John Hancock Funds has announced an advertising campaign that showcases its investment management expertise and trusted brand.
The campaign, whose slogan is "Who Knew?", is running in print, on television and online, the company, a subsidiary of Toronto's Manulife Financial Corp., said on Monday. It tells investors that, though they may know Hancock as a leading provider of insurance, long-term care coverage and annuities, it also sells mutual funds given four and five stars by Morningstar.
"Since Manulife's acquisition of John Hancock in 2004, substantial effort has been put into expanding and improving the depth, breadth and performance of our offerings through fund adoptions, acquisitions, and new product development [by] both our affiliated John Hancock Asset Management team and our unaffiliated strategic partners," Keith F. Hartstein, the president and CEO of John Hancock Funds, said in a press release.
"Our four- and five-star funds are a testament to the fact that we are delivering better performance results to shareholders, across a wider spectrum of offerings, than ever before," Hartstein said. "Financial advisers and investors are taking notice of the improvements, as evidenced by last year's record sales year in both gross and net sales."
In one print ad, the first line reads, "Mutual funds from John Hancock? Who knew?," followed by, "Well, Morningstar knew." In another print ad, the opening line is, "You probably don't think of mutual funds when you think of John Hancock." This is followed by: "See why you should." Another ad begins, "You trust your experience, your instincts and the numbers," followed by, "And let's not forget Morningstar."
Carey Foran Hoch, a senior vice president and head of marketing at John Hancock Funds, said: " 'Who Knew' carries a brief and straightforward message: Let the performance and stars speak for the quality of our fund family. We want advisers and investors to become intrigued enough to visit out website for more detailed information about our funds, along with investment commentary, calculators and other financial planning tools."
The print ads are running through mid-June in an American Banker sister publication, Financial Planning, and many other outlets.
Television ads are running through the end of June, and online ads are also set to appear during this period.
