Understanding your retirement savings: How the recent economic recession changed advertising in retirement financial services

Abstract

This study investigates how messages, creative strategies and advertising disclosures utilized by US retirement financial services (RFS) providers changed in response to the recent economic crisis. A content analysis examines a total of 1819 RFS print advertisements published in six national magazines during the period 2005–2009. Three significant findings emerge: (1) the recession led to a change in the use of informational message strategies over transformational message strategies, (2) there were significant differences in the use of message and creative strategies during the five-year period, and (3) the RFS providers increasingly adhered to governmental advertising disclosure guidelines concerning consumer financial welfare. Implications for financial services advertisers and public policymakers are addressed.