Approach

The FSCS was keen to involve the industry and other organisations in developing its consumer awareness programme, including the advertising. We wanted to benefit from their experience and work with them to develop a programme that commanded the support of representative bodies.

To this end, we set up a Consumer Awareness Advisory Panel to help us shape the programme strategy and campaign messages as well as other areas.

Throughout the development of the programme we involved the Advisory Panel comprising industry trade bodies and consumer representatives, as well as meeting with the tripartite authorities. The Advisory Panel consists of:

  • The Association of British Insurers (ABI)
  • The Association of Independent Financial Advisers (AIFA)
  • The Association of Private Client Investment Managers and Stockbrokers (APCIMS)
  • The British Bankers’ Association (BBA)
  • The British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA)
  • The Building Societies Association (BSA)
  • The Investment Management Association (IMA)
  • The FSA’s Consumer Panel
  • Which?

Panel meetings are also attended by the FSA and Consumer Financial Education Body (CFEB).

This approach allowed all key stakeholders the opportunity to play an active role in shaping our strategy and messages.

As well as drawing on the FSA’s research, we commissioned our own research to understand consumers’ reaction to the campaign and to measure its effectiveness.

We also engaged extensively with financial services firms from across the industry to explain the campaign approach and rationale, and to urge them to communicate more about FSCS to their customers. We prepared a range of training materials for them to use with their staff, and visual collateral for use on marketing and communications materials, and made this available as a toolkit for firms to use.

We will plan future activity on the basis of research findings, which are due to debrief in early summer 2011.

We will continue to work closely with the financial services industry to help them communicate about FSCS to their customers.