AB

Campaign overview

Living developed its latest integrated campaign for AllianceBernstein (AB) in 2025 to differentiate its Active ETF platform in a highly competitive, crowded market. 

Targeting financial advisors, intermediaries, and institutional investors, the campaign addressed a core challenge: translating complex active strategies into a compelling, decision-ready narrative.

Built around AB’s expanding ETF range and flexible investment capabilities, the initiative aimed to strengthen engagement, support distribution, and position AB as a leading active ETF provider in a category dominated by passive and technology-led messaging.

Strategic insight

In a market increasingly shaped by automation and passive investing, AB’s competitive advantage lay in human-led active management combined with flexibility of choice. The insight was that institutional and intermediary audiences needed a clearer articulation of how active ETFs deliver value in real portfolio construction.

Living translated this into a differentiated positioning – highlighting flexibility, adaptability, and expert decision-making – ensuring AB’s offering stood out not just as active, but as responsive and relevant to evolving investor needs.

Execution excellence

The “Flex Appeal” platform was executed through a fully integrated, multi-channel campaign spanning digital advertising, social media, animation, landing pages, and sales enablement. Distinctive typography and AI-generated imagery created a bold, differentiated visual system – an industry first – that brought the concept of flexibility to life.

Messaging was tailored to institutional and intermediary audiences, with clear, thought-provoking headlines and modular assets designed for scalability across channels. The campaign ensured consistency from brand storytelling through to product-level communication, supporting both engagement and distribution effectiveness.

Measurable results

The campaign delivered strong, measurable outcomes across both marketing performance and business impact. Engagement significantly outperformed industry benchmarks, with click-through rates reaching 140% above benchmark levels, demonstrating strong audience resonance.

More importantly, the initiative supported substantial business growth. Since launching its ETF platform in late 2022 with two funds, AB has scaled from zero assets under management to over $14 billion AUM by April 2026 across 23 funds, building a leading position in active ETFs.

The campaign also strengthened AB’s brand differentiation in a crowded, tech-driven category, improving its ability to engage advisors and institutional audiences while supporting ongoing distribution efforts. Industry recognition – including multiple marketing awards – further validates the campaign’s strategic and executional excellence.

Differentiation

This campaign stands out for its ability to directly connect creative execution with commercial outcomes. By combining a clear strategic insight – flexibility as a competitive advantage – with bold, AI-driven creative and integrated delivery, Living created a platform that not only captured attention but supported real business growth. It redefined how active ETFs can be positioned in a passive-dominated market.

Summary

A bold, insight-led campaign that repositioned active ETFs through flexibility – driving standout engagement, $14B+ AUM growth, a choice of 23 funds, and measurable institutional impact.