It makes sense that the generation born and bred in the online world would gravitate to an online-born insurance player. But Esurance is demonstrating that they have a solid understanding of this audience, and their media habits and lifestyle. Let’s take a look at some of Esurance’s well-crafted plays to dominate the industry, and this insurance-ambivalent audience.
Big Budget Super Bowl Spots
Esurance debuted two big budget TV spots during this year’s game featuring some pretty well-known players. They also introduced a new tagline “Sorta you isn’t you” and the hashtag #sorta promoting the CoverageMyWay plan. It was a message that was well-researched and perfect for a target audience who each feel like unique individuals.
In one spot, Lindsay Lohan is “sorta” a mom. The Parent Trap alum, who was arrested for DUI in May 2007 and another that July, rolls up in a minivan and attempts to pick up two kids in the funny ad. She even solidifies Esurances’ target demo, saying “I’m sorta your mom. We’re both 25 to 35 years old. We’re both women on the go and we’ve both clocked a lot of miles.”
In another, Breaking Bad’s Walter White (played by Bryan Cranston) returned to the small screen wearing his yellow hazmat suit behind the counter of a pharmacy while discussing drugs — or “pharmaceuticals” — and saying he is “sorta” like the customer’s previous pharmacist, Greg.
Super Bowl Sweeps Integration: Over 2 million interactions!
Esurance was able to put a digital twist on one of the oldest marketing moves in the book: a sweepstakes. People are still talking, and tweeting, about the insurer’s post-game ad, which dangled $1.5 million in front of viewers. The rules were simple: Tweet “#EsuranceSave30” for a chance to win all the money. The phrase refers to the fact that Esurance says it saved 30%, or $1.5 million, by running the spot immediately following the game, rather than during the game. Brilliant! Featuring John Krasinki, of ‘The Office’ fame and major motion pictures, was another thoughtfully crafted selection. He is certainly someone who Gen Y and Gen X know well. As of Monday morning immediately following the game, 2.39 million people had entered the contest, including 200,000 entries that streamed in within one minute of the spot airing. The company purposely kept the rules simple to emphasize its brand positioning.
“Every piece of this was about communicating our strategy of being a company that’s designed for life in the modern world — for those people who live their life online who want to do business with a company that is fast
Taking Advantage of Where Your Audience Plays: Event Integration
Anyone who has ever been to a giant festival knows 3 basic facts- they are filled with hipster GenY’rs, they are completely, overwhelmingly huge, and your mobile device charging is at a premium– in other words, your phone will die.
South by Southwest
In its second year at SXSW, and in a brilliant move, Esurance set out to provide help to attendees while also learning more about their audience. Set up at the Austin Convention Center, the epicenter of SXSW, the brand asked attendees to answer a few quick questions about why they came to South by Southwest. A daily suggested schedule was created for each participant based on the answers they gave. Esurance sent every one of the thousands of people who took part a list of sessions, restaurants, concerts, films and other activities that might interest them. They each also got a custom QR code that could be swiped at the booth each day for a chance at one of 20 daily prizes like iPads, Beats by Dre gear and other high-end swag.
Outside Lands Music Festival-A remarkable 66% of participants re-engaged with Esurance post-event
Using NFC technology embedded in wristbands, Esurance offered festival-goers the ability to enhance their festival experience on-site and online, ensuring that they could record memories as well as keep track of their friends. Attendees pre-registered for “Insider Band” wristbands on a custom branded microsite in the weeks before the festival. The wristbands, which were tied to their Facebook accounts, were picked up at the Esurance booth at the festival. At any of eight 14 foot tap towers located throughout the grounds, festivalgoers could tap the band to take a photo. Photos could be immediately uploaded or saved to a “Digital Memory Bank” to access and share from a microsite after the event. Festivalgoers could also tap a tower to find out if they’d instantly won a cool prize, like ticket upgrades. They could even tap to save content such as set lists or drinks they liked at Outside Lands’ famous beer and wine tents. Better yet, the tap towers allowed attendees a chance to “check in” and tap to check in at different stages, see where their friends had checked in, and leave messages. Each tower featured branding, a call to action, and a screen above the “tap” button.
The NFC-wristband program recorded an average of nine ‘taps’ per wearer, and 10,000 taps total per day, resulting in close to 2 million social media impressions. 66% of participants re-engaged with Esurance by visiting the “Digital Memory Bank” after the event—an unprecedented percentage compared to typical sponsorship opportunities, which usually have a hard time extending beyond the event.
Both events enabled Esurance to increase its visibility with this important audience, making an impression with every festivalgoer/attendee.
Esurance was able to drive home a key marketing message that was core to their brand. Through its commitment to technology, it can help change how consumers purchase and manage insurance for the better.
Because of their efforts, Esurance has been trending in the tech world and generating buzz for their innovative ideas. The brand received press from Mashable and many other major news outlets, bringing pass-along brand value. And with their big-budget TV spots on the SuperBowl this past week, and their sweeps integration getting over 2 million engagements, it’s a sure sign Esurance will continue to be one-to-watch in the insurance space. Especially as they get smarter on marketing to the ever-valuable millenial generation.