Building on the success of last year’s direct response campaign for its home insurance product, The Co-operators Group of Guelph, Ont. has launched a second campaign – this time to convince Canadians to ‘shop around’ their car insurance.
A 30-sec. spot, created by Toronto’s Wunderman Cato Johnson, showcases the company’s Auto DirectProtect, a toll-free insurance service that provides consumers with the ability to buy car insurance over the phone in less than 15 minutes.
Like last year’s home spot, which featured a ‘tiny man,’ this year’s spot features a ‘tiny woman’ chatting to viewers from the hood of a car. The agency’s media plan calls for home and auto spots to alternate.
A French version of the auto insurance commercial, already shot, will be launched in Quebec in 1997.
The television creative will be supported with newspaper advertising throughout the year.
The DirectProtect call centre was inundated with calls during the airing of last year’s spot – up to 1,500 calls a day, says Brenda Thompson, DirectProtect marketing manager.
In fact, she says, the company had to add staff. There are now 100 employees in the company’s call centre in Mississauga up from 30 last year.
The company looked overseas for inspiration in its efforts to encourage insurance holders to shop around, says Thompson.
Several large insurance companies advertise on tv in the u.k. with much success, she says. Thompson expects the competition to heat up, with more toll-free insurance services advertised on tv in the coming years but adds that being first out of the gate should make a difference.
She says the first company in the u.k. to advertise, DirectLine, now holds about 50% of the market share against five other big players.
