Next messaging: insurers are exploring the newest avenues of cyberspace.Ready or not, the world of insurance marketing has entered cyberspace. Since insurers began putting their marketing messages on the Internet, a new world has opened up for the industry: one full of podcasts, e-mail blasts, blogs, text messaging Sending short messages to a smartphone, pager, PDA or other handheld device. Text messaging implies sending short messages generally no more than a couple of hundred characters in length. and streaming video A one-way video transmission over a data network. It is widely used on the Web as well as company networks to play video clips and video broadcasts. Computers in home networks stream video to digital media hubs connected to a home theater. . Many other industries are already there. That's because consumer television-viewing habits are changing in response to new media outlets, and marketers nationwide fear the worst: the end of the 30-second ad. As viewers increasingly use digital video recorders and video on demand (and potentially skip TV ads), marketers are searching for new ways to re-engage this once-captive audience. While there's no statistical information available on how many viewers are using DVRs to skip TV ads (and VOD See video-on-demand. VoD - video on demand has no ads--yet), there's plenty of speculation. A survey by the Association of National Advertisers The Association of National Advertisers is a representative body for the marketing community in the United States of America. ANA’s membership includes 400 companies with 9,000 brands that collectively spend over one hundred billion dollars in marketing communications and and Forrester Research Forrester Research is an independent technology and market research company that provides its clients with advice about technology's impact on business and consumers. Corporate facts
Respondents indicated they are "exploring emerging technologies to help bolster" their TV advertising spending. Additionally, nearly 70% of advertisers said they believe DVRs and VOD will reduce or destroy the effectiveness of the traditional 30-second commercial. Some 80% said they would increase their ad budgets on Web advertising, and 68% are looking into search engine marketing. "It hasn't reached critical mass yet. I think it's definitely a threat," said Steven Schreibman, vice president, advertising and brand management, for Nationwide Mutual Insurance, the country's sixth-largest property/casualty writer according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. A.M. Best data. But then again, he added, "People said the VCR VCR: see videocassette recorder. VCR in full videocassette recorder Electromechanical device that records, stores on a videotape cassette, and plays back on a TV set recorded images and sound. would be the end of the commercial as well." Yet, Nationwide already has engaged in a DVR (1) (Digital Video Recorder) A device that records video onto a hard disk from one or more ceiling mounted video cameras. Part of a security system, the DVR typically supports 4, 8 or 16 separate camera channels. test as an incentive for viewers to watch their commercials, Schreibman said. While viewers are flipping past ads on their DVR program, a symbol pops up alerting viewers to Nationwide's ad and to its Web site to lure them into learning more about the product. State Farm, the leading U.S. property/casualty insurer, is increasing its use of new media for its marketing and advertising initiatives, said Ed Gold, director of media and sponsorship. The company has moved ad spending from its traditional TV, radio, newspaper and outdoor advertising budget over to its new media ad budget. "We are diverting some monies to test out the new media, and it really depends on the new media making sense for the specific target or the specific product that we are looking at," Gold said. "There are new, different and exciting opportunities in which to reach our target market through things like video on demand, podcasting, broadband Internet See broadband. services and a number of video games See video game console. ." State Farm is looking into online video gaming video gaming n. 1. Gambling by means of interactive games of chance played on a video screen. 2. The playing of video games. and video game console A specialized desktop computer used to play video games. The three most popular game consoles are Sony's PlayStation 3 (PS3), Nintendo's GameCube and Microsoft's Xbox. Game software is available on CDs or DVDs, although earlier game machines used cartridges containing read only memory advertising, Gold said. The company recently provided sponsorship for March Madness March Madness may refer to:
abbr. National Collegiate Athletic Association college basketball College basketball most often refers to the American basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, or NCAA. History
