North Appoints Emotive as Creative Agency

Independent creative agency Emotive has been appointed by North, Australia’s
leading platform for super and retirement, to lead its brand transformation and upcoming market relaunch. AMP currently manages over $86 billion in funds on its North platform, providing financial advisers with a comprehensive ‘wrap’ for investment management, reporting, and compliance.

The win tasks Emotive with developing a new brand platform, go-to-market strategy, and creative campaign. And as Sebastian Revell, Emotive’s executive strategy partner points out, this end-to-end scope has category-defining potential.

“This is an opportunity to reshape the way Australians and their financial advisers feel about retirement, with North positioned as a contemporary voice and service when planning for retirement," Sebastian said.

"From defining a new, cultural role for advice and mapping the real behaviours driving and limiting adviser engagement, North can blaze a trail in the category in building deeper connections -- leading with empathy, not just product excellence.”

Emotive’s approach will position North as the brand that helps financial advisers turn extended lifespans into extended opportunities, both for their clients and for their own practices.

At the heart of this is a behavioural science-led engagement model that directs how and when to engage financial advisers with an in-depth understanding of their day-to-day circumstances, challenges, and motivations.

Lauren Purcell, North’s head of marketing, platforms, and investments, said, “We wanted a partner who could help us reconnect with advisers and reframe what retirement means for Australians, and Emotive got that immediately.

"They didn’t just tell us how to communicate differently, they showed us how to build genuine trust with advisers again. Their work brings clarity to what North stands for, and confidence in how we’ll continue to solidify our position as leaders in retirement planning.”

Creatively, North and Emotive plan to drive a departure from the typical conventions of financial marketing, and instead look to combine functional product features with feeling -- championing the emotional value of financial advice and the lived richness of retirement.

Gavin McLeod, chief creative officer at Emotive, said, “Financial services have spent years talking to the head. We want to bring some humanity, wit, and warmth into a space that’s too often felt sterile and uninspiring.

"Our early creative direction focuses on the moments, decisions, and connections that make planning for longer lives something to look forward to, while helping establish North as a trusted, people-first brand.”

The win adds to Emotive’s growing momentum, following the recent appointments of Perfection Fresh and Billson’s, and sees North join a powerhouse roster that includes Google, Audible, Revlon, Breville, Mount Franklin, Wotif, and other leading brands.