A POSTER campaign started today as the next phase of a £7 million national advertising campaign by Norwich Union to promote its new range of stakeholder pension plans - and staff at the York-based headquarters are getting ready for a surge in demand.

The TV and poster campaign means that York is gearing up for a response which the organisation hopes will give Norwich Union a 20 per cent market share in stakeholder pensions.

The campaign uses real working people rather than actors, depicting a range of occupations from waiters and chefs, to opticians and locksmiths and is designed to raise awareness of these new-style pensions among both consumers and employers.

The theme for the TV and outdoor campaigns, which started last week, shows workers in various jobs, both white- and blue-collar, with the copy and voice-overs calling on them to "take action". For example: "Locksmiths...get some security; Chefs...prepare yourself; Researchers....do some research; Actors.....act now; Builders....build something; Waiters......don't wait; Opticians....focus."

Press adverts underlining the need for employers to designate a pension scheme before the Government deadline of October 2001, will run alongside the TV campaign.

Sally Shire, Norwich Union's director of brand and communications, said: "Norwich Union is using real working people in this campaign to try and embed the message that 'stakeholder is aimed at you'.

"The characters featured in the adverts represent a diverse mix in terms of age and occupation and represent the market that should be looking at their pension provisions now, to ensure their financial security in the future."