:: CHALLENGE



Calvert is the largest family of socially responsible mutual funds and a pioneer in socially responsible investing. In the early 1990’s, the firm had a reputation for outstanding social responsibility procedures, but lackluster financial returns. At the time, conventional wisdom saw social responsibility as fundamentally incompatible with superior financial performance.

Calvert needed a strategy to leverage the firm’s leading position in socially responsible investing into greater penetration among mainstream, individual and institutional investors. Since Calvert’s products are primarily sold through brokers and wealth advisors, educating and motivating financial intermediaries was a key objective.

:: SOLUTION



Purpose Networks created and managed a comprehensive strategy to revise and rejuvenate the Calvert brand among investors, financial intermediaries, the media and Calvert personnel. Our first step was designing proprietary market research, based on our understanding of Calvert’s objectives and the state of the market at the time, to identify key brand elements and test them with various target audience segments.

After analyzing the research findings, we then conducted an efficient, transparent process to identify and select best-of-breed vendors to execute the brand repositioning across all Calvert’s communications assets including sales personnel training, media relations, advertising, printed collateral and an award-winning Web site. We helped manage execution and deployment of the revised brand until Calvert was able to develop these capabilities internally.

:: RESULTS



Purpose Networks’ strategic advice positioned Calvert to grow total assets under management from $5 billion to $10 billion with Calvert’s Social Equity Fund assets topping $1 billion.