Insurance News Ad Oscars 2021

Insurance News Ad Oscars 2021

How insurance advertisers employed cut-through tactics in a distracting year – and who did it best

By Kim McNeil, Partner at The Lead Agency

The Ad Oscars awards have become something of a Christmas tradition at Insurance News. Once again, we marketing experts at The Lead Agency have searched high and low for the most effective insurance commercials in 2021, awarding the best with a highly sought-after Insurance News Ad Oscar.

Just as we all thought we were on the road to recovery, 2021 had other plans for us. It turns out we hadn’t recovered from COVID-19, but we were also well over baking sourdough loaves and organising zoom parties.

On top of widespread pandemic fatigue, Australia also had to contend in the past year with riots, storms, floods and even an earthquake.

Businesses and marketers have yet again had to pivot their strategies to focus them on issues that matter to consumers. In 2020 many companies embraced the pandemic and used it in their advertising campaigns.

Last year, Youi’s “Life Changes” campaign (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWUE84tBQwY) earned our accolade as the one that best incorporated the 2020 environment into an advertising campaign. QBE’s “New Normal” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GIQJVpZ4rg) was a close runner-up.

But this year there was very little mention of the virus in insurance ads. It seems advertisers are also suffering pandemic fatigue and decided to focus on building their brand and reputation instead.

Insurers have needed to find different ways to engage with their customers, who after being in front of screens for a large part of the past 24 months are becoming numb to digital advertising. This year’s Insurance News Ad Oscars focus on those companies that succeeded.

The Greta Thunberg Thumbs-up Award:

For the business that best embraced its corporate responsibility to activate change

Society as a whole is evolving to become more aware of global issues and the need for everyone to do their bit in bringing about change. This is particularly prevalent in Millennials and Gen Z, who are fast becoming a key buying segment.

Corporate Social Responsibility refers to the act of companies committing to give back to society. In 2021, where the world is still feeling battered and bruised from the effects of COVID-19, this is a particularly strong advertising focus.

The challenge from a business point of view is listening to the voice of the people and objectively considering how to represent their opinions. In addition, it’s easy for this type of advertising to receive backfire from critics.

Nevertheless, the rewards of a successful corporate social responsibility campaign outweigh the risks, and several businesses in the insurance industry this year have taken on the task.

WINNER: ZURICH – WHAT CAN GO RIGHT?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjxoRQZuKMQ

Zurich is making it known they are actively involved in helping create a solution for climate change with their What Can Go Right? campaign. Statistics from the Australian Institute this year show that climate change and its impacts remain a prominent concern to Australians. There is strong awareness across the country of the need for net zero emissions by 2050, and Zurich has taken on this goal.

Its 2021 campaign has been aimed at the ever-expanding group of consumers who want to make a difference to the planet. The insurer has launched a series of challenges on Instagram, each one tackling a different environmental issue. Zurich also got involved with the COP26 conference in Glasgow, creating a statue from captured CO2 that was placed in a prominent Glasgow location for the duration of the conference.

The company invited people to step inside the statue and make their own pledge to personally combat climate change.

WHAT WE LOVE:

This campaign tackles a global issue in a way that is not at all self-promotional, as the business is truly practising what it preaches.

The timing of the campaign was perfect, coinciding with COP26 while it had massive global interest.

The interactive element of the campaign is a great way to engage the audience and make people feel like part of the change.

RUNNER UP: AAMI - VAX UP, AUSTRALIA!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6awkkPhnQA

COVID vaccination has been a hot topic in Australia over the past 12 months, with a number of brands advocating for the cause. AAMI’s Vax Up Australia campaign tied into its overarching “Together We Are Stronger” campaign. It featured recognised characters from previous AAMI advertising campaigns, including the Queens of Broken Hill and fan favourites Rhonda and Ketut, showing off their vaccinated arms and encouraging other Australians to follow suit. The company reinforced its commitment to the cause by offering free roadside assistance to responders, hospital staff and COVID healthcare workers until the end of the year.

WHAT WE LOVE:

The use of previously recognised characters was particularly effective in helping this ad connect to the audience. Rhonda and Ketut were the ideal characters to get the message across, as the classic Aussie ads they starred in are still widely remembered.

Like Zurich, rather than just preaching the message AAMI gave something back to the community with its free roadside assistance offering for frontline health workers.

