Twenty of the UK’s leading financial services firms have teamed up to create a campaign to encourage the nation to invest.

‘Invest for the Future’ is an industry-wide effort to change behaviours, encouraging Britons to invest in the UK. The campaign is a collaboration of the country’s largest banks, platforms and financial services firms, alongside the Investment Association and supported by government, the regulator and the Money and Pensions Service.

The unified push aims to address the nation’s long-standing reluctance to invest. It  follows research which found just over a third of UK adults agree that ‘investing is for someone like me’.

The creative campaign, formed with the help of M+C Saatchi, centres around a squirrel, an animal associated with saving. 

The ‘Savvy Squirrel’ is calm, confident and considered when it comes to investing. The campaign shows that instead of chasing rates, this squirrel takes a more relaxed, long-term view of money. The character has been designed to resonate with a broad audience, taking on an approachable tone. The campaign will unfold over two phases designed to build intrigue.

Phase one runs from April to August, introducing Savvy Squirrel through radio and digital audio, display, paid social and a dedicated microsite, using accessible, bite-sized content to begin reshaping perceptions of investing. Phase two, which is set to launch in the autumn, builds on phase one with TV and digital out-of-home activity.

Across each channel, audiences are taken on a journey to build confidence around investment. The campaign delivers relevant, motivating content and directs audiences to a microsite, where they can access simple, educational resources to support their investing journey.

With a focus on building confidence, the campaign is directly aimed at 18 to 65-year-olds in the UK with £10k+ in savings but who do not consider themselves to be ‘investor types’, despite demonstrating positive financial behaviours through saving.

The campaign reframes investing as the natural next step from saving, breaking down financial goals into simple, achievable actions and anchoring new behaviour to something people already do. Investment is a progression step rather than a leap.

“This is Cultural Power in action,” says Marcus Peffers, Executive Chair at M+C Saatchi Group UK.

He explains: “Taking a deeply ingrained national behaviour and reshaping it through something simple, familiar and culturally resonant. By turning a symbol of saving into a symbol of investing, we’re helping to make a complex, often intimidating topic feel accessible and relevant to millions. That’s how you shift behaviour in a lasting way.”

A taxi-focused push; ‘Savvy Cabs’, will begin in Manchester, before rolling out in cities including Leeds, Bristol, Cardiff, Norwich and Glasgow. It will bring investing into everyday environments, from taxi journeys to high streets and local businesses, connecting those who already invest with those looking to take the next step. While the campaign launch is supported by a high-profile event at the London Stock Exchange, including a Market Open and conference. Additional activity has been developed with communications agency Lansons. 

The campaign will run across TV, radio, digital audio, social, display, search, DOOH and online video, with media handled by the7stars.

Building confidence through a range of touchpoints, the campaign breaks down barriers to investing to create sector-wide behaviour change.