It’s a non-guilty pleasure of mine when I hear people confuse insurance companies despite billions of marketing dollars. It happens often.
Decade after decade, year after year, impressions upon impressions, and people still say, “I’m not really sure who I’m insured with, Farmstate? or was it Allfarm? or, it’s the one with the emu or lizard?” . . . because when disaster strikes, you definitely want an emu or animated lizard at your side.
Marketing is a funny thing that I’ll never quite get. (Stay tuned below for our commitments!) I’m sure the marketing companies have dashboards full of percentages to move companies to unmatched growth. And they’ll weave brilliant stories to help your consumers feel like heroes . . . but I always wonder:
Couldn’t we just save that ad money? Perhaps use it to lower my rate. Give more to a local charity? Or send it to the claims satisfaction side of things? (And I wonder these same questions for some of our own carriers too.)
It doesn’t get less funny when you think about the actual associations some carriers put in your head or, should I say, choose to put into your head, or actually, choose to pay billions to put into your head.
That’s not to say there aren’t important moves to be made in marketing.
Geico correctly discerned that Government Employees Insurance Company has the appeal of a wet sweatshirt. And instead of paying an actor who will one day fail them either in age or in morals, Geico opted for a cute little lizard, a Gecko, which I’ll admit is brilliantly close to Geico! When I see a gecko, I do think car insurance. So I guess that’s a victory.? Truth be told, living in Oregon, I don’t see gecko’s very often.
Liberty Mutual has an emu, which I’ve generally found unappealing. But then my kids pipe up with “Liberty liberty liiiibeertty.” So at least Liberty’s tune is connecting with children who, it is true, will some day turn into paying adults.
Liberty Mutual’s “you only pay for what you need” sounds great. But it puts the finger on what exactly can be frustrating about insurance, you don’t actually know you need it until you do.
Allstate has “You’re in Good Hands,” which I’ve always liked. The long run of Mayhem commercials has been a winner in my book. They achieve a difficult combination. They somehow manage to be funny about disaster and connect to what the insurance is actually for, when you face disasters.
State Farm’s commercials I have mixed feelings about. The use of professional athletes like Aaron Rodgers or Mahomes I do like, but it’s hard to relate to people who count their income in millions. But maybe that’s the strategy?! Remind my subconscious how little money I do have, and then I’ll want to save $50 on my insurance. Ahhh, now I see. . .
State Farm’s “Like a Good Neighbor” moniker and soundbite have long stuck with me, but I’ve always had a small voice in the back of my mind whispering, but my neighbor wouldn’t charge me annually for the risk of needing a cup of flour. On the other hand, my neighbor probably wouldn’t pay to repair my house after a fire either. So maybe it evens out.
American Family’s “Dream Fearlessly” relies on a swell of good feeling about how insurance gives you the security and peace of mind to, well, do other things besides insurance. (Also, they’re missing out on people who feel exhausted and depressed at the idea of dreaming fearlessly.)
Progressive manages to hit humor with the don’t-become-your-parents thread. But that thread frays with the drive-like-an-animal campaign where a town teems with animals driving cars. It’s cute but I still find myself thinking, millions of dollars to animate a Noah’s ark traffic adventure?
But all that’s just me, I’m sure you have your own opinions.
What about our marketing commitments? Here at Sensible Insurance PNW?
One: We promise never to spend billions on advertising here in Oregon. (But we reserve the right to spend billions in other states.)
Two: We promise that when you want to talk about insurance, we’ll discuss actual insurance. (If do want to talk about emu’s, lizards, or quarterbacks, we can do that too.)
Three (A New One!): We’re human.
So if you see a good or bad commercial that reminds you about insurance but probably has little to do with insurance, maybe contact us? (“Is that a catchy and forceful enough call to action?” I ask my marketing friends.)
We love looking for better value for your insurance dollars.
Learn more About Us (actual people!), our Sensible Approach, or our Carriers.