Marketing Y Marketing Plan

Section One: Executive Summary
The Society of Actuaries is embarking on a long-term journey with other key North American actuarial organizations to market and position the actuarial profession, establish actuaries as more primary leaders and decision makers in their traditional marketplace and establish an initial footprint in the broader financial services market (e.g. commercial andinvestment banks, mutual funds).
Why is opportunity at risk?
SOA research shows that the current actuary “brand” is a key barrier to greater opportunity. The current brand perception is that actuaries are too narrow, too technical and too weak in “business savvy” competencies. This perception has begun to limit actuaries’ ability to be considered for high-paying, senior positions within traditional firmsand places them at a severe disadvantage when competing for relevant positions within the broader financial services sector, such as Chief Risk Officer.
What will it take to improve the actuary brand?
Changing the long held perceptions of actuaries will take time and will require investment to re- brand the profession’s image and better equip actuaries with additional skills known to be valuedby employers. Over the next three years, the resulting increase in demand for actuaries and the better skills within the supply of actuaries will result in a growth of the actuary’s employment opportunities. Essential to this will be the profession’s multiple organizations’ ability to create a new level of demand collaboratively. This, along with focused, creative professional development willensure that the value promoted can be delivered.
What is the desired outcome of the plan?
This marketing and market development plan will focus predominantly on the “demand elements” of the solution. Its desired outcome is to create demand for actuaries as senior leaders and critical resources within enterprise risk management in both traditional and broader financial service settings. Otherpotential “targets of opportunity” will also be explored and evaluated based on input from the marketplace and the profession. During the next three years, the SOA and its peer organizations will create and execute campaigns that will increase the demand for actuaries as leaders and vital team members.
How will we go forward?
The SOA marketing and communications department will work strategically withthe SOA Marketplace Relevance Strategic Action Team (MRSAT) to complete and implement this plan. A key component of the success of this endeavor will be to identify and acquire the investment and effort required to fulfill the overall objectives.
A potential supply and demand challenge is envisioned and the MRSAT is prepared to work closely with the Knowledge Management Strategic Action Team(KMSAT). Together they will work to identify what actuaries will need to prepare for these new roles.
What are the goals of the marketing and market development plan?
The journey begins with a re-branding of the actuarial profession. The goals are to: o Create a ore dynamic and relevant image of the profession in the minds of key employers
and those people who influence them. o Create a sharedvision of The Actuary: A 21st Century Thought Leader. This vision will
build on the profession’s technical competencies and add communication and business
savvy skills as well as any identified technical skills. o Institutionalize marketing and market development within the profession’s multiple
organizations. o Create demand for products and services that create the skills projected for successin the
21st century. These products and services will be created in response to identified employer needs.
How will we measure success?
We will measure success for each audience’s campaign by changes in awareness, understanding and behavior of the audiences. As an example, our three-year objectives for the actuary campaign are:
Create awareness and understanding.
Create greater awareness and...