"We constantly consider new things that are out there because the consumer considers them," Gold said. "We are in the midst Adv. 1. in the midst - the middle or central part or point; "in the midst of the forest"; "could he walk out in the midst of his piece?" midmost of using podcasting. We are in the midst of planning for TV messages on the Internet." "As fast as the media landscape changes, so does our consumer. You have to continually test to determine what's most effective and provides the best return," said Lisa Cochrane, vice president of integrated marketing communications Integrated Marketing Communications Definition The American Marketing Association suggests that integrated marketing communications (IMC) is “a planning process designed to assure that all contacts received by a customer or prospect for a product, service, or for Allstate, the largest publicly-held personal lines carrier nationwide. "One way is to continue an integrated mix: When you're running a message in more than one medium you most often get more bang for your buck in each of those individual media." "It's very important to engage your consumer at the right time with the most relevant message. Then it resonates," she said. Gaming as a is hot, but it's not right one to reach teenage boys, as one might think, Cochrane said. "The average age of the primary gamer is 30 years old," Cochrane said. But the big question is, "Is gaming appropriate for your brands? Is it a relevant environment for your message to the consumer?" "It's the same old thing: effectiveness and engagement," Cochrane said. "How does one do that today? In today's environment it's much more important to consider what the 'surround sound' atmosphere of your target consumer is, especially if you're targeting a younger audience." Moving to the Internet Total U.S. Internet ad spending rose 30% for 2005, to $12.5 billion, according to a March 2 report from the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers. The increase is slightly lower than the 32% growth between 2003 and 2004. IAB (1) See Internet Architecture Board. (2) (Interactive Advertising Bureau, New York, www.iab.net) An industry association founded in 1996 to set standards and guidelines for interactive advertising and marketing. predicts growth will decelerate de·cel·er·ate v. de·cel·er·at·ed, de·cel·er·at·ing, de·cel·er·ates v.tr. 1. To decrease the velocity of. 2. again this year, though hit at least 20%. Nationwide's move to the Internet this year with its already successful three-year-old "Life Comes at You Fast" campaign is an effort to "step out of the box a little bit," said spokesman Mike Switzer. "We're being more aggressive. It started in 15 markets regionally. Last year it went to 30 [markets]. This year we're in 45 regional markets and national cable, Internet and spot buys, like the Super Bowl," Switzer said. The company plans to continue to buy spots for such high-profile national events. "We're trying to break through the clutter," Switzer said. "There are so many messages out there about insurance, and a lot of them are really boring. Insurance is something that people don't like to think about." State Farm's Gold agreed there's a lot of clutter. "There are more commercial minutes per hour than there have been before on TV. There are tons of messages out there and from an insurance standpoint, I don't think we've ever been in a more competitive arena that we have now." Nationwide's "Life Comes at You Fast" campaign now features an interactive Web page, www.lifecomesatyoufast.com, with an online contest where viewers can respond with their own pictures and comments about how life came at them fast. The consumer messages, about 100 a day, are broadcast live on the digital outdoor ad board on the Reuters building in New York's Times Square, weekdays from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.. They are also webcast live on the Internet. The larger-than-life ad campaign is working because "people are fascinated about being up in lights in Times Square," Switzer said. The campaign launched March 7 and is expected to run three months. If the demand stays strong, the company may extend the campaign by either lengthening the time the ads appear each day, or extending the campaign by weeks. The Web site has been getting some 58,000 visitors per week. The average visitor is spending about two minutes "tooling around" on the site, Schreibman said. "It's way cool. It allows consumers to opt-in to our message and it allows them to create their own message; those are two huge consumer trends right now." "I am very surprised at the depth of emotion attached to these entries," said Schreibman, who at first envisioned many "frivolous" or "inappropriate" comments. "We're getting entries about Iraq and marriage proposals." The Internet campaign is tied to TV. The company is, for the first time, narrowcasting Narrowcasting has traditionally been understood as the dissemination of information (usually by radio or television) to a narrow audience, not to the general public. Some forms of narrowcasting involve directional signals or use of encryption. to reach such target audiences as viewers of TLC TLC total lung capacity; thin-layer chromatography. TLC abbr. 1. thin-layer chromatography 2. , VH1 and Lifetime. "It gets our frequency up," Schreibman said. "We've changed our media strategy slightly." State Farm also launched its first online contest April 4, as part of a tie-in with the new Disney/Pixar film Cars, which is slated for a June 9 release. The contest can be accessed from the company Web site at www.statefarm.com." You can enter the State Farm Countdown to Cars Giveaway, where you could win one of 25 2007 Ford Mustangs," Gold said. "This is something that, for the most part, is online. Our efforts are to drive people there." Talking and Selling Nationwide is just venturing into the area of cell-phone marketing, which also includes links to the Internet, credit cards, and e-mail. "We are looking into that: pushing through some ads via cell phones," Schreibman said. "At this point it's something we're looking into. There are the early adopters; we certainly want to keep them engaged." "Nationwide never really stepped out of the past, and we're trying to do that now," Schreibman added. Allstate is not yet testing cell-phone videos because it's "not really viable yet," Cochrane said. But they do have it on a back burner Noun 1. back burner - reduced priority; "dozens of cases were put