Cushon – workplace savings whitepaper and summit

Cushon is a workplace pension and savings fintech company that uses world-leading financial technology to engage and empower savers to build a better financial future. Delivered via the workplace to reach as many savers as possible, employers use Cushon to enhance the financial wellbeing of their workforce.

In 2022, Cushon developed a new whitepaper calling for auto-enrolment reform, directed at employers and policymakers, focused on helping make workplace savings more accessible.

The whitepaper also highlighted its industry leading work with the University of Lincoln, auto-enrolling student employees working for the university who fall outside of traditional pensions auto-enrolment into an alternative savings pot – provided by Cushon – acting as an alternative to traditional pension saving.

Seven was tasked with raising the profile of the whitepaper and the University of Lincoln partnership to influence policy makers, culminating in the whitepaper launch at Cushon’s Saving Summit in November.

Our Approach

To highlight the importance of Cushon’s work with the University of Lincoln, and to accompany the whitepaper, Seven commissioned research exploring the financial resilience of employees and their opinions on saving for retirement. We developed the survey to provide us with as much data as possible from a limited question set, creating multiple stories.

We crafted several stories in the form of news releases and thought leadership articles, releasing stories each month – notably on the 10-year anniversary of auto-enrolment in October – Cushon led the conversation, offering solutions to engage more employees. This helped us engage with key media, build and maintain strong media relationships, and ensure a steady drum beat of coverage throughout the three-month campaign.

The Results

Throughout the campaign, we secured 23 pieces of tier one coverage, reaching a print circulation of 764K and an estimated online readership of 39.6 million. This included an exclusive in the Times that explored Cushon’s industry leading work with the University of Lincoln, and coverage in the Sunday Express and Daily Mirror.

Our focus on thought leadership to support the numerous press releases ensured Cushon led the conversation with clear policy asks, promoting the research, their partnership with the University of Lincoln, and the whitepaper in the process.

Cushon’s Saving Summit attracted dozens of industry leaders, employers and policymakers, with speakers from the Money and Pensions Service, and Dr Alex George, Youth Mental Health Ambassador for the UK attending.