What’s Your Brand Anatomy?
December 12, 2011 by Peter van Aartrijk · Leave a Comment
“If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be ‘meetings.’”
—Dave Barry
That’s an excerpt from Dave’s birthday message to fans a few years back, in which he announced the “Sixteen things it took me 50 years to learn”. There are some other real gems in there.
I agree with Mr. Barry on meetings, so why in the world would Aartrijk pile on with yet another meeting—our Brand Camp? Don’t insurance and financial services pros meet enough? Of course, and that’s why we’re aiming to alter and improve the very essence of what we call a “meeting,” or for that matter, a conference, seminar, workshop, speech, etc.
If Aartrijk can contribute to changing the rules of the game, perhaps we can show how the future of face-to-face meetings could be in our industry. Because, let’s admit it, as human beings we need to meet—and we like to meet, especially if it’s fun. Read more
Disaster Communications: We Can Do More with Social Media
October 4, 2011 by Rick Morgan · Leave a Comment
This post is a follow-up to the #Irene #Insurance blog I wrote on August 30. That post was written during Hurricane Irene and I talked about how agents, carriers and associations were leveraging social tools to effectively connect with their customers and communicate valuable information.
Since that post, much of the East Coast has suffered significant flooding from both Irene and Tropical Storm Lee—and the companies mentioned in my earlier post along with many other firms continued to make effective use of social networking to stay in touch with their customers.
They used everything from e-newsletter and blogs to Twitter and YouTube to post information on how to contact carriers, storm updates, emergency shelters locations, road closings, office hours, FEMA info, tips on cleaning, preparing a disaster supply kit, storm surge maps, “thank you’s” to emergency responders, photos of local flooding, and insurance policy coverage information. Read more
Marketing Mayhem
November 23, 2010 by Maureen Wall Bentley · Leave a Comment
My husband laughs out loud every time Allstate’s new “Mayhem” commercials air. It’s a bit of a toss-up whether he likes “Flag” or “Jogger” best, but the whole campaign gets his attention—and a chuckle. We have been known to replay the new spots when they appear the first time. Mark also has a bit of a thing for Progressive’s Flo, and he has weighed in on Geico’s “Cavemen” vs. “Gecko” vs. “Rod Serling” (we both hate the weird dollar bills with eyes).
So, I guess I shouldn’t have been all that surprised when he asked me the other night: “Why are the most creative TV commercials for insurance?” 
Having worked in the insurance marketing space for many years now, I admit that I’ve seen more than my fair share of very, very bad advertising. But he was right: Much of the good ad creative now on television is related to our industry.
Why? Probably because every point of market share within the U.S. property-casualty sector represents about $4.6 billion in premium. Of that, more than one-third is personal auto, and the biggest opportunity for personal auto writers are buyers new to the industry—consumers under the age of 30 who have not yet formed a strong brand loyalty.
So, there is a very big incentive to create clever, witty ads that appeal to a younger generation (my 40-something husband notwithstanding) who want personal lines. And, if the preliminary numbers from A.M. Best Co. are any indication, those spots are working. Read more
Brand Camp Agenda Features: Do It Now, Value of Brand, Marketing Challenge
October 22, 2010 by Charles Wasilewski · Leave a Comment
Aartrijk Brand Camp 2010 kicks off Monday October 25 at The Driskill Hotel, Austin, Texas.
We invite you to follow Brand Camp updates on LinkedIn, Aartrijk’s Facebook page, Twitter (@Aartrijk) using hashtag #ABC2010, and Aartrijk’s blog.
Monday October 25, 2010
First up are the “Do It Now” sessions at 3:30 pm Central Daylight Time (CDT). Bring your problems, dreams, aspirations (large or small). Brand Campers, Counselors, and outside speakers will help you, on the spot. It’s a chance to create or fix key items for your brand. Then comes the welcome reception. Read more
What Agents Want
June 10, 2010 by admin · Leave a Comment
By Kevin Jenné
Movie lovers may remember Mel Gibson’s gaining the ability to read women’s minds in “What Women Want.” And we market researchers sometimes wish for this kind of direct insight. Living in the real world, when we want to know what people want, we turn to our research tools: surveys, interviews and focus groups.
And in a recent survey of 1,498 independent insurance agents, we validated what many industry leaders already know: among all the important factors that agents consider when choosing their “go-to” carriers for personal lines, claims service quality matters most. Not technology, not their own agency compensation – but the service their clients get from insurance carriers.
Big Field Man on Campus
April 29, 2010 by Peter van Aartrijk · Leave a Comment
At a time when people are skittish on the economy, it’s great to hang out with folks who are bullish.
