Established in 1943 with the aim of educating and furthering the development of tax professionals, The Tax Institute (TTI) remains the leading tax forum in Australia.
In this latest project since our initial collaboration nearly five years ago, SomeOne have helped TTI launch their first-ever integrated brand campaign, to coincide with the celebration of 80 years of industry involvement.
You might think having eight digits worth of decades behind you means more of the same, business as usual, here’s to the next eighty years… But as with every industry in our ever-shifting business landscape, the principles (and people) that initially set them up for success aren’t the same as they are today.
With their longest member serving a tenure of 72 years, and over 500 with 40 years under their belt, The Tax Institute has a loyal membership base. However, this also means their numbers have held steady, more than grow. A model they recognised wasn’t sustainable for future growth. A new strategy was needed.
With an ambitious target of +8% new memberships and a strong lean into building their name among the up-and-coming generation of tax professionals, TTI needed an awareness campaign that, above all else, tells Australians who they are.
In collaboration with our talented, long-time strategic partner, Kate Leury Nielsen, we worked through a multitude of pre-conducted research to pluck-out defining insights into the needs and behaviours of existing members, professionals (tax and other financial services), and most importantly new generation graduates on the fence about their career moves.
Of everything we heard, it was one key USP that led us to the proposition that ‘You can’t talk tax without the tax institute’ — TTI are truly focussed on their niche, being the only organisation in Australia that only deals in tax.
The platform shows up in the campaign through the line ‘The centre of the tax conversation’, which in turn is nuanced for parts of the organisation, from education to advocacy to events.
The theme of ‘talking tax’ is the golden thread that joins the campaign and becomes a literal voice for the industry. Language is the driver of the campaign, pulling away form flashy graphics in favour of clear messaging and intentional repeated use to the brand name.
The campaign unabashedly touts The Tax Institute loud and clear across every creative iteration by quite literally being the centre of the conversation, while aiming to shift perceptions of what a career in tax looks like. For the vast majority we hear the word ‘tax’ and immediately conjure up images of suited people who are coming for our hard earned money.
Building on the strategic platform we set out to qualify all the ways you can ‘talk, walk, live, work, feel and experience’ tax — and demonstrate there is so much more to a career in the industry than meets the minds-eye.
The concept is simple. It allows TTI to adapt their messaging throughout the campaign, target specific audiences and react to topical issues as they arise. Giving them the opportunity to be brave.
Conceived to give them longevity in the market, there’s no end to messaging variation. The simplicity in execution was designed to empower TTI’s internal teams and encourage tonal play in future iterations.
The campaign launched to the industry at TTI’s yearly Tax Summit in September and is in market now through 2024.
TTI is at an organisational turning point. What’s more, we’ve never had a brand awareness campaign in market. I’m extremely excited to bring the next gen of tax professionals into the fold and open up a multitude of conversations around tax. SomeOne have continued to be partners that can empathise with our audiences and truly get what we’re trying to do in the industry.