"Safety is a cheap and effective insurance policy"
– Anonymous

Fortunately for the insurance industry, few of us practice this level of common sense. Therefore, this global industry can be labeled "too big to fail" while providing enormous amounts of advertising to analyze. In fact, it is estimated that the US insurance industry spent over $6 Billion in marketing during the most recent fiscal year. We may not know the right amount of insurance to buy, but based upon this level and breadth of advertising, we do know we are probably paying too much for it. No wonder almost every insurance company is telling us how much we can save if we switch to their brand!

In this issue of What We're Watching we assess some major insurance advertising campaigns. We also present some important Lessons Learned applicable to any marketing communications, even if you're in an industry not labeled "too big to fail"!

A brief overview of the campaigns we're reviewing:

GEICO – Government Employees Insurance Company, this firm is an absolute advertising tsunami, with numerous campaigns running concurrently. Not merely concurrent commercials in rotation, but actually separate campaigns on-air at the same time. Of course, the GEICO Gecko campaign leads the way, with recent executions featuring his hapless Vice President of Marketing boss.

Early GEICO advertising asked viewers not to confuse their name with a small reptile, the gecko. Finally, an advertising genius decided to "stop swimming upstream" and adopted the gecko as a mnemonic device for a company with an otherwise generic sounding name. The rest is history. The GEICO Gecko is now one of the most memorable "continuing characters" and "spokespeople" in advertising history and GEICO doesn't pay him any residuals for all those commercials. Probably a contributing factor to Warren Buffet's decision to buy GEICO.

The GEICO Caveman campaign is almost as prevalent and even served as the basis for a short-lived TV series. While the Gecko commercials' key copy words are "a 15 minute call could save you 15%...", the Caveman spots focus on GEICO's ease of use – "so easy a caveman could do it" is the phrase that always dampens the Caveman's forays into the modern world.

The GEICO Money Stack is equally single-minded in its Benefit – save money. Similar to the Gecko, the Money Stack also gets no residuals and, because it never speaks, probably works at "scale". However, GEICO paid for the background music, "Somebody's Watching Me" from Mysto and Pizzi, and Warren Buffet probably gets a percentage on every iTunes download!

"Real people" take center-stage in the GEICO campaign whose encapsulated idea might read "B-List Celebrity Spokespeople". Of course this is the campaign in which "real GEICO customers" had their stories "glamorized" by celebrities. To their credit, these B-List spokes-people took a self-deprecating approach to their roles, which added credibility often missing from traditional "celebrity as star" commercials. The Don LaFontaine and Joan Rivers' executions are perfect examples. Great line in the Joan Rivers' spot: "I can't feel my face!"

Most recently, the GEICO "Spokesperson" with the TV hair and great voice has contrasted GEICO's ability to save purchasers money with a series of equally credible events. My personal favorites include R. Lee Ermey as the ex-drill sergeant therapist and the Randy Johnson snowball fight.

AFLAC – American Family Life Assurance Company is a major provider of supplemental coverage insurance. However, both the concept of supplemental insurance and the company's name were difficult to comprehend until a great advertising idea flew in the window. Actually, a New York based agency creative was walking in Central Park trying to develop some way to differentiate and define AFLAC when he came upon the AFLAC Duck mnemonic while watching ducks swim in one of the park's ponds. This iconic campaign is now in its eleventh year, although consumers still might be puzzled about exactly constitutes "supplemental insurance". We'll let one of the great advertising spokespeople – Yogi Berra – explain in this clip.



Progressive – Progressive is another example of advertising building a brand and profits. Progressive's funny and flip "continuing character" – Flo (a tremendous role for actress Stephanie Courtney) – has become a totally recognizable personality with solid brand linkage. While Progressive has diversified its message beyond just car insurance, Flo is still telling her different visitors that Progressive can save them money by switching brands, often in on-screen comparisons. And they apparently are switching, as Progressive Chairman Peter Lewis recently donated $101 Million dollars to Princeton University for the Lewis Center for the Arts. Go Flo!

All State – An insurance landmark, All State was originally part of Sears and dates from the Great Depression. All State has had the great sense to maintain its emotional benefit promise and classic Key Copy Words – "You're In Good Hands with All State" – across a variety of campaigns. Over the past few years, All State advertising featured spokesperson Dennis Haysbert. Interestingly, his earnest and credible approach also made him the ideal character for America's first African-American president on television's landmark series, 24.



However, All State recently evolved that campaign with the introduction of another "continuing character" – Mayhem. If we encapsulated that campaign idea, it might be "'Bedazzled' Run Wild", as the Mayhem character is reminiscent of Peter Cook's Satan portrayal in the original "Bedazzled" movie. Interestingly, All State still maintains Haysbert's voice reciting the commercials' closing "key copy words".