on the back burner" precedence, precedency, priority - status established in order of importance or urgency; "... , for now. "The insurance category used to be pretty humdrum in terms of spending levels and market savvy. Today it is considered the most sophisticated," Cochrane said. "I like to think that Allstate is leading the pack." As for State Farm, "Cell-phone advertising is a burgeoning area and we have not crossed into that medium yet, but it is something that we are looking at," Gold said. "It's not an area that is looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. traditional advertising on the medium; nobody is really interested in putting a 30-second advertisement on a cell phone." It may come down to some form of sponsorship. "It is something that people pay for, so you can't put too much on there." E-Mail and Podcasts Insurance marketer MCP (1) See Microsoft certification. (2) (MultiChip Package) A chip package that contains two or more chips. It is essentially a multichip module (MCM) that uses a laminated, printed-circuit-board-like substrate (MCM-L) rather than ceramic (MCM-C). Premium Software in Fullerton, Calif., which develops software specifically for equity index annuities, uses a third-party email program See e-mail program. called Campaigner by Got Corp. to handle its e-mail prospecting. Built-in tags allow the company to see how many of its e-mails are actually read, who replied to the e-mail, and any links they may have clicked on. Some 99% of MCP's current marketing is done by e-mail, with the remaining 1% by telephone. "We're ahead of the wave a little bit" said Dorice Maynard, MCP's vice president. "We market to the marketing organizations, broker-dealers and direct to agents. We do try a lot of different ways of marketing to them." The technology that's presented to agents and broker-dealers has to be as simple as possible and user-friendly, she said. Case in point: MCP Premium monitors its Web-site visitors through the use of Timpani--an online service that logs visitors live as they access the site, and tracks real-time who they are and what pages they are visiting. Yet this pop-up chat feature "scares some people to death," Maynard said. "That's just me; I monitor our Web site like that. If someone seems to be meandering, I can pop up and say, 'Is there something I can help you with?'" The company considered podcasting, but it proved to be "too much for agents," she said. "The insurance Industry is technologically behind, more than the financial services The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. industry. It's a different mindset mind·set or mind-set n. 1. A fixed mental attitude or disposition that predetermines a person's responses to and interpretations of situations. 2. An inclination or a habit. ." Podcasts are generally defined as audio content (delivered through an RSS feed Summaries of Web site content that are published in the RSS format for download. See RSS. ), which can be downloaded or listened to via streaming or MP3 files. So instead of reading any new content on a computer screen, the user listens to the new content on computer speakers or a handheld device. Nationwide is looking into adding a podcast to its Web site, but as yet has no immediate plans. "At this point it does not appeal to our target audience" Schreibman said. "It's kind of a teen thing." Allstate has plans to test podcasting at its Web site and already is producing "everything we do In high definition," Cochrane said. The company also is considering marketing its product via text messaging on cell phones. "I don't want to reveal too much there," she added. As electronic media guru Noun 1. media guru - someone who advises about the use of communication media media consultant adviser, advisor, consultant - an expert who gives advice; "an adviser helped students select their courses"; "the United States sent military advisors to Guatemala" Marshall McLuhan Noun 1. Marshall McLuhan - Canadian writer noted for his analyses of the mass media (1911-1980) Herbert Marshall McLuhan, McLuhan , former director of the Center for Culture and Technology at the University of Toronto Research at the University of Toronto has been responsible for the world's first electronic heart pacemaker, artificial larynx, single-lung transplant, nerve transplant, artificial pancreas, chemical laser, G-suit, the first practical electron microscope, the first cloning of T-cells, , famously noted: "The medium is the message." In other words Adv. 1. in other words - otherwise stated; "in other words, we are broke" put differently , the message itself is influenced by its method of delivery. In today's high-tech electronic information-based business world, a company's message is only as appealing as the way it is delivered: "Snail mail Mail sent via a country's government-regulated postal system. (messaging) snail mail - (Or "snailmail", "smail" from "US Mail" via "USnail"; "paper mail"). Bits of dead tree sent via the postal service as opposed to electronic mail. " is out; the progressive insurer of 2006 and beyond will deal mostly in new media. Key Points * Insurance companies are starting to market their products through alternative media, such as podcasts and cell phones. * Many industries already have turned to new media, citing a decline in viewership of TV commercials due to digital video recorders and video on demand. * Stats show that Internet ad spending is up across all industries, while TV ad spending is down. Learn More Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. A.M. Best Company # 02358 Distribution: Captive and independent agents, direct via a toll-free number and the Internet, affinity groups