Principal Retirement Coach

Principal Financial Group's ~17,000 employees weren't putting enough money in their 401(k)s, and traditional benefits email or print campaigns didn't seem to be moving the needle.

We created a short, interactive "virtual coach" that asked the user questions about their savings strategy and provided them with a financial readiness score and suggested 401(k) contribution amount, then let them update their contribution with a single click.

• Pitched and sold the concept to the client and worked with project managers to scope content and estimate work effort.
• Wrote branching logic-based script that allowed voice host to respond with personalized information and specific dollar amount suggestions that were unique to their situation (see below for an example one of terrifyingly long flowchart).
• Worked with client to incorporate creative feedback at various stages of production.
• Lead a production team including artists, animators, sound designers, media producers, engineers, and implementation experts.

• 31% of people who enrolled through our virtual coach opted to put 10% or more of their salary into their 401(k). For comparison, only 7% of people contribute that much through traditional enrollment methods.
• In optional exit surveys presented at the end of the conversation, 86% of visitors gave the experience a top-two box score for Helpfulness and 85% for Better Understanding. Moreover, 88% said they were now "more likely" or "somewhat more likely" to manage their account on Principal.com.
• The customer was thrilled and this project launched a multi-year engagement with Principal that continues to this day as the virtual coach is expanded to tackle more and more subjects.