Money Can't Buy Happiness - Book.

When Westpac, Australia's biggest bank, wanted  to talk to their pre-retiree customers (ages 45 - 64) about financial planning and that dreaded 'R' word 'retirement', there were quite a few challenges.

First off, retirement as a concept is about as inspiring as colonoscopies. Also you're talking to a range of people with different needs. How a 45 year old views wealth creation is different to someone in their early 60s. So trying to be all things to all people in one poster or TV spot wasn't going to cut it.

Instead we focused on having a series of conversations with our customers to get them thinking about what they could be doing with their money. Moving the conversation from 'financial advice' to 'financial inspiration' (from a bank, no less).

The result was the Money Can't Buy Happiness (but it sure makes the search more fun!) program spearheaded by a quick read book filled with 'bite-size' pieces of knowledge to get the reader thinking about life, happiness and what it truly means to live a rich life. The program also included 'Wealth Inspiration Seminars' and one-on-one planning sessions.

The results from the pilot program exceeded all targets. Sales of wealth products increased by an incredible 203%. Internal referrals to financial planners went up by 36%. Conversion up from 6% to 35%. And advocacy increased from a negative score to +10.