first two make me a bit nervous – I worry about the role of discerning human professionals in a world where creativity and personalisation can be outsourced, and the impact of this on trust, learning, and human evolution. But the latter makes me terrified. The ability to create imagery that mimics real people without having to involve them fills me with dread. Part of this dread comes from a point made by a (well-meaning) comms professional in the webinar itself, which was that __AI imagery can be used to ensure campaigns are diverse__. 

Plenty of research (e.g. [this piece on The Conversation](https://theconversation.com/ageism-sexism-classism-and-more-7-examples-of-bias-in-ai-generated-images-208748) and [this by Time Magazine](https://time.com/5520558/artificial-intelligence-racial-gender-bias/)) has been done to show that if you search AI image sites such as Midjourney for ‘job roles’ (journalist, doctor etc), you’ll usually get young, white, and predominantly male images – because those are what the majority of the data set images look like. But you can of course fix that by specifying what you’re looking for – ‘black doctor woman’, or ‘Asian journalist man’, for example.

The well-meaning comms practitioner says, ‘great! Let’s do that and have a truly representative campaign full of visual diversity’. And there are several blogs already talking about which search terms to use (e.g. [this blog on Midjourney](https://petergasston.co.uk/be-weird-to-diversify-midjourney-images/#:~:text=Generate%20more%20diverse%20and%20visually,more%20unique%20and%20interesting%20results.) and [this Medium article](https://medium.com/chaos-99/how-to-bring-diversity-to-your-ai-art-7ea1547bf7f9)) to create imagery which is ‘authentically diverse’. 

In the DE&I world, we all know the phrase, ‘if you can’t see it, you can’t be it’ – and I understand this instinct to create diverse imagery, especially now we have the power to seemingly create representation via a simple keyword search. 

But in my view, this cannot be considered true representation as these images aren’t truly human –and as such, no human will be remunerated for their use. Models (regardless of gender, race, or anything else) deserve to be paid for their work, and the increased desire for greater representation in comms campaigns in recent years has led more diverse individuals towards the industry. 

How can hiring a human model for a shoot – who looks a set way, needs to eat, and travel, and other inconveniences of that nature – compete with 10 minutes of clicking about online? We’ve already seen this play out in the real world. [Shudu Gram](https://www.instagram.com/shudu.gram/), the first digital supermodel, is a recognisable, dark-skinned black woman who has featured in Vogue – but she’s AI generated, and her creator is a white man who reaps the profits of her work. And for every slot she secures, a real black model loses an opportunity. 

To me, this feels like a looming crisis. This year’s Black History Month theme is ‘saluting our sisters’, and it must not escape our notice that the most common ‘diverse go-to’ is a woman of colour. If we start plucking diverse images from thin air, there’s no opportunity to include, represent, and remunerate real people – and that’s a catastrophe. 

So, what’s the solution? 

My personal, and admittedly pretty radical, view is that we need to slow to a stop on using generative AI imagery – certainly of people, and arguably, altogether (given no artists are paid for the inclusion of their work as an AI-training-tool). AI is set to change the world, and we’ve already seen the benefits of AI-driven tools in enhancing efficiency – but if we’re going to use it to be creative, more conversations (and regulation) have to happen first to ensure we’re not sliding backwards on hard-won societal progress. 

Speaking to colleagues, a different view shines through – that truly responsible comms professionals can take a strong ethical approach to mitigate these risks, while still seizing the creative opportunities that AI brings. We’ve done a lot of work as an agency to ensure our creative outputs are diverse and authentic, be those stock library images or original photoshoots – many of those learnings can be transferable to working with AI tools, so long as we ensure we’re considering the ethical ramifications and raising them with our clients to reach the best outcome for all. 

And of course, there’s a question mark around whose responsibility this is, really. Is it the comms professionals, or is it the generative AI tools themselves? If the likes of Midjourney are going to generate imagery from art scraped from the web, should the companies running them be responsible for remunerating those artists, and even the people at the end of the art? And should it also be working to mitigate the inherent bias in its tool, by including inclusive prompts around the specifications users enter to help everyone consider the impact of the work they’re doing? 

The answer isn’t clear, and there are other views in this discussion I haven’t covered – but what matters most is that the debate happens, and we don’t just charge full steam ahead without pausing as an industry and discussing these complex and thorny topics. Jumping feet first into murky water is a dangerous game – companies which value societal progress shouldn’t just hop on the fastest moving train, but consider the destination we’re speeding towards.

Can AI imagery can be used to ensure campaigns are diverse and representative, or are we hurtling towards a DE&I crisis? Our Head of DE&I and Senior Account Director @SandyDownsPR shares her thoughts. 

Is generative AI creating a race & ethnicity representation crisis in comms? 

FOMO. We usually associate it with pictures of hotdog legs in front of infinity pools, party pictures in which you’re acutely aware you are not tagged, posters around town for your favourite band’s one-off reunion gig that falls on the exact date of your parents’ golden wedding celebration.

But for me, FOMO is something I feel frequently as a parent. On an obvious level, you can’t have the social life you probably used to enjoy, but new parents might be surprised how much they feel heavy FOMO for work too. 

I was recently part of a panel between Teamspirit and our sister agency Harvard on working parents. We discussed the challenges of being a working parent, maintaining good mental health, as well as things to be celebrated. 

