HMRC Makes Managing Money and Tax Easier with Digital Tools

Pablo & UNLIMITED have launched a major new campaign for His Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC). The campaign sees a renewed push from HMRC to raise awareness of their digital channels and encourages customers to make use of online and digital services for a number of simple tasks, instead of calling or writing to the Department. This first work focuses on driving customers to download the free and secure HMRC app and be ‘On It’ with their money and tax affairs.

The campaign will run from November across VOD, digital audio, DOOH, social, influencer and partnerships and is the first of a longer-term commitment from HMRC to encourage taxpayers to go digital.

The campaign is part of a broader digital transformation programme helping HMRC deliver on their vision of becoming a trusted, modern tax and customs service. HMRC wants to make it easier for customers to accurately manage their tax affairs. As well as improving customers’ experience of dealing with HMRC, the digital transformation programme will help to address one of the government’s biggest priorities: closing the tax gap. That’s the gap between the amount of tax expected to be paid and the amount that’s actually paid each year. The UK tax gap is around £36 billion, which is one of the lowest in the world, but HMRC is committed to improving it.  

The multi-channel campaign, with the tagline ‘You’re On It’, showcases how managing money and tax in the HMRC app or online can be quicker and easier for customers – from finding your National Insurance number, making a Self Assessment payment to claiming and managing Child Benefit payments, or seeing what you’re getting paid before it even hits your bank account. HMRC’s digital tools mean that people can self-serve,  at the click or a swipe of a screen.

A key aim of this campaign is raising awareness and encouraging downloads of the new HMRC app - with only 21% of taxpayers aware of it at present - despite being free, rated almost five stars on both Google and Apple app stores and in the top 10 free finance apps. 

Whilst the campaign aims to reach all adults in the UK, HMRC’s priority audience is the digitally native 18-34-year-olds. This audience has embraced digital in most other areas of their lives to keep on top of things; banking, insurance, bills, even their credit score - however, when it comes to tax, there still seems to be a tendency to stick with the ‘old’ way of doing things like writing in or calling up HMRC.

With ‘You’re On It’ Pablo & UNLIMITED wanted to spotlight the benefit of switching to digital channels, showing that you can’t beat that feeling of being on top of things. Getting things sorted. Being in control. The work aims to demonstrate to customers that HMRC is here to support, and brings to life the idea that no matter what you’ve got going on, you can at least be ‘On It’ when it comes to your tax affairs if you get on the HMRC app. 

Social and digital ads draw parallels between everyday situations in life where you might not be on top of things, in contrast to the feeling of ‘getting on it’ with your tax affairs using the HMRC app. The centrepiece, a 30-second film, directed by Eoin Glaister from Stink shows a young restaurant chef staying in control, thanks to the HMRC app (despite the ensuing chaos bubbling around him in the pizza kitchen). The influencer campaign created by TMW Tomorrow includes @bricks.and.disorder, @elent_finance, and @cazza_time, who will show how easy it is to handle your money and tax affairs in the HMRC app. All of the creative assets are designed to be human and relatable - a far cry from what audiences will expect from the often formal and daunting world of numbers, information and tax codes.

Media planning and buying has been handled by MG OMD.

Neil Martin, deputy director of strategic communications, campaigns and marketing said, "We want our customers to have quicker and easier interactions with HMRC. Our online services, like the HMRC app, are free to use, highly-rated and available 24/7. They can be used for a range of tasks, from claiming Child Benefit to checking your tax code.  

The goal of this campaign is to encourage customers to use these services by highlighting that there is nothing quite like the feeling of being 'on it' - including with your money and tax."

Tim Snape, executive creative director at Pablo said, “If you were expecting the new HMRC app to be explained to you by a suited accountant, let us introduce you to our talking pizza. When people think about HMRC or tax, they often think about figures, tax rules and lots of technical information. It can be overwhelming and not particularly engaging. So, we knew we needed to do something disruptive and surprising, that would communicate the benefits of the HMRC app, in a simple and relatable way and make money and tax worth engaging with.”