How Connected Media Made Smarter Segmentation Work Harder

How do you move from personas to performance?

Background

New York Life recognized a growing need: Today’s customers no longer respond to broad segmentation or outdated definitions of financial planning. To sharpen their go-to-market strategy, the brand needed a more modern way to understand and engage high-value audiences.

That’s where Razorfish came in. We refreshed segmentation to uncover what people really need across their financial journey.

Partnering with an agency like Razorfish, which understands data, customer value, plus media and creative, was a strategic way for us to be able to get to that target customer and still drive top-of-the-funnel brand awareness as well as conversion.

Amy Hu
SVP & Chief Marketing Officer

Journey

We took a custom approach, blending qualitative and quantitative insights to identify needs and behaviors that matter most. From there, we built personas and mapped journeys that gave New York Life a clearer, more dimensional view of how, when, and where to connect.

Each priority segment was brought to life with distinct personas and end-to-end customer journeys, shifting the view from abstract profiles to dimensional people with evolving goals. This gave the brand a clear picture of how different audiences approach financial decisions, and where New York Life could show up in meaningful ways.

Then we turned insight into impact. Connected Media operationalized the segmentation across channels, creating pathways that guided people from curiosity to consideration to action. By balancing short-term performance with long-term brand building, the strategy ensured every touchpoint worked harder to drive efficiency while deepening trust.

Outcomes

With a smarter segmentation approach, New York Life didn’t just reach more people; they reached the right people, with the right message, at the right moment.

+7%
increase in brand awareness
+10%
increase in qualified leads
-15%
cost per lead

We rebuilt our segmentation to do what psychographics alone couldn’t: drive addressable targeting and persuasion. Partnering with Razorfish gave us the science and storytelling needed to power both media performance and brand transformation.

Amy Hu
SVP & Chief Marketing Officer