It gave me a chance to look back on my nine years at Teamspirit, in which I started with a two-year-old child, but also had a second during that time. Over that period, I’ve run the gamut of childhood milestones from the birth of my youngest, through to my oldest starting secondary school. I’ve also been a parent in the less flexible pre-covid days, throughout the pandemic itself, and now in the hybrid world we all enjoy today. So, I was very happy to share my thoughts and experiences on this with the two agencies.

Teamspirit have been very flexible with me and my childcare commitments. I took six months parental leave when my son was born, came back to four days a week, dropped down to three days, went back to four, wrangled work and two kids through lockdown, and have now moved to a place further outside London in large part due to my kids. So far, I’ve been lucky, and the change in working that covid bought on has without doubt helped swing my work-life balance in a more family friendly direction. That’s not to say everything is rosy for new and existing working parents though.

The ever-evolving logistics of parenting are a constant challenge and childcare costs continue to be eye-watering, but in many ways the mental challenges are some of the biggest. 

Here is where FOMO comes in. As a parent, I tend to feel a near constant stage of FOMO. When I’m working, I feel I’m missing out on my kids. When I’m with my kids, I feel I’m missing out at work. And you feel it very keenly. At work, this can often express itself as trying your best to keep it all together no matter what, presenting yourself as the classic ‘swan’: calm on the surface but desperately paddling underneath.

And so, the theme of the panel was looking after your mental health. Here are some conclusions and ideas that came out of the session:

As a parent, it’s vital to look after your mental health using positive strategies. One of us on the panel liked to decompress, undisturbed with some enjoyable TV each night. For me, it’s listening to podcasts and walking the dog. But the key thing is carving out a bit of time for yourself. Yes, those clothes need washing and the kitchen is a mess, but mental health is more important.
As an industry, we’ve certainly improved the way we treat working parents. Two members of the panel with older kids certainly had horror stories of returning to work, however there’s always more we can do. We can appreciate that hybrid working is helpful, but not the full solution. And realise that challenges that take a toll on our mental health can be frequent too. So as a manager of a working parent, check in with them – make sure they’re okay. They may be trying to keep it together, but make sure they know you have their back. New parents are unlikely to be at the start of their career and probably have a chunk of experience behind them. But they may well need managerial support in a new way, so finding solutions that work for you both will be imperative.

In return, we’ll get engaged, loyal and hardworking people who can multitask, deal with problems, and add a new perspective to the company.

FOMO. We usually associate it with pictures of hotdog legs by pools, party pictures you are not tagged in, posters for your favourite band’s one-off gig that falls on the exact date of your parents’ golden wedding celebration...

Working Parents FOMO

One year we’re creating a rap about pensions with Big Zuu, the next we’re bringing back Mallett’s Mallet! It’s never quiet for long at TS towers and last month saw us come back for year two of the industry-led Pension Attention campaign alongside the ABI and PLSA. After months of planning and tireless work across our integrated team, it was brilliant to see our work with Timmy Mallett, an iconic and much-loved 80s and 90s TV presenter, all come together and land with a splash across press, digital, social and out-of-home as we called on the UK to take an Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny look at their pension with ‘The Pensions Playback’. 

Working with Timmy Mallett was a joy and while I’m a tad young to have watched his primetime shows in my childhood, I certainly understand how our target audience for this campaign are so taken by him. 

On our shoot day he enlisted Mallett’s Mallet and Pinky Punky to take contestants back to the 80s and 90s so they didn’t feel so “Bleugh” about their pensions. With this nostalgic take, we were able to encourage people to look back to yesterday and uncover their ‘lost’ pensions to maximise their future. It sounds simple, and it really is, but so many people just aren’t claiming them. In fact, the DWP estimates there will be 50 million dormant and lost pension pots by 2050. And with the average person having 11 jobs in their lifetime, it’s never too soon to get on top of it. 

In the run up to launch, the team worked to build the assets for launch day. This included the Pension Attention landing page, the out-of-home advertising, the social clips and all the assets for PR. This meant when it came to launch day we had a wealth of content to amplify the PR as we hit go on our media day with Timmy to get the nation talking and taking action. We had pitched away in the week running up to launch and landed a packed-out schedule with Timmy conducting interviews across many major national publications and radio stations (we also quickly learnt we have a lot of Timmy fan boys and girls in the media!). 

These articles have all since been landing and we’ve already reached over 52 million people with the coverage. Hits have been secured in core nationals such as the Mail Online, The Express, The Sun, Evening Standard and This is Money and we still having a bunch of articles in the pipeline! We’ve also heard Timmy across the airwaves and TV and been so heartened to hear him bring his own personal experience to the campaign, talking about all the jobs he’s had and the importance of tracking down those pensions. He was a real pro and so seamlessly mixed our messaging with titbits of local knowledge for radio stations, 80s trivia and chats about his own passions including biking and painting. 

While the pitching certainly doesn’t stop here, it’s been a great start to year two of Pension Attention and we look forward to continuing to bang the drum over the coming weeks and months.

Your attention please! Senior Account Director Kathryn Cleaver reflects on the launch of the 2023 Pension Attention campaign and what it was like working with the legendary Timmy Mallett. 

On a mission to transform the world of finance for the better

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