Presenting the 2022 Insurance Ad Oscars, our annual look back at the industry’s efforts over the past year, compiled by The Lead Agency’s marketing team
While 2022 has been a year of change for the Federal Government and corgis everywhere, some things remain the same.
As much a Christmas tradition as putting up a tree and Uncle Bob complaining about petrol prices again, we present the annual Insurance Ad Oscars.
We’ve again turned to insurance marketing experts The Lead Agency to find the most effective insurance industry commercials in 2022.
Consumers today have experienced a year of external factors affecting their purchase decisions – from inflation to sustainability, climate risk and diversity – while also adapting to the pandemic’s aftermath.
To succeed with today’s consumers, advertisers must position their businesses in a way that addresses their evolving needs. Insurers have traditionally characterised themselves as the economy’s financial first responders, helping policyholders respond to and recover from some of the most challenging times in their lives.
However, the modern consumer demands more. Consumer uncertainty is at an unprecedented high, and in an unpredictable and ever-changing world consumers are looking for brands they trust.
The inaugural Insurance Ad Oscars in 2017 had NRMA Insurance’s Insurance Confidence campaign (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sH7Tsk7BR2c) taking out the Best Overall award for a humorous portrayal of a haphazard superhero in extreme circumstances.
Those were happier days: coronavirus sounded like a beer hangover, Donald Trump hadn’t been impeached and the cast of Friends hadn’t reunited.
In 2022, however, insurers went back to basics. The most effective advertisements of the past year have seen insurers switch to addressing real-life concerns and building trust through authenticity, value, inclusion and cost-savings.
Thanks: AAMI declares support for the Victorian SES
The Milk Crate Challenge Social Issues Award
Winner: AAMI VICSES: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJ4Jwi3MbtA
Businesses have traditionally avoided communicating their values and beliefs due to a concern over being perceived as “political” or even choosing sides. However, there has been a significant shift toward Corporate Social Responsibility and issues-based advertising.
In 2021, Zurich made it known that it was actively involved in helping create a solution for climate change with its What Can Go Right? campaign (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjxoRQZuKMQ), while AAMI’s Vax Up Australia campaign encouraged Aussies to get vaccinated – addressing a somewhat contentious topic in the country at the time (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6awkkPhnQA).
In 2020, NRMA Insurance focused on raising awareness around bushfire protection with its First Saturday campaign (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkrYxSuBZhM), and in 2018 QBE worked with South Australian schoolchildren to collaborate on the creation of a series of road safety videos (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4tr66rnRpI).
Today’s consumers want brands to take a stand on sensitive issues, and insurers have taken note.
Consumers trust brands that have values and beliefs aligned with their own. They know companies have a platform and opportunity to bring awareness to important social issues and support charitable causes – and they expect that.
Allianz did this well through its I Imagine a World campaign, featuring employees talking about how Allianz has empowered them to achieve their personal goals. QBE’s Enabling a More Resilient Future campaign shows how the company has evolved and its dedication to helping those around it embrace change and build strength.
AAMI demonstrated its focus on social issues through its 20-year-long support of the Victorian State Emergency Service by gifting volunteers a uniform with woven-in Thank You messages.
Allianz I Imagine a World: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8FMv92rq8w
QBE Enabling a More Resilient Future: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JU1C7K3AxJg
No regrets: AAMI warns against buying the cheapest cover
The Scotty From Marketing Adding Value Award
Winner: AAMI Bargain Regret?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D25pwEP4rts
Issues-based advertising is undoubtedly effective in brand building and generating awareness.
Delivering added value for customers is about understanding their circumstances, needs and preferences at a specific moment.
Last year, life insurer TAL featured in the Insurance Ad Oscars with its Grief Support campaign. TAL also offers a Cancer Support service, communicating the benefits of both through its emotive Moving Forward Isn’t Always Straightforward campaign.
AAMI articulates its value-added services with a humorous approach. Its Bargain Regret? campaign depicts funny situations where spending less has gone wrong for consumers. The point? To demonstrate to budget-conscious customers that it is worth paying more for AAMI’s better quality (and presumably more expensive) service.
One of AAMI’s targets is Budget Direct, which effectively articulates the value of its services, winning our 2018 award for Best Product-Focused Advertising for its Insurer of the Year ad (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tsBDq4pLgU).
In 2022, Budget Direct released a range of ads under the Insurance Solved campaign, which skilfully sends out positive messaging to customers by articulating Budget Direct’s features, awards and accolades while simultaneously entertaining them with humorous execution.
