Money Advice Liaison Group (MALG) is a not-for-profit membership organisation which brings together money advisers, creditors, regulators and others in the common goals of ‘working together to improve the lives of people in debt’.
As its 30th anniversary year (2017) approached, then Chair Liz Barclay and new CEO Bob Winnington wanted to ensure that the organisation was relevant and fit for the future, introducing new streams of membership that would widen its participation and strengthening member benefits. Engage Comms was tasked with re-positioning and re-launching the organisation, bringing to life the new branding that had been created by MALG member company Marston Holdings and developing/implementing a marketing strategy that would significantly increase awareness, influence, credibility and engagement with key stakeholders.
We were also appointed to design and build a new content-led website that would become a hub for sector collaboration and engagement, and to deliver MALG’s 2017 conference with a completely new look and format, making it a ‘must attend’ event in the financial services conference calendar.
Several years on, we are now MALG’s full service marketing comms agency, working as an extension of the team to support with all member and stakeholder engagement activity from the development and management of a fit-for-purpose CRM system, to strategic use of social media and email marketing, and the creation of high quality branded visual and written content. As a not-for-profit that needs to be financially sustainable as well as deliver on clear social objectives, our focus is on a low-cost, innovative approach that gives the greatest return on investment.
In April 2023, Engage Comms was named as a Finalist in the prestigious Credit Awards’ Best Marketing Campaign of the Year Category for our work with MALG – read all about it here.
With face-to-face events a key part of the MALG membership offer both regionally and nationally, the Covid-19 pandemic could have rendered the organisation irrelevant. However, with its aim of ‘working together to improve the lives of people in debt’ becoming so important at such a turbulent time, we were able to support a quick turnaround of a new digital events offering which has seen membership engagement and acquisition increase rather than shrink during ‘lockdown’ and beyond.
Post-lockdown and in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, things are going from strength-to-strength for MALG with its 2022 and 2023 Conferences being its biggest and best yet. Feedback included these testimonial, which sum up just how well regarded MALG has become as a face-to-face events provider:
“I just wanted to send you a note to say well done for organising such a good conference. I’ve both organised and been to a few of these things in my time and your event is definitely a stand-out success. I was trying to put my finger on why – the organisation and attention to detail was excellent: joining instructions, printed programme in the badge, clear direction on the day, great venue, genuine welcome, good tech and tech-support – all essential components. But I think the standout for me was the authentic content and thoughtful programme; it was refreshing to see.”
Jon Hickman, NED & Co-Founder, Flexys Solutions
“Having been involved with MALG for more than a decade now, it’s great to see these events going from strength to strength, especially at a time when the need for collaboration and cooperation across lenders, money advisers and regulators has never been greater.”
Ammer Malik, Head of Business Development, Intrum UK
Beyond events marketing, Engage Comms also provides strategic support to MALG on everything from business development and thought leadership to its membership strategy. In 2023, we designed, developed and implemented its first ever Annual Member Engagement Survey which has provided invaluable insight to the Board and CEO and is being used to inform activity going forward.
