Changing Perspectives: Telling Your Story from the Other Side
It’s easy to do. In trying to tell your business story, it’s so simple to forget about the perspective.
Of course you want to share your experience, your history and your successes. But always remember to circle back and make sure you’re communicating in a way that respects the client’s concerns. In other words, review everything by asking yourself—as if you are a potential client reading—“Why do I care? What’s in it for me?”
So you’ve been in business since 1973. It’s a tremendous accomplishment to be sure, but instead of simply quoting a number of years or a major milestone, tell why it makes a difference: Read more
News without Paper? Get Social.
April 30, 2012 by Dave Willis · Leave a Comment
Several years ago, I heard futurist Daniel Burrus speak at an industry event. Since then, I’ve followed his Technotrends newsletter. I find his insight fascinating and overwhelming, all in one.
Burrus recently shared his “Top 20 Technology-Driven Trends for 2012.” One is “social business takes on a new level of urgency as organizations shift from an information age ‘informing’ model to a communication age ‘communicating and engaging’ model.” He also said 2012 is when electronic books, newspapers and magazines “pass the tipping point, due to the abundance of smartphones with readable displays, tablets that provide a full color experience, and publishers providing apps that give a better than paper experience by including cut, copy, paste, print, and multimedia capabilities.”
A couple of weeks ago, a Burrus article in Technorati focused on the future of newspapers. Advertising was down 7.3% in 2011, he said, a point higher than 2010’s drop. Surprising, he wrote, “was that it was only down that much.
Knowing When to Use the ‘F’ Word (Free)
April 17, 2012 by Mariane Ceballo · Leave a Comment
While a brand is only as valuable as the time and dollars invested in it, sometimes, the F-word—“free”—is the answer.
Let’s face it: While the market isn’t as soft as it was, the economy is still unstable. Marketing budgets are reflective of the environment and aren’t quite what they used to be.
Typically, the average cost to produce a professional video ranges from $5,000 to $20,000 for two minutes of time. Companies such as GE, Microsoft and others have in-house video studios and a budget to allow for the high price of perfection. But in the insurance industry, we tend to have a little less focus on marketing and drive harder on reducing risk for our customers.
That’s not a bad thing. After all, we’re in the business of mitigating risk but video is a key communication vehicle when delivering your brand message. So, that’s where the F-word can be helpful. Read more
Playing to the Stereotype: Four Insurance Branding Lessons from the New Jersey Governor
April 10, 2012 by Charles Wasilewski · 5 Comments
Take These Four Insurance Branding Lessons Home With You
From modest beginnings in New Jersey, a larger-than-life politician has emerged onto the national stage: Governor Chris Christie. And he’s brought along branding experiences that apply to insurance.
Christie was criticized by opponents as an underqualified political appointee and a legal lightweight when he was nominated by President George W. Bush to the post of U.S. Attorney for the State of New Jersey. During Christie’s tenure from 2002 through 2008, the U.S. Attorney’s office won convictions or pleas of guilty from 130 public officials (state, county and local), both Democratic and Republican — without losing a single case.
Extreme Makeover: Agency Edition
April 3, 2012 by Peter van Aartrijk · 4 Comments
Maybe you saw the show just once. Maybe you were a regular. Either way, you liked it: the now-cancelled reality show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.”
Admit it—you even squirted some tears when host Ty Pennington says via a megaphone, “Move that bus!” And the bus rolls away to reveal a new home to a lucky and needy family—built in seven days by the show’s staff and local volunteers, using donated materials.
Extreme Makeover is on my mind as I hear conversations in a working group called “Agency of the Future,” with the Agents Council for Technology. I even occasionally sport a Ty-style soul patch on my chin. (Until the mocking gets to be too much; then I shave it off.)
On a serious note, the whole “makeover” topic hit me last year when I met an agency owner at a conference, and he relayed the following exchange with his son:
Brand Indigestion
March 27, 2012 by Chris Amrhein · Leave a Comment
Someone has to do it. No one wants to go there. But I must, I must.
It’s time for the full truth about “Anatomy of a Brand.”