The Kendall Jenner Award for Product Endorsement:

For the most relevant and effective endorsement marketing campaign

Brand endorsements or “brand ambassadors” are the connections that we make in our minds between a brand and people, places, things, and emotions. By associating with another brand, companies can take on the associations of that brand, which can help to build their own brand personality and position it favourably in the minds of consumers.

In 2021 insurance advertisers reaped the benefits of association marketing, as many incorporated it as part of their marketing mix.

Zurich appointed AFLW star Daisy Pearce as a brand ambassador, and AAMI featured AFL captains Marcus Bontempelli and Trent Cochin in their “Could’ve Been a Clanger” ads that ran in-line with the AFL season. Undoubtedly the most famous case of association marketing is the Olympics, which Allianz participated in for the 2020 games in Japan. But the winner is:

WINNER: APIA - LIFE STORIES

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTXN_pMSb08

Australia’s leading over-50s insurance specialist, APIA, ran a campaign featuring three inspiring stories from well-known Aussies about how they are enjoying everything retirement has to offer. Passion is a common thread throughout the lives of the three subjects: Around-the-world sailor Kay Cottee, famous dancer Li Cunxin and former drummer of the iconic Australian band The Go-Betweens Lindy Morrison.

The campaign messaging focuses on moving into a new stage of life, and how that may result in changing insurance needs. APIA’s ads were optimistic and feel-good, and illustrated that retiring doesn’t mean slowing down.

WHAT WE LOVE:

APIA chose their associations very carefully, using well-known older people who are retired to promote their products to an audience that would recognise and resonate with these people.

The messaging was very tightly connected to both the brand ambassador and the insurance products. For example, Lindy Morrison spoke about not being on the road as much now to promote APIA’s “Drive Less, Pay Less” feature.

Unlike many other insurance ads, the APIA ads articulate specific features of the policy.

RUNNER UP: ALLIANZ #SPARK CONFIDENCE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w23ccvczunM

As one of the first major global events since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was huge global excitement for the Olympic Games this year. Allianz’s global marketing team sponsored the event, tying the sponsorship in with their “Spark Confidence” campaign. The ads feature Olympic and Paralympic athletes talking about the people and moments that spark confidence in their lives.

The messaging in the campaign is inspiring, recognising the people behind the scenes who help others succeed. Allianz asks viewers to share their own amazing stories on Instagram with the #SparkConfidence campaign.

WHAT WE LOVE:

The ads are emotional, with athletes thanking their families for everything they have done, which helps connect with the audience and facilitate consumers’ understanding of the message. Running a campaign with a social media aspect may help Allianz reach a new, younger audience.

The Award For The Not-So ‘not very insurancey’ Ad Campaign

For the brand that communicated its product or service offerings in the most effective way

AAMI’s “Not Very Insurancey” ads ran for three years, and have featured in several previous editions of the Insurance News Ads Oscars. While we like many of the AAMI ads, we’ve always questioned their use of the “not very insurancey” tagline. So this category is a nod to the businesses that embrace the “insurance” tag and use the features of their products and value-add services in their communications. While brand-building through endorsements and corporate responsibility are no doubt effective for the bigger marketing picture, sometimes the most effective communications are the ones that go back to basics and tell viewers what the business is selling and how it benefits them.

WINNER: TAL GRIEF SUPPORT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqmeHAlSMwo

Last year, TAL featured in our awards with their “Financial Hardship” ad that showed Australians doing what they love and reminding customers and SME partners that further support was available to them. This year’s ad has a similar feel but instead promotes the company’s grief support service.

The ad depicts a father and two children sitting at a table with a cake, representing the first anniversary of the mum’s death. The ad and its messaging that “not all scars are visible” is very powerful in communicating this value-add service and its benefits.

WHAT WE LOVE:

The ad tugs at the heartstrings, which is an effective method of getting a message through to the audience.

RUNNER UP: BUDGET DIRECT – INSURANCE SOLVED

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSDaOZJlLwo

Budget Direct has long been successful with its product-focused advertising – at least in our annual awards. Previously their “Insurer of the Year” ads told the audience they had won the award again. Budget Direct has done something similar this year, communicating the effectiveness of their business using key success signals

The ads depict their Mulder and Scully-type detectives who have been used in several previous campaigns looking into Budget Direct “cases”. The detectives discover the insurer has received more than 30,000 independent 5-star customer reviews, and that they are Australia’s most-awarded car and home insurer.

WHAT WE LOVE:

Budget Direct once again uses hard evidence to show consumers they can trust it.

The ads are entertaining and have used the same characters for the past few years, which helps with brand-building and recognition.