Challenge

Following the Canterbury earthquakes in 2010-2011, the majority of New Zealand home insurance policies also faced seismic change with many homeowners required to move from unspecified replacement cost to specified sum-insured home policies. The risk was that traditionally disengaged homeowners would be caught out and insurers’ reputations undermined by the process of change.

Strategy

IAG’s PR team strongly counselled management to lead the sector and use this opportunity to build trust with their clientèle, half of the homeowners in New Zealand, and the wider property owning community by undertaking an extensive public information programme.

Execution

The Need2know campaign ran to inform the first year of home insurance policy renewals from March 2013. PR led the campaign for the first three months, and has continued to be integral to its success, through:

• internal communications to prepare managers and enable staff to assist customers;

• an innovative social media campaign to “clear the air” and inform the development of the campaign;

• briefings with all major media, stakeholders, community groups and partners.

A website enabled homeowners to learn how to value their home for insurance, and a joint ATL and BTL campaign drove people to it.

Outcome

Need2know became the default source of information for many homeowners, exceeding expectations. Consumer awareness went from near zero to the majority of homeowners knowing that they needed to act. Community members of social media fora praised IAG for fronting up. IAG received accolades from partners for its commitment to assisting shared customers.

The campaign ran from early 2013. It started with internal communications to empower staff. A celebrity frontman/builder was used to activate an employee engagement programme that included a competition for some of the promotional copy.

As public perception of insurers was patchy we started on social media so early adopters would tell others about the changes. We negotiated the first ever corporate ‘sticky’ on TradeMe’s community message board, our equivalent of eBay, where people were actively discussing insurance issues. This was supported by a purpose built blog and twitter engagement. Business and lifestyle journalists, other relevant stakeholders and community groups and partners were briefed. A survey drove media coverage for the launch of the Need2Know website and online calculator that helped people consider how much to insure their homes for. This was supported by ATL activity, renewal packs and an engaged call centre. Ongoing media engagement supported the awareness drive.

By September 2013, 83% of homeowners surveyed were aware of upcoming changes in home insurance policies.

45% of those surveyed who had seen the Need2Know campaign, said it made them more likely to seek information.

From the launch in March 2013 to 28 February 2014, the Need2Know website received 1,270,016 visits (total homeowners in NZ=1.3m).

The online campaign alone reached 4.2m unique viewers at an average frequency of more than 21 times. The clicks exceeded the target by 78%.

Retained home insurance policies are ahead of year-on-year average renewal percentage with renewals of between 90% and 98% of customers (varies by brand).

CEO Jacki Johnson was seen as a true leader in her field, with influence far beyond her organisation when she was named one of the seven most influential business leaders in the 2013 Influentials list.

*Independent Buzz Channel survey

**Ipsos Research Dec 2013

***MediaMind’s adjusted reach report