I’d like to extend a warm welcome to our new member IFAs – around 500 of you have signed up over the last three months.  I thought you might find it useful to read about some of the rationale behind how we’re going about cost effectively generating positive consumer media coverage and quality leads for the independent sector.

• ·      IFAP proactive consumer PR campaigns

Each year IFAP’s Tax Action and Get Saving PR campaigns cost effectively generate hundreds of pieces of positive consumer media coverage - prominently positioning the independent brand and member IFAs in the public’s mind.  More recently IFAP launched its Be Advised PR campaign to help with educating consumers about the benefits of independent advice post depolarisation.

Importantly, IFAP’s media positioning plays a crucial role in this.  Because journalists can see that IFAP allows enquirers to use its ‘Find an IFA’ services on a confidential basis, and because IFAP’s searches are demonstrably seen to be matching enquirers’ needs with the closest member IFAs who can genuinely meet those needs, IFAP is deemed to be a trusted source by the media.  Often this results in calls to action appearing, with the consumer media actively promoting IFAP’s ‘Find an IFA’ hotline and websites (unbiased.co.uk and impartial.co.uk) in their copy.

According to Panarc, IFAP’s independent media evaluation agency, over the last 12 months IFAP’s core consumer PR campaigns generated 1,471 pieces of media editorial - worth £2.3m on an equivalent advertising basis.  As we know the financial services industry has not always enjoyed universal support in personal finance sections, so it’s perhaps worth noting that coverage resulting from IFAP’s consumer PR campaigns achieved a net positive effect of +94% during this period.

• ·      IFAP Media Services

Member IFAs can join IFAP’s Media Services for no charge – and, to date, over 230 member firms have done so and are now actively providing journalists across the media spectrum with informed comment and case studies.  In fact, according to MORI (March 2005), 81% of consumer and trade financial journalists now use IFAP’s Media Services for this purpose.

And perhaps this partly explains why journalists almost exclusively use media IFAs in their editorial copy.  Bearing in mind that such copy inevitably positions the media IFA as an expert commentator, this activity is lending priceless support to the independent brand.

Journalists can access IFAP’s Media Services IFAs through a dedicated hotline, through a published version of the Media Services Directory (which is issued to circa 1,200 media contacts annually) and through online versions of the service running on www.unbiased.co.uk, www.impartial.co.uk and in the media facing sections of 18 other sponsor and trade body websites.

Over the last 12 months, Panarc measured 1,238 pieces of coverage generated by IFAP Media Services IFAs, worth £4.3m on an equivalent advertising basis.  In fact journalists looking for informed commentary and case studies from media IFAs used IFAP’s online Media Services alone an astonishing 14,000 times over the last year.  So if you’re interested in joining in and taking part, you can contact IFAP Media Services on 020 7294 3682 or email mediaservices@ifap.org.uk.     

• ·        IFAP Press Clubs

Again, member IFAs can join IFAP Press Clubs at no charge.  Furthermore, the cost of advertorial in the regional press is negotiated at advantageous rates and shared between Club member IFAs.

IFAP currently co-ordinates 35 Press Clubs, all of which benefit from the local press editorial and/or advertorial opportunities that membership of their local Press Club brings.  Across the UK, Press Clubs are currently running 20 special feature campaigns with their local press.

Over the last 12 months, Panarc measured 237 pages of advertorial generated by IFAP Press Clubs.  This coverage achieved a net positive effect of +99% and was valued at £0.5m on an equivalent advertising basis.

If you’re interested in finding out more about your local Press Club, please contact James Sharp, IFAP’s Regional Press Officer, on 01902 850053 or email james@ifap.org.uk.    

• ·      Lead generation

IFAP is cost effectively generating quality leads for member IFAs.  To underline this, it’s perhaps worth considering the following.  Over the last 12 months IFAP has dealt with over 530,000 enquiries from people looking for a local IFA – with 83% of these enquiries being dealt with online.  Additionally, over 75% of these enquiries have come from third party referrals and as we know third party referrals are the most cost effective lead generation activity you can undertake.

