Communication Guide

Communication Guide June 2017 Writing for The Standard brand Introduction This manual provides guidance on how to use language to effectively communicate our brand in external marketing materials and internal communications produced throughout StanCorp Financial Group subsidiaries, referred to here as The Standard. Follow these guidelines to ensure that you use brand style, corporate and industry terms, service marks and other writing standards accurately and consistently in all communications. For questions about external communications, please contact [email protected]. For internal communications, contact [email protected]. General Guidelines (these also appear in our Brand Style Guide) The tone of our communications speaks volumes about who we are and how we want our customers to feel. When you’re writing, keep Be readable. in mind how your tone should: • educate and inform Give your audience • demonstrate that we’re open to new ideas a break. Whenever • be encouraging and straightforward possible, use subheads • show compassion and empathy and bullet points to interrupt columns of Be helpful. Educate and inform your readers. Do the heavy lifting text. Better yet, use for them, calling out key information to make it easier to find and graphics to make your understand. point visually. Be honest. Always tell your readers exactly what they’ll be getting. Check the facts and provide context for statistics — don’t mislead or make claims or promises we can’t substantiate. Be clear. Use simple language that your audience will understand. Traps to avoid: • marketing lingo (e.g., hottest ever, state of the art, cutting edge/leading edge) • jargon/insider lingo • excessive use of acronyms Be concise. Cut needless words. Don’t rely on adjectives and adverbs; pick better verbs and nouns instead. Our customers don’t have time to wade through lots of complex content. Help them understand quickly. Be empathetic. Remember that your readers may be suffering, struggling, indifferent or busy. Some of them may even be dealing with the death of a loved one. Be readable. Give your audience a break. Whenever possible, use subheads and bullet points to interrupt columns of text. Better yet, use graphics to make your point visually. Be accurate. Do your best with complex legal language, using proper punctuation to break up long sentences. Whenever possible, work with our Legal department to find a better solution. Be active. Avoid the passive voice. Using direct language underscores our commitment to transparency and integrity. Be straightforward, especially in headlines. At The Standard, our headlines tell readers exactly what they’re about to read. Don’t be cute or clever — stick to simple product- or benefit- focused titles. June 2017 Company Confidential Page 2 Break up large blocks of text. It’s important to give readers a break from column after column of text. Whenever possible, add entry points such as bulleted lists. In marketing materials, consider using infographics and icons to present material visually. Here’s a before-and-after example from a Vision insurance flyer: Before: The Standard offers three comprehensive Vision plans that allow you to easily balance costs, features and employee needs. Flexible options to fit your workplace include a choice of nationwide provider networks that undergo a rigorous membership screening process to ensure the highest quality eye care, coverage for spouses and children to meet the needs of your employees and their families and complete COBRA administration. After: The Standard offers three comprehensive Vision plans that allow you to easily balance costs, features and employee needs. Flexible options include: • Choice of nationwide provider networks that undergo a rigorous membership screening process to ensure the highest quality vision care • Coverage for spouses and children • Complete COBRA administration Use descriptive headlines. A headline on a flyer or a brochure should use straightforward, descriptive language, usually including the product or service. Keep the headline concise and use the subhead to further describe the product or service. When applicable, headlines should convey the most important benefit that the product offers the customer or the problem it solves. Avoid vague phrases like “More than just income protection” that undermine the product’s value. Launch Your Voluntary Benefits With Ease Local Service and Support at Every Step Enrollment Solutions Flexible Options for Enrollment Success Your clients have unique goals — and challenges — when it comes to Group Long Term Disability Insurance employee benefits. The Standard‡ addresses their complex needs with a competitive suite of highly-valued products and the kind of personal support that can make a big difference at enrollment time. Income Protection With a Return-to-Work Focus Your local service office will partner with you to craft enrollment strategies based on best practices. Working together, we can tailor benefits packages and enrollment campaigns to fit each client’s needs, size and culture. We offer a range of campaign communications, educational resources and tools, which vary based on products and group size. Take a look at our Tailor your headlines and subheads to the audience: comprehensive options. Elements for Effective Enrollment 35% For Employers: of employers say Multi-faceted Communications Easy Education improving benefits We’ll work with you to design effective Simple messages help employees campaigns, with customizable materials appreciate the value of the benefits education and that catch employees’ attention — no offered and understand key features communication matter where or how they work. and reasons to enroll. is a critical issue. • Emails • Easy-to-read materials • Postcards and letters • Infographics Employee Benefits at a Crossroads: Travel Assistance 2013 Employer Survey, Kimberly • Posters • Online videos Landry Insurance Research, LIMRA, 2014, www.limra.com/Research/ Abstracts/2014/Employee_ Benefits_at_a_Crossroads__ Security That Travels With Your Employees Today_s_Marketplace_(2014). aspx?LangType=1033 Personal Support Options Integrated Tools We’ll partner with you to create Our enrollment options are easy to strategies that focus on maximizing customize to fit your clients’ group employee engagement and boosting dynamics, size and culture. participation. For Employees: • Customized or personalized • Customized benefit summaries enrollment booklets Standard Insurance Company • Personalized enrollment forms • The Standard’s online The Standard Life Insurance enrollment system* • Decision support tools, including Company of New York calculators and needs estimators • Electronic evidence of insurability • Group meetings* • Integration with a client’s www.standard.com Travel Assistance • One-on-one meetings* benefits administration system * Certain requirements may apply. Ask your local service office for more information. ‡ The Standard is a marketing name for StanCorp Financial Group, Inc. and subsidiaries. Insurance Security That Travels With You products are offered by Standard Insurance Company of Portland, Oregon, in all states except New York, where insurance products are offered by The Standard Life Insurance Company of New York of Enrollment Solutions Flyer White Plains, New York. 17726 (10/15) SI/SNY PR June 2017 Company Confidential Page 3 Know Your Audience At The Standard, our audiences vary by business and by communication. We sell through channel partners — including brokers, producers, advisors and MGAs (Master General Agents), who in turn sell to employers who offer our products to their employees. In some cases, such as Individual Disability Insurance, the channel partner sells directly to the individual. In internal communications, our key audience is employees of The Standard, because our people embody our brand. Not only is it important to clarify which audience the communication is intended to reach, it is also essential to understand the target customer within each audience — including their attitudes and motivations — and weave those insights into our communications to ensure we’re speaking to them in a way that’s meaningful. Customer Segmentation In general, our communications should focus on one of our target customers: Collaborative Performers who represent our commercial customers (brokers, advisors, producers, MGAs and employers) or Engaged Expediters who represent employees and individual policy holders. These two segments are part of a larger customer segmentation that represents our customers based on their core motivations and key attitudes, which give us insights into their values, feelings around finances and benefits, decision making and more. Collaborative Performers (Commercial Segment) Summary This segment includes brokers, advisors and MGAs, as well as employers Core Motivation: Maximize performance through partnership and collaboration. Key Attitude: Solutions come from shared investment and outcomes. Collaborative Performers: Beliefs and Values “Always present the clients with every available option and Inspire me pick the best plan or situations that are the right fit for them. Never worry about a commission. Do what’s best for them Collaborate and not what’s best for anyone’s pocket is our motto.” — Broker Do the right thing “It is very important to partner with the right carriers and Share in the outcome have a good relationship with our reps. We will bring them out from time to time so we can put two heads together and Make a difference

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