By now one hopes you are well aware of what I believe is a rather brilliant theme for the upcoming 2012 Aartrijk Brand Camp (May 7-9 in beautiful Boulder, Colo. But I digress.
“Anatomy” lends itself immediately to potent analogies about brand “headaches,” “strength” and “hearing.” Creative minds quickly picture the potential of their brand as a glowing “ripped” body shining with healthy muscle, like those folks you see pictured in promos for Gold’s Gym or the latest miracle exercise machine.
But anyone who has been to a real gym knows human anatomy also has an ugly dark side. Where is the discussion of brand “flab,” brand cellulite or brand “waste.” Dare I say (dare! dare!) some brands may be full of … but I digress.
Learning to Adapt
March 20, 2012 by Rick Morgan · Leave a Comment
“Digital Darwinism – The evolution of consumer behavior when society and technology evolve faster than the ability to exploit it.” – Brian Solis
What a great term—Digital Darwinism—to describe the fear many agencies and carriers feel as they struggle at make sense of the many challenges they face in today’s rapidly evolving environment.
Mobile, cloud, and social technologies are evolving faster than ever. These technologies are also transforming our society and giving rise to a new empowered and connected consumer. The reference to Darwin suggests that failure to adapt eventually will lead to the demise of the business of insurance, as we know it.
I believe that the challenge facing our industry is not just about making sure agents have blogs, Facebook pages, Twitter accounts and are using Pinterest to curate relevant business information. Yes, it is important to learn how to effectively use new technology.
Making the Impersonal Personal
March 13, 2012 by askidmore · Leave a Comment
When I first began interviewing after grad school, I was determined to land a job on my own. I had yet to grasp the importance of personal connections and introductions. While I did manage to nab that first position, the skids to subsequent jobs have definitely been greased by valuable contacts, because ultimately, people feel more comfortable with people they know directly or meet through first-hand introductions.
And it’s not just job searches that are impacted by existing relationships. That’s why “old fashioned” sales involved a lot of one-on-one contact, golf games, dinners, “schmoozing.” But now so much business is conducted over the internet. Is the ability to create a connection lost? No, but it certainly has changed.
If you consider the “evolution” of online business, you can see why social media has become so important. The first shoe dropped when email arrived. If you’re old enough, you remember the initial reluctance of many to put down the phone and pick up the mouse. Now, a ringing phone is often perceived as a nuisance. Weekly client visits were once the norm. Many have been replaced with weekly conference calls instead. Conventions have been supplanted by webinars. Nearly everyone works with at least one individual they’ve never met in person, only through technology. Read more
“Hey, GEICO…. Car.” What Makes Videos Go Viral?
March 7, 2012 by Dave Willis · Leave a Comment
Last year, I spent three days rescuing my computer—from a virus (or two or twenty.) Last month, my son’s school shut down for a day—because of a virus. For the very same reason a virus is bad—it spreads so quickly—“viral” is the holy grail of social media today.
I recently caught a short TEDYouth presentation by YouTube’s Kevin Allocca that addressed what causes videos to go viral. Allocca is the company’s trend manager and gets paid to watch YouTube videos. Pretty sweet gig, huh? In his talk, Allocca said three things make videos go viral: tastemakers, communities of participation and unexpectedness.
Tastemakers “introduce us to new and interesting things and bring them to a larger audience,” he explained. Examples include Yosemite Mountain Bear’s “Double Rainbow” video, elevated by tastemaker Jimmy Kimmel, and Rebecca Black’s “Friday,” which went viral after being mentioned by Tosh.O and after Michael J. Nelson, from Mystery Science Theater, lampooned it. Read more
Managing Perceptions
February 27, 2012 by Mariane Ceballo · 1 Comment
Corporate executives—and PR people, for that matter—can say what they want about what they think their brands stand for, but the only reality that matters is what customers, prospects and others believe.
Until recently, the name “Costa Concordia” likely evoked a positive brand image among the cruising population. Concepts such as award-winning service, five-star dining, and compelling itineraries may have come to mind. Who wouldn’t love to sail the beautiful Mediterranean Sea on such a beautiful ship, making ports of call in such beautiful places?