In this Podcast Doug Pullman, a member of the Parker, Smith & Feek marketing team, describes the planning and process this top 100 broker went through to prepare for their launch into the world of Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and blogging. Doug discusses the very deliberate and measured approach the brokerage took, the importance of getting not only support but participation by senior management, and how success is tied to having a unified and comprehensive strategy.

Doug explains that the agency goal was to use social networking to help customers and prospects build a personal and emotional connection with the broker. They knew that they needed to be where 25% of their customer base was – the social Web. His advice to other agencies wanting to tap into the opportunity the social web offers: Take it slow, learn from others, and add your own voice.

The podcast was published Monday, August 9, 2010. Run time is 21 minutes 11 seconds.

Aartrijk’s founder, president and CEO Peter van Aartrijk, recently visited The Driskill Hotel in Austin, Texas, to scope out the location of Aartrijk Brand Camp 2010.

He found a comfortable environment, as well as a large animal that is the hallmark of the site.

Peter invites you to join other insurance brand decision-makers and thought leaders at Aartrijk Brand Camp 2010.

But before we start feeling too superior, let’s admit that the insurance industry is not much better. Industry associations, agents, brokers, vendors and companies all use a plethora of acronyms for their products, services, committees and the organizations themselves. Typically it starts as a convenience when typing an internal document or naming a file, but soon enough we’re using the acronym with customers, prospects and partners.

And those acronyms are not helping your brand.

Why? Because brands are built on emotion, and it’s hard to get warm and fuzzy about a bunch of letters. Which is why the National Association of Realtors—in a bold break from the association pack—doesn’t promote itself as NAR, but as Realtors^®. NAR is an anonymous, meaningless entity; Realtors are people.

And there’s a second, more tactical reason to avoid acronyms: Most of the letter mixes used in web addresses are already taken; www.NAR.org, for example, is the home of the National Association of Rocketry. And, finally, some acronyms can be unintentionally offensive, such as Friends University, which never abbreviates its name.

When Aartrijk worked recently on rebranding the AMS Users Group, we gave great thought to how any full name might be abbreviated by members, partners, employees and media. The Network of Vertafore Users was selected in part because most liked the nickname NetVU, and www.netvu.org was available. As we work with other rebranding clients, we’re patently avoiding introducing new acronyms into the soup.

Take a look at your organization’s own communications. Are you using an unpronounceable acronym when one or two words would better convey your story?  If so, you may be holding back the power of your brand. Think about it.

“On Point, with Peter van Aartrijk and Rick Morgan” is an audio conversation with insurance industry leaders who champion change and challenge all of us to think.

Texas agent David Berry has used the marketing lessons he learned from his experiences in the captive agency system to find success as an independent agent. Listen as Berry discusses how he uses traditional marketing practices, combined with the new tools of social media, to grow his business.

Berry understands the importance of investing in technology; but more importantly he understands the need to make sure it’s used wisely. He’s committed to building strong relationships and providing great service as he builds his new business, and credits social media as a powerful tool to help him contain costs and expand his reach. Peter and Rick particularly enjoyed listening to Berry speak passionately about the advantages and value of the Independent Agency System.

The podcast was published Monday, July 12, 2010. Run time is 20 minutes 41 seconds.

By Laurie Donohue

Brand can be a “squishy” subject — it’s not concrete like product or overhead. With those you can attribute a certain cost and a definite return on investment. If you hire a new producer in an insurance agency, you know you’ll have overhead, but you expect that producer to bring in enough new business to cover the costs, and more. If you offer a product, you know what you’ll make in commissions.

With brand, you can see some of the costs — training, marketing, advertising, etc., but it’s often hard to quantify the impact on your bottom line.

We’ve all seen how a negative blow to a brand can impact the profitability of brands — just think Toyota, Tylenol or BP. But to the typical insurance agency, it can sometimes be hard to see the value.

Here’s something to think about: According to Hales & Company, a leading advisor in insurance merger and acquisition (M&A) services, a strong brand increases the agency valuation multiple by 100 basis points or more than an agency without a brand.

That means that if you’re looking to sell your agency, its value is significantly higher with a strong brand. The potential buyer is willing to pay more because your agency is more profitable and has a brighter long-term outlook.

Strong brands aren’t just the domain of large corporations. They directly impact Main Street businesses as well. What are you doing to improve your brand positioning?

Aartrijk’s founder, president and CEO Peter van Aartrijk sat down recently (admittedly, in front of the Aartrijk logo at a trade show at an industry producers’ conference) and answered a few questions about Aartrijk Brand Camp.

He talked about what happened at Brand Camp 2009 — and how Aartrijk Brand Camp 2010 will be different.

This brief video (2 minutes, 23 seconds) describes who attends Brand Camp, what they can expect if they go, and how 2010 will be a regathering for many who formed the community at the 2009 event.

“On Point, with Peter van Aartrijk and Rick Morgan” is an audio conversation with insurance industry leaders who champion change and challenge all of us to think.

Ryan Hanley, is an independent agent with the Guilderland Agency in Albany, NY.

