Prudential’s customers were getting lost in part of the bond journey. They would go to take money out of their bond but then not be able to get any further because they didn’t understand the different ways to do it and the tax implications of each one. To solve this problem, we came up with the idea using animated videos to help explain things.

To understand the technicalities of bonds, I worked with the client extensively at the start. I then came up with the concept of a sweet shop and wrote the scripts in Gather for the client to approve. I worked with a UI designer to put together the images for the animation. I also took part in a call where the voiceover was recorded.

These customers had quite a complicated investment but were not sophisticated investors so we had to explain things simply. They were also an older demographic so we had to be aware of accessibility issues. We therefore tried to reduce the cognitive load and not assume too much technical knowledge.

Our videos were successful in helping customers understand their investment. User testing indicated:
• a 33 per cent increase in general knowledge about bonds
• a 121 per cent increase in understanding about ways of taking money from a bond
• a 76 per cent increase in knowledge about the tax implications of doing so.