Budget Direct Insurance Solved: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTZhXN0TOnc
TAL Moving Forward Isn’t Always Straightforward: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKYTcowmt_U
Real deals: Youi taps into consumers’ appetite for savings
The Budget-Conscious Gwyneth Paltrow Award
Winner: Youi See How Much You Could Save: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9PLexODY6A
Insurers have continued to deal with the impact of severe weather events, which has led to increased premiums and reinsurance costs being passed on to consumers. At the same time, the ongoing implications of Covid-19 have driven up the cost of living in Australia, with housing, petrol, and grocery costs at an all-time high.
Today’s Australian consumers are incredibly price-sensitive and looking for ways to spend less across a wide range of categories to buffer the instability in the economy. This is reshaping purchase behaviour across the industry, as consumers downshift to products that are cheaper or considered better value, and seek new product options at a lower price point.
While cost-saving is consistently featured in insurance advertising, it has never been as prominent as it has been in 2022.
Advertisers know that consumers have more choices than ever and will shop around to save money, and messaging has focused on discounts and special offers. Allianz offered a 10% discount when consumers purchased insurance online, and GIO provided customers with a multi-policy discount.
NRMA Insurance’s Help campaign promised a hard cold-cash incentive, with $201 off its home and contents insurance, while Suncorp’s APIA gave customers the chance to win a $5000 gift card with an insurance purchase.
Youi opted for a more subtle approach with its See How Much You Could Save campaign showing real examples of customers shopping around to get a better deal on their home and car insurance.
The Real Housewives of Insurance Award
Special mention: ANZ #homefails: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWsGPhyUuug
Winner: Youi Making Assumptions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWwN6KdtLEg
Brand endorsements have always helped marketers connect a brand with people, places, things, and emotions.
While some people consider influencers as proof of humanity’s impending doom, they are an effective way to expand brand endorsement to a much wider audience. However, it is not without its drawbacks (See: Musk, Elon).
In a considerable nod to authenticity, several insurers in 2022 featured their clients or representations of them – see TAL’s Insuring this Australian Life, APIA’s Work less Pay Less, and Medibank’s It’s About Love campaigns.
The ANZ #homefails campaign for home insurance deserves a special mention in the “real life” category, taking us back to the days of Australia’s Funniest Home Videos. It hilariously depicts a shot-at-home video of a child kicking a soccer ball indoors and smashing a window with the tagline “For those ‘oooooh’ moments”.
However, the real standout in this category was Youi’s Making Assumptions campaign. Since entering the Australian market in 2009, Youi’s advertising has focused on communicating how the company tailors cover to its customers’ needs rather than treating them as a demographic within a postcode.
Its 2022 campaign featured a range of real people with the voiceover asking the viewer to “make some assumptions” about them before detailing their unique characteristics.
As commerce becomes more automated and streamlined, consumers are craving more personalised experiences. Customers reward brands with loyalty when they use their data in a way that makes them feel comfortable. Youi communicates that it does just that by providing personalised recommendations and support.
Moreover, the “challenging assumptions” line ties into diversity, another critical issue for today’s consumers.
TAL Insuring this Australian Life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlbWzfsmAn4
APIA Work Less Pay Less: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Bd4ET_E3w8
Medibank It’s About Love: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8AOzHt3zAU
On top: Youi’s Making Assumptions campaign
The Qatar World Cup Shift to Inclusivity Award
Overall winner: Youi Making Assumptions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWwN6KdtLEg
In 2017, our Insurance Ads Awards article stated that “diversity is seriously lacking in the casting and writing. If you watch all the adverts mentioned in this story, there are more aliens featured than all the ethnic minorities prevalent in Australia combined.”
How times have changed.
This year, across the board there was a real sense of inclusivity in the ads, reflecting the societal change in views around equality and representation. Several movements have shaped the last decade, bringing attention to the rights of specific minority groups, and calling for inclusion, regardless of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status.
Creating campaigns representing people from all backgrounds and walks of life is becoming the norm. It not only reflects real people in the real world, but it also generates a broader sense of social inclusion.
Rather than focusing their sponsorships only on prominent AFL or NRL stars, QBE & AAMI also featured AFLW players & Sydney Swifts netballers, who would likely have been overlooked previously. Many real-life ads in this article depicted diverse living situations featuring people of varying ages, races, cultural backgrounds, and sexual orientations – a massive shift from previous years.
Advertising has a powerful ability to shape society through communications and messaging. While many believe that advertising has been instrumental in creating and reinforcing negative stereotypes, the opposite is true.
Advertising can shape behaviours and societal norms, and many advertisers take on the crucial responsibility of driving positive change. However, embracing diversity in marketing and advertising isn’t simply about featuring a diverse range of people in ad campaigns to “tick the box” of inclusion.
Businesses must live and breathe diversity, or their ads will appear disingenuous and inauthentic.
