The medium and the message.

Good marketing is good communication, and when good marketers get together, they have a lot to say. Thus, the 2006 Insurance Marketing and Advertising Summit, sponsored by A.M. Best Co. and the Insurance Media Association in New York in November, was filled with exciting ideas and dynamic exchanges. Our cover story this month captures much of the conversation at the summit, plus fresh ideas shared by some of the key speakers beyond the boundaries of the meeting.

Participants in the summit included chief marketers from several insurance companies, who talked about their particular approaches to advertising, and marketing consultants, who gave a broader view of what insurers and producers need to do to get their message to their intended audiences.

One of the most important actions that insurers and producers can take to improve their marketing and advertising is "to stand in their clients' shoes," said William Pitt, senior adviser for HawkPartners and a speaker at the summit. Advertisers need to "talk about 'you' instead of 'us,'" Pitt said. "It's easier to talk about 'us,' to tell all the good things we do. If you're removed from the client by the broker, it's even harder to talk about 'you.' You have to find out what makes your client tick. What is their source of frustration? What is their source of joy?"

If advertisers can do that, they can marshal some creative forces and differentiate their messages. "Zurich has done that quite well," Pitt said. "They've tackled a problem that a lot of insurers have. Risk is depressing. How do you make it uplifting? You equate risk with change. Their tagline is 'Because change happenz.' Everybody wants to embrace change. It puts them in their clients' shoes."

Another way to stand in your clients' shoes is to develop thought leadership. "If you can position yourself as an authority on a particular risk issue, you will be a much more creditable place to go to get coverage for it," Pitt said. "And you can show you are grappling with your clients' needs."

For more on how to meet the challenges of insurance marketing, see "Brand Builders" on page 21.

Sally Whitney is editor. You may reach her at [phone], Ext. 5340, by writing to A.M. Best Co., Ambest Road, Oldwick, NJ 08858, or by e-mail at [e-mail]. The e-mail address for Best's Review is [e-mail].