IFAP’s media positioning and clean consumer proposition again play key roles.  Because of the safe way that IFAP is seen to deal with people looking for local IFAs, these third party referrers feel totally comfortable passing these enquiries on to IFAP.  An added benefit of the way that IFAP’s searches work is that enquirers with specific needs end up with member IFAs that can genuinely help those enquirers, which improves the chances of business being written. 

This combined with the fact that enquirers using IFAP’s ‘Find an IFA’ services choose to go on to see a member IFA under their own steam (rather than being coerced) means that IFAP generates warm, quality leads.  According to Consensus Research, who asked 881 member IFAs in January 2005 their views on IFAP lead quality, 76% indicated that IFAP leads were either reasonable or very good quality.

So how does IFAP generate all these leads?  The answer is through its integrated marketing and promotion campaign, which includes:

• §      IFAP’s proactive and reactive PR consumer media work which results in editorial copy directing people to IFAP’s hotlines and websites
• §      IFAP places over 300 advertisements a year in the national consumer press encouraging people to use IFAP’s ‘Find an IFA’ services’.
• §      Online, IFAP ensures that whenever people put relevant search terms into UK search engines and portals that unbiased.co.uk and impartial.co.uk are delivered at the top of the resulting search list.
• §      We’ve already talked about the importance of third party referrals and in recognition of this IFAP has developed white label versions of its online ‘Find an IFA’ service which it now supplies to 50 partner financial websites.  In addition hundreds of websites now link directly to IFAP’s home page.

Because IFAP recognises, in terms of third party referrals, the significant benefit it gets from protecting enquirers’ confidentiality, it is necessary to conduct in-depth research into what users of IFAP’s searches did next to ascertain the overall value to member IFAs.

Between them, research agencies Citigate Dewe Rogerson and Mercer Oliver Wyman undertake this work.  In May 2005 they analysed completed questionnaires from 2,968 enquirers who had used IFAP’s on or offline services to find local independent advice in 2004.  From this robust base, and applying conservative assumptions, it is then possible to estimate the total value of IFAP’s lead generation activity to member IFAs.

During 2004, Mercer Oliver Wyman estimates that around half of all users of IFAP’s ‘Find an IFA’ searches went on to see a member IFA, resulting in more than 80,000 product sales at an average commission value per sale of £570.  Mercer Oliver Wyman concludes that during 2004, member IFAs earned up to £46.8m commission income as a direct result of receiving leads generated by IFAP.

Online Marketing Package subscriptions top 1,600 – but 10% discount for new subscriptions is only available until the end of September

Another great piece of news is that member subscriptions to IFAP’s Online Marketing Package have now topped the 1,600 mark.  On average, members subscribing to this new service are receiving 20 leads a year from IFAP for nominal outlay.  Given that the average case size generated by IFAP is estimated to be £570, the benefit of subscribing is clear.

In addition, as IFAP doesn't make any annual membership charge, subscription is the only way you can offer any regular financial support to the promotional campaign we’re conducting on your behalf.

IFAs’ subscriptions to IFAP's Online Marketing Package (together with our sponsors' funding) pay for all our promotional activity.  Whether or not people find you directly through IFAP, our very public brand campaign aims to make sure new customers contacting you already understand the value of the unique service you offer - namely, truly independent advice.

Remember, if you’ve already subscribed your entry is now twice as likely to be viewed by enquirers looking for a local member IFA.  And at the end of the day just one IFAP generated lead a year more than covers the cost of your annual subscription to the Online Marketing Package.

Subscribers’ entries are now automatically enhanced on www.unbiased.co.uk, www.impartial.co.uk (if you list 'Mortgages' in your top eight product areas) and on the 50 plus white label searches IFAP’s running on partner sponsor, portal, media and trade body websites.

Enclosed with this edition of Update is a 10% discount flyer for our Online Marketing Package.  Please act now, as this discount is only available until the end of September.  You can subscribe by calling 0870 325 9020, by visiting www.unbiased.co.uk (or www.impartial.co.uk) or by completing and returning the enclosed discount flyer.  (If you’re not sure whether you’ve already subscribed, go to www.unbiased.co.uk and enter your office post code; if your entry doesn’t stand out then you haven’t subscribed).

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