Allstate Insurance Co. A.M. Best Company #02017 Distribution: Multiple distribution channels State Farm Group A.M. Best Company # 00088 Distribution: Exclusive agents For ratings and other financial strength information about these companies, visit www.ambest.com. What's Coming Up in New Media Alternate Exposures With more than 75% of major brand advertisers losing faith in traditional TV advertising, many are looking to alternative media venues including: * TV program sponsorships--55% * Interactive advertising during TV programs--48% * Online video ads--5% * Product placement--4% Source: Association of National Advertisers TV Ad Forum Podcast Nation * The podcast audience in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. is projected to grow to 80 million people by 2010. * Ad spending from podcasts will likely reach $300 million by 2010, up from $80 million in 2005. * About 54% of ipod owners ages 12 to 55 would be more likely to buy a video-enhanced iPod if TV shows could downloaded for free in exchange for watching a 30-second commercial. Sources: eMarketer.com, AdAge.com, Frank N. Magrid Associates Portable Prospect Advertisers now have one more medium to embrace: the Slingbox. It allows viewers to watch what's on What's On (Traditional Chinese: 熒幕八爪娛) is a weekly half-hour TV series that airs on Fairchild Television. Format Originally started in 1996, the show is currently the longest-running program in Fairchild Television history. their TV on a laptop, Palm Pilot or cellphone (CELLular telePHONE) The first ubiquitous wireless telephone. Originally analog, all new cellular systems are digital, which has enabled the cellphone to turn into a smartphone that has access to the Internet. via the Internet. Source: Slingbox A New Way to Reach Agents The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Inc. began podcasting to its membership earlier this year. "We're trying to provide a menu of choices of how our members want to interact with us," said J.B. McCampbell, member communications manager for the IIABNY IIABNY Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York Inc . "That's the charge we were given: to try to engage our members in different ways." He found that podcasting did not require a large investment of money or staff. The entire set up--a microphone, audio editing Audio editing is the process of taking recorded sound and changing it directly on the recording medium (analog) or in RAM (digital). Audio editing was a new technology that developed in the middle part of the 20th century with the advent of magnetic tape recording. software and a computer soundcard--was about $500. "And that would include a fee for posting our Web log, which is about $50 a year. It's a low-cost way of reaching people." The podcast, called Word on the Street (http://iiabny.typedpad.com/word_on_the_street), is hosted on IIABNY's Web site via an outside service. An article in the IIABNY newsletter drives members to the podcast. "Then they'll see a link to the actual file," McCampbell said. "It allows us to measure the size of the audience. That's one trick of the trade that we use: We do want to go back and see how we're doing." McCampbell also has been toying with video content to include with the podcast. "Obviously there is a lot of content out there. How do you cut through all of this? What we want to do is have people subscribe to Verb 1. subscribe to - receive or obtain regularly; "We take the Times every day" subscribe, take buy, purchase - obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction; "The family purchased a new car"; "The conglomerate acquired a new company"; our podcast and keep coming back to get our message. That's when we'll know that it's a success." Most companies that are using new media technology are using it as both a marketing tool for clients and a recruiting tool to attract new agents, said Dorice Maynard, vice president of MCP Premium Software. "It becomes a hook for them to recruit as well as to increase sales help with agent production for their existing agents."
Insurers Ad Spending: Network TV vs. Internet
Network TV
Parent Subsidiary 2004
Allstate Corp. Allstate Insurance Co. $108 million
Berkshire Hathaway Geico $30 million
Metropolitan Life
Insurance Co. $10.4 million
Prudential
Financial Prudential Insurance $521,000
Company of America
American
International
Group Inc. AIG Capital Corp. $30 million
State Farm Mutual State Farm Life Insurance Co. $93 million
Insurance Co.
Network TV
Parent 2005 % change
Allstate Corp. $76 million 29.6% [down arrow]
Berkshire Hathaway $56 million 86.7% [up arrow]
Metropolitan Life
Insurance Co. $15.2 million 46.2% [up arrow]
Prudential
Financial $4 million 667.8% [up arrow]
American
International
Group Inc. $28 million 6.7% [down arrow]
State Farm Mutual $127 million 36.6% [up arrow]
Insurance Co.
Internet
Parent 2004 2005 % change
Allstate Corp. $13 million $20 million 53.8% [up arrow]
Berkshire Hathaway $658,000 $1.6 million 143.2% [up arrow]
Metropolitan Life
Insurance Co. $1.7 million $2.3 million 35.3% [up arrow]
Prudential
Financial $282,000 $1,800 99.4% [down arrow]
American
International
Group Inc. $179,000 $168,000 6.1% [down arrow]
State Farm Mutual $18 million $16 million 11.1% [down arrow]
Insurance Co.
Source: TNS Media Intelligence
U.S. Podcast Audience, 2006, 2008
& 2010 (Millions)
Total podcast audience *
2006 10.0
2008 25.0
2010 50.0
Active podcast audience **
2006 3.0
2008 7.5
2010 15.0
Note: Table made from bar graph.
* Individuals who have ever downloaded a podcast.
** Individuals who downloaded an average of one or more podcast(s)
per week.
Source: eMarketer, February 2006
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