Think About It

Don’t you love that GEICO commercial?

No, not the one with the NASCAR-wanna-be kid.

No, not the one with the offended cavemen.

You know ... the one with Mrs. Butterworth!

GEICO, whose advertising once was centered squarely on its animated gecko, now floods the airwaves with concurrent ad campaigns.

The strategy is working. From 1996 to 2006, the insurance company increased its total premiums from $3 billion to $11 billion, and increased its share of written auto insurance premiums from 4.61 percent to 6.25 percent.

Taking a closer look at GEICO’s multiple ads, we see four reasons why they’re successful:

1. GEICO is using a shotgun approach to hit different demographic groups. The cavemen ads appeal to young men. The celebrity-assisted testimonials bring in faded stars such as Joan Rivers and Peter Frampton, winning over baby-boomers and older audiences. And the old, reliable gecko tests well with middle-aged women. GEICO knows it has more than one target market, so it’s developed a campaign for each important audience.

2. Each campaign is entertaining. The Martin Agency, which creates GEICO’s ads, knows that insurance is boring. That’s why the ads “need  to be funny and need to get noticed,” according to creative director Steve Bassett. Not only is each individual ad designed to be amusing, but the agency creates enough spots for each campaign that it doesn’t have to run the same spot over and over. The rotation keeps the ads fresh.

3. GEICO hasn’t been shy about pouring money into advertising. In 2005, GEICO spent $403 million on advertising. That’s more than the Coca-Cola Company spent that year. With that kind of investment, it’s no wonder they’ve become top of mind among consumers.

4. From a brand perspective, GEICO’s concurrent campaign strategy works because all the ads share the same message: GEICO can save you money without a lot of hassle. The cavemen campaign is centered on this message. In other campaigns, the core brand value is tidily summed up in GEICO’s ever-present tag line: “15 minutes can save you 15 percent.”

All things considered, GEICO is providing an excellent example of being consistent without being one-dimensional or boring. GEICO’s campaigns take many creative directions, but they are united by a similar, quirky personality, and by an unwavering message of value. That’s why they’re synergistic, not schizophrenic.

We don’t all have hundreds of millions of dollars to spend on advertising, but we can all learn from GEICO’s success. Different audiences sometimes call for different creative approaches, and we can answer that need without creating brand chaos. If we remain faithful to our brand’s personality and message, we can build a unified brand ... no matter how diverse our creative directions may be.