Sneaking retirement into the spotlight.
In the UAE, conversations around retirement planning are often delayed or deprioritized, despite growing financial complexity and long-term uncertainty. For Zurich, this created a nuanced challenge: how to engage both employers and individuals in a meaningful discussion about future financial security, without falling into the familiar traps of fear-based or overly technical messaging.
Matrix PR approached the brief with a clear understanding of local cultural sensitivities, media consumption habits, and behavioral barriers around long-term financial planning. Rather than treating the campaign as a traditional financial communications exercise, the team identified an opportunity to reframe the conversation using insight-led storytelling that would resonate within the UAE context.
By combining research, strategic narrative development, and an integrated earned- and digital-execution model, Matrix PR designed a campaign that cut through apathy and repositioned retirement planning as a relevant, actionable topic. The result was a culturally attuned, data-driven approach that engaged decision-makers, employees, and the broader public in a conversation that felt timely, credible, and locally grounded.
The campaign was anchored on three pillars: Start early, start small, and get expert advice.
Inspire individuals to rethink their financial decisions and prepare more intentionally for retirement.
Encourage employers to play an active role in supporting employees’ financial health and recognize how this contributes to overall productivity.
Leverage survey insights to showcase the value and urgency of proper financial planning.
Promote long-term thinking by shifting mindsets away from instant gratification towards future-focused financial goals.
Research revealed a major disconnect in how bonuses were being allocated, with little alignment to long-term financial well-being.
Just 22% of respondents prioritized retirement savings. Most people were focused on short-term wins, like holidays.
Zurich needed a campaign that would shift the narrative and spark real conversations around financial security and future planning.
Zurich understood that sparking meaningful change required more than just surface-level awareness. Instead, it needed data that would stop people in their tracks. The team, together with Matrix PR, embarked on an in-depth research journey, analysing existing statistics and uncovering gaps in both awareness and behaviour.
The findings showed widespread financial blind spots, a lack of planning, and low levels of urgency around retirement. But they also presented a clear opportunity to challenge mindsets, stir emotion, and turn insight into action.
The Trojan Survey uncovered a critical blind spot in financial behavior and Matrix PR wasted no time in turning that insight into a media moment. By aligning the campaign with the bonus season, they tapped into a period of heightened financial decision-making, using the data to reframe how both individuals and employers think about long-term planning. The strategy centred on three core tactics:
Highlighting the financial gap and leveraging the timing.
Developing B2B and B2C storylines.
Securing targeted media coverage by pitching data-led storylines.
Matrix PR analyzed the data to uncover insights that spoke to distinct audiences. The result? Two sharply tailored narratives, one aimed at businesses (B2B), the other at individuals (B2C), both anchored in the theme of retirement readiness.
The team handpicked the most newsworthy findings to pitch as exclusives to top-tier media outlets, ensuring high editorial uptake. These exclusives were matched to journalists’ past beats, tone preferences, and story arcs.
Each storyline echoed Zurich’s three key calls to action: “Get Expert Advice, Start Early, Start Small.” These were positioned as tangible steps for both individuals and organisations navigating their financial futures.
The campaign delivered broad-based earned media coverage across respected outlets like Gulf News, The National, Khaleej Times, Gulf Business, and Dubai Eye. The hook? Hard-hitting, data-led content that reframed financial planning as an urgent, relatable conversation.
* 60 media engagements.
* 15+ Tier 1 UAE media placements.
* 100% message penetration, all 3 key messages landed.
* 52m+ total PR reach.
* 2.2m+ social media reach.
* 4.5m+ impressions.
* 100+ sales leads generated.
* 30k+ website clicks.
* The campaign was recognized at the Middle East Public Relations Association (MEPRA) Awards, receiving Silver in the Financial Services Campaign category.
“Working with the Matrix PR team on this campaign has been truly fruitful. The team shared insights and ideas that shaped the campaign from the inception and research stage itself. While the media continue to use the results of that campaign, their strategic amplification ensured we reached the right audience with maximum impact. Every collaboration with Matrix PR brings something fresh and impactful. Their value addition to this campaign was the real bonus!”
– Sanaya Zubairy, Senior Digital Marketing Lead at Zurich
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