MetLife
TurboTax
MetLife Legal Plans · Responsive web
Getting a new TurboTax benefit seen at open enrollment
TurboTax was now part of the MetLife legal plan. In a two-week sprint I designed how members find out: a strip on the legalplans.com Services page and a co-branded page that explains the offer.
6 min read
The 30-second version
One strip, one page, two steps
Problem
Open enrollment is crowded. Members needed to see a new TurboTax benefit at a glance, on a site built around legal services, without confusing what the plan covers.
My role
Product designer. I ran the prioritization and designed the sketches, wireframes and final desktop and mobile web screens.
Key decision
A full-width strip under the header of the Services page, linking to a co-branded information page, instead of a card among the service tiles.
Outcome
Both screens designed for desktop and mobile web inside the two-week sprint. No interactive features, so engineering effort stayed small, and the strip can be removed when enrollment ends.
Context
A reason to enroll, on the page members already visit
MetLife Legal Plans is a group legal plan offered only through employers, so it depends on the annual open enrollment period to win and keep members. To stay competitive, it adds benefits that complement its legal services.
For the 2022 plans, that benefit was online tax preparation through TurboTax. The bet: an included, tangible benefit gives people a clear reason to opt in. The risk: promoting a third-party service on legalplans.com without diluting the MetLife brand or confusing members.
- Client
- MetLife Legal Plans, a group legal plan offered through employers
- Partner
- TurboTax (Intuit)
- Platform
- legalplans.com, desktop and mobile web
- Timeline
- 2 weeks
My role and process
Two weeks, from priorities to mobile web
My role: product designer, from the prioritization to the final screens.
- Prioritize
MoSCoW
Must, should, could and won’t, set before any design
- Sketch
Strip and page
The offer under the header, linked to an information page
- Wireframe
Placements
Card, banner and the information page copy
- Hi-fi
Two brands
MetLife guidelines next to TurboTax’s identity
- Mobile web
Small screens
The strip stacks above the page on phones
- Info page
Co-branded page
Scannable guarantees and a clear next date
- Worked with
- Marketing, engineering and TurboTax stakeholders
- Tools
- Miro, PowerPoint, Zenhub
Scope
What two weeks had to deliver
I ran a MoSCoW prioritization to fit a marketing offer into a two-week sprint with as little engineering as possible.
- MustA banner on the Services page, so every member sees it, that opens an information page. TurboTax-approved logo and images only. Shown only during enrollment.
- ShouldA mobile design, because the banner was a new component, and a reminder to come back to the offer.
- CouldSome of TurboTax’s marketing colors.
- Won’tInteractive features. The information page explains what’s coming and gauges interest in the partnership.
First sketch
The first sketch already had the strip
The offer sits under the header of the Services page. Learn more opens an information page with the TurboTax logo and the benefits.
The key decision
Where should the offer sit?
I designed three placements on the Services page and judged each against the must-haves.
Card below the tiles
A TurboTax card under the six service tiles.
- Pros
- The legal services stay first on the page.
- Cons
- Easy to miss below the tiles, so not every member would see it.
Card above the tiles
The same card, moved between the heading and the tiles.
- Pros
- Seen right away.
- Cons
- Pushes the services down and reads like one of them.
Full-width strip
A dark strip across the page, right under the header.
- Pros
- Seen first on every screen size, without moving the tiles. Reads as a notice, not a service. Easy to switch off after enrollment.
- Cons
- One line of copy, where the card had room for a headline and a description.
The decision
I went with the full-width strip
It met the must-haves: every member sees it on the Services page, it opens the information page, and it can be removed when enrollment ends. Its contrast sets it apart from MetLife’s own marketing without restyling the page.
The card’s room for a headline and a description. The strip says one thing, and the information page does the explaining.
The solution
Two steps from the offer to the details
The strip makes the offer. The information page explains it.
- Member
Opens the Services page
During open enrollment
- Site
Shows the TurboTax strip
Under the header, above the services
- Member
Selects Learn more
Or closes the strip and carries on
- Site
Opens the information page
Co-branded, with the TurboTax logo
- Member
Reads what’s included
Editions, guarantees and what costs extra
- Site
Says what comes next
Filing details available in December
The strip
Five parts, one line
Full width, under the header
It spans the page, so it reads as a notice for every member, not one more service.
TurboTax’s approved logo
Partner assets as supplied, as the must-haves required.
The benefit in one line
New for 2022, with the key words in bold: now included in your plan.
Learn more
Opens the information page. Step two of two.
Close
Members can dismiss it and get on with the service they came for.
The information page
From a copy draft to a page you can scan
The final page leads with the logo and one headline, lists the guarantees with check marks, and uses red for the one date members need.
Mobile web
On phones, the strip stacks above the page
The strip was a new component, so it needed its own phone layout.
Outcome
A new benefit, said in one line, in two weeks
A full-width promo strip and a co-branded information page, for desktop and mobile web.
Built around the must-haves, with interactive features left out on purpose so engineering effort stayed small.
Learn more clicks from the strip, visits to the information page, and enrollment during the promo period.
Reflection
What I took from it
Clear communication can be the whole job
This was one strip and one page. The value was in saying the offer plainly, not in complex features.
Two brands on one page
Balancing MetLife and TurboTax meant close work with marketing and the partner, and strict co-marketing rules.
Scope is a design tool
The MoSCoW board kept a two-week sprint on what mattered: one entry point and one information page.
Appendix
Additional material
More artifacts from the sprint.
A1The MoSCoW board
A2Wireframes
A3More hi-fi variants
