How customer advocacy drove high-intent leads for a leading South African estate administration business
Turning a complex legal service into a conversation people are willing to have
Talking about wills and estate planning is rarely at the top of anyone’s to-do list. For many people, the subject feels uncomfortable, complicated, or easy to postpone.
Our client’s business is designed to help South Africans set up their final will and testament professionally and they needed a way to change that dynamic. The objective was not just awareness, but education, helping consumers understand why having a will matters and how simple the process can actually be.
Instead of relying solely on traditional advertising, the campaign focused on a more human approach: communities sharing real experiences and encouraging their audiences to take action.
Looking to drive measurable leads through influencer advocacy? Let’s chat.
the challenge
Making estate planning relevant to everyday South Africans
Many South Africans delay creating a will because they believe the process is complex, expensive, or only relevant later in life.
They needed to address three key barriers:
- Low awareness of the importance of having a will
- Misconceptions around the complexity of the process
- Lack of urgency among consumers who have not yet taken action
The campaign needed to move beyond awareness and drive lead generation from consumers ready to take the next step.
the approach
Using trusted customers to simplify the conversation
To overcome these barriers, the campaign activated a group of consumers whose audiences aligned with their target market.
Rather than promoting the service in a traditional advertising style, consumers were encouraged to approach the topic from a personal perspective. They spoke openly about why they had recently set up their own will and what they learned through the process.
This approach allowed consumers to:
- Share what happens during a will consultation
- Explain the benefits of planning ahead
- Highlight how straightforward the process actually is
- Encourage audiences to book their own consultation
By framing estate planning as a responsible life decision rather than an uncomfortable topic, the campaign transformed a sensitive subject into a practical conversation.
The result was content that felt informative, relatable and credible.
turning advocacy into measurable lead generation
Once the influencer content was live, it was amplified through targeted Meta performance media to scale its reach among the most relevant audiences.
The combination of trusted creator storytelling and performance media optimisation enabled the campaign to convert engagement into real enquiries.
The results demonstrated the effectiveness of this hybrid approach.
The campaign generated 144% more leads than the benchmark, significantly exceeding the original target.
At the same time, the campaign delivered strong cost efficiency, achieving a cost per lead
40% lower than the campaign benchmark,
highlighting how consumer-driven content helped improve conversion performance.
audience insights
The campaign also revealed interesting insights about who responded most strongly to the messaging
The majority of leads came from older audience segments, reflecting the life stage at which estate planning becomes most relevant.
Lead distribution by age group showed:
- 55–64 years: 50.8% of leads
- 45–54 years: 26.2%
- 35–44 years: 19.9%
Women also represented the majority of leads generated through the campaign, accounting for
over 62% of enquiries.
This insight reinforces the role many women play in managing important family decisions, including financial and legal planning.
Why the campaign worked
Several factors contributed to the campaign’s success.
- 1. Authentic storytelling
Creators shared personal experiences rather than scripted advertising messages, which helped make a sensitive topic feel approachable. - 2. Education before promotion
By focusing on explaining the process of creating a will, the campaign reduced fear and uncertainty around estate planning. - 3. Cultural relevance
Using Afrikaans-speaking creators ensured the message resonated with the audience most likely to engage with the business - 4. Performance amplification
Meta advertising allowed the highest-performing content to reach more of the right people, improving lead generation efficiency.
the result
From awareness to action
The campaign demonstrated how influencer-led storytelling can effectively translate complex professional services into relatable consumer conversations.
By combining authentic advocacy with performance media optimisation, the campaign not only raised awareness but also generated high-intent leads at a significantly lower cost than the campaign benchmark.
The result was a campaign that delivered both educational value for consumers and measurable business impact for the brand.
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