Reading Room appointed by REST Super to develop its social media presence
Digital agency Reading Room has been appointed by Australia’s largest industry super fund by membership, REST Superannuation, to develop and help implement a long-term social media presence.
REST has over $18 billion in funds under management and 1.9 million members.
It is believed to be the first major super fund to use social media to reach members.
Sarah Beyrath, REST’s Corporate Communications Manager said, “We put the needs of our members first. We know Australians spend a lot of time using social media to connect with brands as well as friends, so it¹s a natural step for us to engage with our members where they prefer to spend their time.”
Cathie McGinn, principal at Reading Room said, “Social networks aren’t just marketing channels social media monitoring gives brands an invaluable insight into what people think about their service as well as a simple and effective way to respond to feedback. If you want to stay relevant to your customer, your business needs to participate in online communities.”
11 Comments
Sorry REST. Equipsuper has been using social media for nearly a year to reach members.
Blatantly false assertion here REST.
HOSTPLUS, EquipSuper and CareSuper have all been using social media to varying degrees for at least a year or more.
Poor form to suggest you’re the first.
Whether they’re the first or not is kind of missing the point; it’s still a very positive move, I reckon.
Nice one.
Regardless of whether they’re first or not, there aren’t enough super companies that have the guts to get out there and talk to their customers like that… so really, it’s a good thing.
I’m glad to see REST (and the others) acting as early adopters re: social in their industry. Open communications for the win, guys.
Looking forward to seeing this work.
Also, a quick google would show Host, Equip and Care are respectively 8.6, 4.3 and 4 billion in funds, not comparable to 18 billion. They did say first MAJOR fund. Less snark, more research, eh?
Well, regardless of whether REST is the first or not, it’s still fantastic to see them acknowledging the changing nature of communications.
Especially in an industry like super, the fact they’re joining the conversation is certainly better than deciding to not take part because they aren’t the first to do it.
Any factual mistakes aside, still great news for both REST and Reading Room. Don’t know about that company collage though – what’s the guy in the bottom right doing?
I irrespective of whether they’re the first, I think it’s a good move and something more financial services should get on board with.
Social Media is the perfect channel to break down complex ideas of finance into something tangible which people can understand (especially Gen Y who, speaking for myself, can feel extremely overwhelmed with the complexities of finance.)
Australia has the highest household debt to disposable income ratio in world (yes, even more than the US) and Aussies have little to no financial literacy training – if social media can create more understanding about financial matters, then all the more power to those companies who adopt it sooner who translate these issues effectively – it’s these companies that will capture a market who care about their super, but don’t know what to do.
I look forward to checking out REST’s efforts in Social.
Nice to see a bunch of people willing to praise a company for making a good move over slamming them for making a small error. If only this attitude was more prevalent, eh? Although, I guess that’s a whole ‘nother matter.
We’re aware that other providers are using social networks to communicate with their members, but as REST is the largest industry superfund in terms of membership, we believe this is the most extensive engagement of its kind and our statement that REST is “the first major super fund to use social media to reach members” is correct.
We apologise if this wasn’t clear from our media release.
Cathie
Principal, Reading Room Australia
I think this is more important than even REST have let on. WARNING: Gen Y generalisation ahead. Kids these days are probably the least inclined to ever think about Super. Using social media and talking about fiscal responsibility in a way that resonates with a younger audience is a smart move. Good groundwork – watch the rest (ha!) follow suit.
I saw on twitter the other day that the Telstra super fund have launched a cheat notes program, where they tell short and simple facts about super and retirement via email abd twitter and a feed. Not used one of them before, first time to try I supose.
Super is so dam hard to understand sometimes so its a good move to see someone making it a bit easier through the online methods.