Just two short years ago Ryan started his insurance career and at the same time started to “dabble” with the social Web. While the agency wasn’t yet ready to jump “head first” into social networking they gave Ryan the freedom to do so.

Being new to the industry he started researching insurance issues, and then writing about his experience on his new blog, Albany Insurance Professional. Ryan also set up Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn accounts.

Has it been a valuable and profitable experience? According to Ryan, “social networking is how he builds and strengthens relationships and generates new business – it is no longer an experiment.”

Listen to Ryan as he shares his experiences with Rick and Peter.

The podcast was published Monday, May 24, 2010. Run time is 24 minutes 7 seconds.

Several industry marketing and communications people got together at Swiss Re in New York City to grade entries for the Insurance Marketing Communications Association (IMCA) annual Showcase awards, which recognize business communications work in 35 categories ranging from “Creative Development on a Shoestring” to “Corporate Social Media.”

Judging criteria included:

• Effectiveness/Functionality — Potency of impact, prompts to action, professionalism in accomplishing its stated objective
• Audience/Focus — Reflects the interest, needs and language of the stated target audience, absence of conceptual dissonance
• Content — Well-written copy or script, use of compelling language, articulation of complex concepts
• Design/Presentation — Artistry, visual appeal and synergy, insight and uniqueness, enhances the communications objectives

Awards programs, it seemed to me, used to be a lot more important and prominent than they are now. At times I’ve looked askance at them as a way to pad a resume or project proposal. After all, haven’t we all seen (and doubted) the well-worn phrase “Award-winning agency”?

But looking over entries in one of the categories reminded me of a few things I thought I had forgotten:

1) The challenges are alike. Tens of thousands of professionals are trying to solve similar business problems: Getting consumers to pay attention to a financial product (and the problem it aims to solve); convincing insurance producers to submit more business; and standing out from the countless other marketing messages that people see these days. That’s good — competition can make everyone’s work better.

2) Measurement is precious. There were few entries among the 20 or so that I judged where the entrant actually had a way (or, even more rarely, ways) to measure the performance of a marketing piece in getting attention (clicks) or yielding action (sales). (I recognize that many marketers, for competitive or legal reasons, are reluctant to reveal revenues are for a particular project.)

One of the other judges, Rachel Dennis of Getty Images, pointed out, though, that digital marketing tools (more so than traditional print media) provide access to measurement techniques to track the performance and relative success of a campaign.

There are generally two potential ways to measure a marketing communications effort: a) by how well it communicates (or is perceived to communicate) and b) by how much somebody buys/sells. I’ve never been a believer that marketing communications sells; I’ve always thought that it simply provides information and perspective for a prospect who will be served by talented individuals called “sales people.”

3) It’s a team effort, at best. Among the impressive entries were those that seemed to have an underlying coordinated effort of teams from across an organization. For example, one award submission was a Web site renovation that had efforts coming from information technology, marketing, communications/advertising, and sales folks. The entry included the number of hours for the various aspects of the project. Having worked in corporate environments, I know that type of project is not easy.

4) Creative counts. Creative people are still being creative. It’s inspiring to see where they can link business needs with creative ideas.

How about you? Have you seen anything creative lately that inspired or taught?

– Charles Wasilewski

“On Point, with Peter van Aartrijk and Rick Morgan” is an audio conversation with insurance industry leaders who champion change and challenge all of us to think.

Linda Rey is a second-generation agent and owner of Rey Insurance in Sleepy Hollow, New York. Frank Rey founded the agency in 1978 to serve bilingual clients in the local community.

Linda discusses how she has incorporated the use of social media into the agency’s marketing strategy. For Linda, it was an “effective way to be present, visible, and increase awareness and exposure.”

This agency has made very effective use of video to put a human touch and project personality on their website. Linda states, “it is OK to show personality – it isn’t always about business.”

While it is important to have a solid strategy, Linda feels that having fun and enjoying what you are doing are keys to being successful an benefiting from the use of social networking.

You can also follow Linda Rey and Rey Insurance on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

The podcast was published Monday, May 10, 2010. Run time is 20 minutes 9 seconds.

So, how does a large independent agency with multiple offices approach new marketing and communications opportunities on the social Web? They apply it first inside their own firm.

Peter and Rick spoke with two representatives in IT and communications at a forward-thinking independent agency, Holmes Murphy Insurance. Based in Des Moines, Holmes Murphy has 13 offices in 11 states, 500 employees, and 77 years in the market.

Cindy Adams and Lori Tapscott have taken the agency on a “very deliberate path” with social media. Lori and Cindy were part of a team that looked at social media and educated each other and established a policy.

The pair wanted Holmes Murphy to maintain a culture of collaboration on the agency’s Intranet. Each division in this large firm has specialty groups, and the key was to allow the communities to get together. The agency also uses an RSS feed and monthly newsletter, and keeps a presence on Facebook and Twitter. It also hosts video for testimonials and niche marketing.

Cindy was a contributor to the Agents Council for Technology policy guide for her fellow independent agencies as they go down the social media path.

The podcast was published Tuesday, April 13, 2010. Run time is 21 minutes 17 seconds.