State Farm – As the name implies, this firm has rural roots reaching back even further than All State. A product of the 1920's, State Farm has launched an aggressive television advertising campaign featuring both general audience and multicultural advertising utilizing a consistent brand spokesperson across all campaigns. While there is mention of talking to your neighbors about State Farm, the brand appears to have discarded the Barry Manilow-created iconic musical key copy words, "Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there…"
Strategically, it does not appear State Farm has really differentiated itself from its competition. They are not promising direct savings comparisons – as Flo does graphically in some Progressive executions – but they still appear to be competing on price – "saving money is our real National Pastime".

Personally, I have problems with the brand's spokesperson. To their credit, State Farm utilizes the actor in both Hispanic and general audience executions. While the Gecko is cute, Flo quirky, and Haysbert inspiring, the State Farm spokesperson appears "smug". In fact, several of the commercials feature him, or another actor, speaking over or interrupting one another. This is not only rude behavior, but it disrupts the message.

The commercial provided is the full :60 version of the :30 commercial seen most frequently on TV. While we should always focus on strategic elements first, and we have, executional elements of this commercial "drive me crazy".

First, it is clearly a very expensive production, with a location shoot, numerous speaking parts, and tons of extras. Second, the "$50 in my pocket" pair at the beginning are obnoxious and totally "east coast" in tone and attitude. Third, the woman walking down the stadium aisle next to our spokesperson says something which I cannot decipher even after seeing the commercial at least 50 times. And because she's got a speaking role, we're paying her extra, yet she's unintelligible. Net, net, I find no "reason why" in this advertising that makes me want to switch to State Farm.



Summary: Now that I've vented on the State Farm execution, what are some major points across these campaigns?

Snakepit: The Insurance Industry has constructed the classic "snakepit" category – a large number of undifferentiated brands, invariably promising "features – attributes" benefits at the bottom of the Benefit Ladder, and competing on price. Exactly where you do not want to be.

Target Audience – Behavioral Objective - Benefits: All these campaigns are targeting existing insurance customers. None is explaining why insurance – particularly car insurance is necessary. Since most states actually require car insurance for all drivers, the industry is guaranteed significant baseline volume. Hence the attractiveness of this category – customers have to buy it. Therefore, insurance companies are focusing on a Switching Behavior for their target audience. And the Benefit promised is saving money – "15% or more…"

Interestingly, they never really explain how they are able to achieve these savings. Historically, GEICO once refused to insure any New Jersey drivers due to the state's high population concentration and both All State and State Farm have been involved in major legal actions over coverage related issues. Possibly this is how they save us money!

Continuing Characters – Spokesperson: Each brand utilizes a Continuing Character, often doubling as Brand Spokesperson. Importantly, most have good brand linkage – when you watch the commercials, you can easily recall the brand. GEICO and Aflac appear most successful in that regard.

Lessons Learned: What are the key "take-aways" from this analysis that we can apply to any category, franchise, or brand?

Avoid Price Competition: You never buy anything of value based upon price. You only default to price when there appears no differentiation between products. Notice I did not say "brands", because successful brands invariably avoid price competition by clearly defining and differentiating benefits. Even some commodity products have successfully differentiated themselves – bottled water is a marketing classic! Who ever thought we would be paying more per gallon for water than gasoline!

Move Up The Benefit Ladder: Remember, the customer is only interested in "WHAT'S IN IT FOR ME (WIIFM)". Make sure your Benefit at least focuses on what your brand can do for the customer – "our steel belted radials wick away water so you can stop safely on wet roads". Better still, strive for an Emotional Benefit that resonates with customers and directly addresses their needs, stated or unstated. This is a classic role for Market Research, first to identify and prioritize these needs and secondly, to confirm your benefit's resonance with customers.

Demand Campaignable Creative Ideas: We often see the term "Big idea" associated with advertising campaigns, yet really "Big Ideas" are few and far between. In this review we see that the Insurance Industry has clearly developed several "Big Ideas" that have also become successful, long running campaigns. "Like a Good Neighbor" and "You're In Good Hands" were Big Ideas and long-running campaigns featuring Emotional Benefits.

Moreover, the GEICO Gecko and AFLAC Duck have achieved Advertising Icon status, with Progressive's Flo not far behind. These examples provide a good lesson for us to always ask our Agency partners, "please share with us how you see this as a campaign" when reviewing creative. In fact, we should never really have to ask. Great campaigns are obvious because the creative ideas behind them are so powerful, so customer focused and insight driven.