Young Starter Kit

Exploration of an integrated Health & Financial wellbeing proposition.

Toby - Senior

Tom Holt - Lead

Designers

Damian Stephenson

Partner

Diego Verastegui

Chai Ng

Consultants

Employer

Bain & Co

CLIENTS

AIA

&

CBA

TIME

6 weeks

RELEASE

Jan 2019

Context

CBA & AIA needed new directions due to changes in their operating environment and tasked Bain to conceptualise and validate a joint venture combining their products for an Integrated wellbeing proposition targetted at young Australians.

Through customer insights the The Young Starter Kit had been identified as an opportunity that was uniquely suited to the partnership and our task was to validate this new proposition which was to be a re-packaging / combination of existing product offerings.

Business
Problem

For CBA

Secure and enhance the financial wellbeing of customers through exceptional technology and digital capabilities.

Key Problem: While 45% of young adults bank with CBA, the bank faces challenges in retaining these customers into their 30s. This retention gap impacts long-term customer loyalty and lifetime value.

For AIA

Help people live healthier, longer, and better lives by leveraging a differentiated “triple play” offering of life insurance, health insurance, and Vitality.

Key Problem: Despite its strong health and life insurance propositions in Australia, AIA encounters difficulty engaging with younger demographics, limiting its ability to build early and lasting relationships with this segment.

Challenges facing young Australians

Young Australians face significant challenges in managing their financial and health wellbeing effectively. These challenges include:

Financial Wellbeing

  • Difficulty setting and achieving financial goals, such as saving, budgeting, and investing.

  • A lack of tailored financial products that align with their life stage and aspirations.

  • Limited understanding of how to build long-term financial security while managing short-term expenses.

Health Wellbeing

  • Struggles with staying motivated and consistent in pursuing healthy habits.

  • A lack of accessible, integrated tools that link physical health to financial incentives.

  • Minimal awareness of or engagement with health-related benefits, such as insurance rewards or wellness programs.

These gaps leave young adults seeking solutions that are personalised, engaging, and holistic, enabling them to achieve both financial and health goals seamlessly.

PROCESS

Design Sprints for Rapid Validation

Faced with a tight six-week timeframe and a multitude of stakeholders, our team needed a framework that balanced speed, collaboration, and adaptability.

We chose design sprints as our core approach—not only for their ability to generate rapid insights but also for their focus on regular showcases, which ensured alignment across all parties.

Agile and Transparent Workflows

From day one, we committed to a working style rooted in agility and transparency.

This rhythm fostered a collaborative environment, enabling us to:

  • Course-Correct Quickly: Stakeholders had frequent opportunities to provide input, reducing the risk of misalignment.

  • Build Trust and Buy-In: Transparency in our process kept everyone informed, engaged, and invested in the project’s success.

Discovery

The first two weeks were designated for discovery, with 22 customers and 25 stakeholders across AIA and CBA interviewed.

With two organisations involved, each with its own vision and goals, aligning everyone was a major focus. The project required a clear, unified strategy that could bring all stakeholders on the same page—a task that demanded both diplomacy and a deep understanding of each party’s motivations.

User Research

We dug deep into understanding the young adult audience—how they view their financial wellbeing, the key decisions they face, and the unmet needs that current products weren’t addressing. These one-on-one interviews provided us with rich insights, and were the foundation of our design decisions, helping us create a product that felt tailored and valuable to our users.

1:1 Interviews: Total of 22 participants within the ‘young adult’ segment with varying demographics

Ranking of wellness types

Note: Score given between 1 to 6 according to participant ranking, with 6 being most important and 1 being least important

Source of advice

Note: Score given on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the first mentioned and 1 being the last mentioned

Key insights from customer research

Aligning Stakeholders

From the outset, we knew that getting everyone on the same page was critical. We organized ideation workshops that brought together stakeholders from all three organizations. These sessions were designed to surface different perspectives, clarify objectives, and build a shared vision. By the end, we had a cohesive direction that everyone was aligned on—a crucial first step in any successful design process.

Key Results

Pipeline tackled real user pain points with practical solutions, helping users work smarter and more efficiently. By listening to feedback and iterating along the way, we built something that had impact to both users and the business.

Here’s what it achieved:

Volume of accepted proposals

Improved user experience for managing proposals drove higher engagement, resulting in a 67% increase in accepted proposals—from 600,000 to 1 million in one year—and generating $1.3 billion in additional customer revenue.

600

Accepted proposals

Operational Efficiency

NPE/Proposal visibility related support requests dropped from 30% to just 5% allowing KAMs to prioritise on higher-impact work.

30

Related support tickets

User Engagement

Achieved 47% daily active users (DAU), surpassing our 25% target, with ~80% of subscribed practices actively using the platform.

0

Daily active users