By design, filing taxes is a pain. So much so that 56% of Americans dread doing it and 26% say they hate it, according to Research on the bench.
TurboTax has built its business around this collective discontent, making it easier for people to submit to the IRS with just a few clicks. Now, ahead of the April 2025 tax filing deadline, the company is reframing its brand with the launch of a media blitz that is firmly aimed at Gen Z.
The Intuit-owned brand launched “Now This Is Taxes,” a new campaign developed by R/GA reference agency.
The push kicks off with six flagship spots that highlight the company’s AI-based mobile technology. TurboTax claims these tools allow tax filers to access a qualified expert and complete the test in as little as two hours.
The films focus on things like ease of use, speed, user experience, business customers, and the fixed price of its full-service product.
“Storytelling through a product can be difficult,” Trevor Kelley, Intuit’s vice president of consumer marketing, told ADWEEK. But he thinks the result, inspired by R/GA’s work with Apple in the product space, is a campaign that balances functionality and purpose.
Courting Generation Z
TurboTax is in its second tax season with R/GA. The agency has helped her take a new approach to what can be a dry subject, launching campaigns such as an R&B spot with Workaholics star Adam DeVine and his 2024 Super Bowl campaign, “Make your moves count.”
As it faces increased competition from rivals like H&R Block and TaxSlayer, such lighter-touch creative efforts come ahead of a 2025 plan for TubroTax to establish itself deeper into pop culture moments. The objective? To engage younger consumers and capture what Kelley describes as “low complexity” filers.
With 25% of Gen Zers say filing their taxes makes them want to see a therapist, Kelley has demographics firmly in his sights.
“Positive metrics around Gen Z would be a great outcome” of the campaign, Kelly said, highlighting the opportunity to retain young people by establishing their ranking habits for life.
A diverse media mix will support this objective. The brand has already launched one of the hero spots of the campaign during the Netflix broadcast. NFL Christmas Games.
The campaign will see the brand through 2025, appearing at marquee events including the Oscars, Grammys and the premiere of WWE Raw on Netflix. TikTok and Snapchat will also play a key role in the media mix, while the budget will also be dedicated to audio and podcasts, as well as local search.
“Media will continue to be a part of what we do and how we reach consumers,” Kelley said. “But we are also looking at different marketing methods. So we started to focus a little bit on how customers make product decisions. [picking] a deposit solution. Many do so through more direct channels.
TurboTax Superbowl Arrogance
One of the brand’s biggest media engagements will take place in February, when it launches its 12th consecutive Big Game campaign in the second half of the year. Super Bowl LIX.
Kelley is remaining tight-lipped on what the Big Game spot will focus on, but confirms it will be part of the “Now This Is Taxes” platform. “We want some of that advertising edginess that comes with the Super Bowl, so it’s a great opportunity for this campaign,” he said.
“In terms of timing, this is a crucial moment in the fiscal year,” he continued.
With brands including Microsoft Using last year’s Super Bowl to amplify its gen-AI features, Kelley declines to say whether TurboTax will use the Big Game to highlight tools including AI-powered Intuit Assist.
However, in the middle consumer reaction to how brands like SpotifyGoogle and Apple Promoting and using AI generation in their advertisements, Kelley believes it is essential to highlight the benefits of the technology, such as speed and lower prices, rather than shouting about its use.
“How these things get to the customer is not as important as the actual benefits,” he said.
In November, Intuit reported 10% year-over-year revenue growth, to $3.3 billion for the most recent quarter. Changes at the top of the company, which also owns QuickBooks, MailChimp and Credit Karma, will come in 2025.
In November, Longtime CMO Lara Hood Balazs has left for Adobe. She will be replaced by a Google veteran and former Chobani marketing director Thomas Ranèse.
Under Hood Balazs, Intuit began experimenting with a “private branding strategy”, designed to introduce the Intuit name into the consumer consciousness, alongside its roster of individual brands.
The “Now This is Taxes” campaign, which will include a partnership with Credit Karma, will continue to promote the Intuit brand as a whole.