One of my favorites is Charlie McShane, and his company is State Auto, based out of Columbus, Ohio.
Recently Maureen Wall Bentley, our executive vice president of brand strategy, and I attended Charlie’s grand opening of State Auto’s new Hunt Valley, Maryland offices, just north of Baltimore. Charlie is the company’s eastern regional president—he actually founded the region for State Auto and was the only employee there a few years ago. (In case you don’t recognize Charlie, he’s the big man on campus in the center of the photo.) Read more
Brand = Value
April 5, 2010 by Maureen Wall Bentley · Leave a Comment
So, you’re thinking about the value of your independent agency. Maybe you’re considering selling it, or merging with another firm, or maybe you just want to know what it’s worth in this marketplace. Now, what if you could increase your agency’s valuation multiple by 100 basis points—say from 5.00x to 6.00x? Would you spend a few hours learning how?
Welcome to Our New Site!
March 22, 2010 by Peter van Aartrijk · Leave a Comment
March 19, 2010 by Peter van Aartrijk
We at Aartrijk have been working on our client’s Web sites—using the very new and very cool social networking and site-building tools available. So we thought it was high time we brought a fresh look to our site. Please let me know what you think about it (peter@Aartrijk.com).
As we pause to celebrate 11 years in the branding business, I’d like to say, “Thank you.” It has been an enjoyable ride—even in this stormy sea of an economy. If you don’t know me well, I’m a glass-half-full kinda guy.
Read more
You Want Help with Social Media!
October 3, 2009 by Peter van Aartrijk · Leave a Comment
Aartrijk Brand Camp—held in Chicago Sept. 28-30, 2009 and continuing on the virtual calendar of online conversation—was all about the risk and opportunity of social media in our Wonderful World of Insurance.
We had pre-surveyed attendees at Aartrijk Brand Camp. These were agents, brokers, carriers, association executives, media reps, and business partners such as technology firms.
In sum, you have genuine concerns and questions around the impact and application of social media. You are being cautious about stepping into fray.
Here are some top issues you are having with all the excitement behind Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook, etc.:
Social media appears to be a time vampire. How do you manage the time you and your people spend with it?
How do you show a return on the effort? One survey respondent said: “While time spent on informing/communicating with fans helps build relationships, does that turn into referrals?” And sales?
We don’t know where or how to start with social media. We need a plan and a budget and somebody in charge—who is that going to be?
The internal battles are brutal. How do we get our management on board? And our legal beagles are putting the kybosh on us branding folks—the IT department isn’t helpful either. One of you said, “The current rule is to run all printed copy past the marketing and legal departments. Social [media] requires a more relaxed, conversational tone to be authentic and trustworthy…[But] it is viewed as more of a risk than an opportunity.”
We’re not sure when we should start! One of you said: “Maybe it’s better not to put a toe in the water until this new frontier matures.”
Who in insurance has gone before us? What are the best practices around building brand awareness with social media? “We need success stories.”
Who is this for? Is social media best for business-to-business? Business-to-consumer? Both? Neither?
Finally, do insurance and financial services play a role at all in social media? Do consumers care about us? We’re not worthy! We’re just not cool enough!
Ah, yes, great questions. Stay tuned for some solutions offered up by Brand Camp attendees.
– Peter van Aartrijk
Follow Aartrijk on Twitter: @Aartrijk. Follow Brand Camp conversation on Twitter using hashtag #ABC09.
Are You Saying This?
June 8, 2009 by Rick Morgan · 1 Comment
It’s a fad
I don’t have time for this
It’s not appropriate for business
Show me the ROI
I don’t want my staff wasting company time on this
I am concerned about the E&O exposure
Objections or perhaps more accurately excuses to avoid having to deal with the social networking? Yes, but we have heard it all before.
Earlier today, I was just talking to a friend about the history associated with the use of technology in the insurance agency business. I reminded him that back in the early ’80s when the push was on for agents go become “automated” there was huge resistance. He then recalled how when e-mail was first introduced many agency owners adamantly objected to their staff using it and the objections were even stronger about “surfing ” the web at work.
Yes, there needs to be a corporate strategy. Yes, there needs to be a policy. Yes, there needs to be management and monitoring. Yes, there shoud be best practices guidelines. Yes, Yes, Yes. But lets get past the excuses and begin to reap the rewards that come with smart implementation social networking. The hoola hoop was a fad. The societal and business trends being fueled by the social web are not.
– Rick Morgan
Photo Credit: Flickr DarynBarry