Thrivent
Brand Launch Campaign
Company: Prophet
Client: Thrivent
My Role: Associate Creative Director
• Creative direction
• Campaign ideation
• Asset production
Brief, storyboard, creative direction: Prophet, under my creative direction
Production: Buck
Original music & sound design: Antfood
Illustrations: David Saracino
The TLDR
I led the development and execution of Thrivent’s breakthrough, multi-channel brand launch campaign and marketing asset production.
Derived from the “Thrive with Purpose” positioning, I directed the development of the “Invested In” campaign theme, leveraging insights that resonated with their purpose-driven audience.
The high-impact marketing strategy was deployed across TV, digital, social, print, and streaming, with placements in The Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch, Yahoo! Finance, and major broadcast networks.
The assets and narrative were designed to build emotional connection and credibility, resulting in immediate market traction and long-term brand differentiation. The campaign drove a 5% increase in market awareness, 8% revenue growth, and a 20X surge in new leads.
The Challenge
Thrivent, a large financial services organization, was suffering from a decade of year-over-year membership declines and stalled growth opportunities. To survive and evolve for the long-term, Thrivent hired Prophet to help them execute a complete business transformation rooted in brand-led growth.
This three-year body of work included an overhaul of their visual identity system and a fresh, compelling campaign to launch the brand in market and build brand awareness with a newly defined target consumer.
The Solution
As an Associate Creative Director at the time, I helped lead the development of the launch campaign and marketing assets to engage and emotionally connect with Thrivent’s new and existing audiences. To drive awareness with the new target, earn consideration as a leader in financial advisory, and generate demand, we developed a campaign to break through the clutter, make gains quickly, and demonstrate how Thrivent could help the target achieve financial clarity.
Research showed this audience valued the idea of living a life of meaning and gratitude. With Thrivent’s rich heritage as a purpose-driven organization, we defined a new positioning “Thrive with Purpose”, conveyed through an integrated marketing campaign, “Invested In”.
Brief, storyboard, creative direction: Prophet, under my creative direction
Production: Buck
Original music & sound design: Antfood
The Results
The launch was multi-channel including print and digital media in financial publications such as The Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch, Yahoo! Finance, broadcast/streaming/OTT, and online video with social, digital display, and podcast placements. Two TV spots were tested for break-through appeal and favorability and launched to tell Thrivent’s story.
The approach helped Thrivent reach target customers and build credibility for their field professionals. Post-launch, Thrivent saw a 5% increase in market awareness, an 8% increase in new business revenue, and a 20X increase in new leads.