Manulife Mutual Funds Extends Award-Winning Brand Campaign with Engaging New Ads

TORONTO, April 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Manulife Mutual Funds has launched an extension of its successful branding campaign that first appeared in 2011 with the theme:  "Get Your Investments Off Your Mind." Beginning tomorrow and continuing into the early summer period, three new executions depicting 'Skydiver,' 'Wedding' and 'Teacher' will appear in a mix of newspaper, magazine, online and outdoor airport boards.  The branding campaign is designed to reassure investors that with the help of a trusted partner in Manulife Mutual Funds, it is possible to attain their financial goals without being constantly distracted by worry over their investment portfolios.

The initial phase of the campaign won the Best Marketing Campaign award at the 2011 Morningstar® Canadian Investment Awards™ in December of last year.

"Our campaign conveys a 'peace of mind' message which we feel is highly relevant given market conditions today. Investors want to know that they are investing with a company that has proven it can build client portfolios in a prudent manner. Manulife Mutual Funds has the long-term track record that says 'we can help prepare you for your future,'" said Paul Lorentz, President of Manulife Investments.

"Manulife brings to the table 125 years of investment and wealth management expertise. With our diverse and high quality mutual fund product line, we are well-positioned to help investors prepare for the expected and unexpected and to help secure their financial futures. People have busy lives to lead, and they want to have their investments grow and work for them, and not be a constant source of concern," he added.

"This new series of ads extends the highly successful 'Shower,' 'Hockey' and 'Dentist' depictions that were utilized in the spring and fall last year. That campaign helped to drive strong levels of traffic to the Manulife Mutual Funds web site, www.manulifemutualfunds.ca," said Jeffrey Carrique, Assistant Vice President, Marketing, Manulife Investments.  "We've refreshed the campaign with three new executions that continue to employ a touch of humour and help to keep our message fresh."

The three new ads will appear in the Globe & Mail and La Presse newspapers from April 11 through June 20. A mix of business and consumer magazines including Macleans, MoneySense, Toronto Life, L'actualité and Affaires Plus will feature the ads from May to July.

Online banner ads featuring the 'Skydiver' will be scheduled on English and French investor news, business and finance websites for six weeks beginning April 16. One execution will show two skydivers jumping out of a plane in the Leaderboard banner at the top of the webpage and will end up in a Big Box area halfway down the page, where the remaining animation plays out.  An example is in the link. http://xn.tribalddb.ca/bin/tribal_tor/Manulife_Parachute_300x250_alt.html

In addition, Manulife Mutual Funds will have outdoor boards in high traffic locations at airports in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver to reach business travelers and opinion leaders during the four week period April 9 – May 6. In a sponsorship arrangement with CBC Business News Express, Manulife Mutual Funds will co-sponsor a two minute business report on 293 TV screens in six high traffic Canadian airports (Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Fredericton), that includes a logo and "Brought to you by Manulife Mutual Funds – For your future" tag to open and close the business report. The campaign will run for four weeks starting April 9. Also, "Brought to you by Manulife Mutual Funds" radio tags on 680 News Toronto and CJAD Montreal will run during this period.

In February, Manulife Mutual Funds was recognized at the 2012 Canadian Lipper Awards, winning awards for the Manulife Structured Bond Class Advisor Series, and the Manulife International Dividend Income Fund Advisor Series*.  In recent news, Manulife Mutual Funds posted the highest year-over-year growth rate – 87.3 percent – for total fixed income fund assets under management among the top 10 firms reporting to the Investment Funds Institute of Canada (IFIC) as at December 31, 2011. The firm is also experiencing strong sales momentum, reporting record sales in 2011. Manulife Mutual Funds was the second-fastest growing firm based on funds under management of the top ten firms reporting to the IFIC, as of December 31, 2011.

*The Lipper Fund Awards were based on the Canadian Fixed Income Balanced category (5 years) and the International Equity category (1 year) respectively ending October 2011. The Lipper Leader Methodology is subject to change every month. Please refer to www.lipper.com for greater detail on the calculation of the Lipper Leader Ratings or the awarding of the Lipper Awards.

About Manulife Mutual Funds

Manulife Mutual Funds, a division of Manulife Asset Management Limited, builds on 125 years of Manulife Financial's wealth and investment management expertise in managing approximately $17.7 billion as at December 31, 2011 for Canadian investors, through a diverse portfolio of forward-thinking mutual fund products.  Our experienced Portfolio Managers offer access to markets in Canada, the United States and around the world, in a range of investment styles to help meet individual needs.  Manulife Mutual Funds is part of Manulife Investments, which offers personal wealth management products and services, such as mutual funds, segregated fund contracts, annuities and guaranteed interest contracts.  For more information, please visit manulifemutualfunds.ca.

About Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial is a leading Canada-based financial services group with principal operations in Asia, Canada and the United States. In 2012, we celebrate 125 years of providing clients strong, reliable, trustworthy and forward-thinking solutions for their most significant financial decisions. Our international network of employees, agents and distribution partners offers financial protection and wealth management products and services to millions of clients. We also provide asset management services to institutional customers. Funds under management by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries were C$500 billion (US$491 billion) as at December 31, 2011. The Company operates as Manulife Financial in Canada and Asia and primarily as John Hancock in the United States.

Manulife Financial Corporation trades as 'MFC' on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under '945' on the SEHK. Manulife Financial can be found on the Internet at manulife.com.

SOURCE Manulife Mutual Funds