As I continue my conversations with ANA Annual Conference Speakers, please find ANA Board Chairman Steve Sullivan's (SVP of Communications) comments below on the transformation of the Liberty Mutual Brand.
1. The theme of this year's ANA Annual Conference is "Transforming the Marketing Landscape." What have you done this year to transform your own brand's landscape?
This was a big year for Liberty Mutual in evolving our brand. Certainly, you could look at what we did and focus on the tactics - we rolled out a new T.V., print and online campaign; we introduced some new consumer promotions that created a lot of engagement; and we benefited from the power of social networking - but those activities were just the spear point of our efforts.
The significant change in our brand approach was our decision to distance ourselves from the frenetic insurance environment of competing claims and prices. Instead, we evolve our positioning based on a sociological phenomenon we discovered in the course of our research. It surprised us with its strength and we've been delighted with the response to our communications.
2. What do you think is the biggest transformation recently experienced by our industry?
Certainly, new media has changed the landscape of every industry. Online ads, social networking sites, "YouTube," etc., these have all had a profound impact on the way we market to customers versus just transmitting a message.
Traditional advertising is quite static. You create an ad with the message you intend to send and put it out into the word. Today, you can create communications that allow you and your customers to build a relationship. When we launched "whatsyourpolicy.com" in conjunction with our new campaign, we posted a yes-or-no question such as, "Should the driving age be raised to 18?" We expected people to vote, but we were amazed at the thousands who went further and posted comments. They weren't just visiting, they were engaged with us in something that was important to them.
3. What will be next?
I think it's pretty clear that communications, and the products they relate to, will be customized at a level we've never seen before - in a way that was never possible before.
I believe that products and services will become completely personal - tailored and priced specifically for the individual, and communications will follow this trend. This will be the natural progression born out of the access to information available today.
This one-to-one selling and communicating will require marketers to be both respectful and transparent. An example of being respectful is opt-in communications. "Would you like to hear from us? Click here." At the same time we have to acknowledge that consumers are very skeptical of "marketing" messages. The old adage that the best advertising is, "Truth well told" has never had more meaning. Marketers who don't heed this will set off consumers' "BS meters" instantly.
4. Several of your competitors pursue differentiation through humor and gimmicks. How do your efforts compare with what they are doing and why have you chosen not to take that same route?
Every brand has to be true to itself. That's why you see so many different approaches to selling products.
Geico has done a terrific job selling auto insurance. They use humor - and it works for them. Insurance is intimidating, so why not take a light-hearted approach? It makes a lot of sense, for their brand.
Our approach is based on a value that our customers have said is important to them both personally and in their relationship with an insurance company - the notion of being responsible. We know our customers are the kind of people who turn out the lights when they leave the room, they buckle their seat belts, and they change the batteries in their smoke detectors. They do the little things in life that make a difference. And as it turns out, these are great customers to insure.
So our brand promise says, "If you value responsibility we have something in common that will make us a good insurer for you." It's true to our brand because it's true to our customers.
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