Next Insurance originally earmarked 2020 as a year to build its brand. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, quickly put those plans on hold. The company reinvented its creative strategy, and mobilized to support its small business clients, many of whom were hard hit by the subsequent economic fallout.

Next Insurance planned to dedicate 2020 to brand building and launching its first ever national advertising campaign. However, when the COVID-19 crisis hit, the company’s small business clients were among the worst affected. Not willing to stand aside as small businesses suffered, Next Insurance quickly decided to re-allocate its marketing budget—abandoning a big-name ad agency strategy in the process—to put the money directly into the hands of small business owners, giving them the extra time and resources needed to get back on their feet in the wake of a social and economic crisis. The objective of the Built By Business campaign was to help small businesses get back to work during the downturn of COVID-19, while building brand awareness for the company.

Rather than working with a big-name agency on a flashy brand revamp or scrapping its brand building initiatives altogether, Next Insurance reallocated over $250,000 of its marketing budget to launch Built By Business. The initiative aimed to put money directly into the hands of small

business owners who needed it the most, shifting marketing dollars back into the small business economy. This included a 15k employee budget contribution which would otherwise have been used on internal culture activities.

As described earlier, the company used this money to hire approximately 50 small businesses to create a representation of the word “Next” and document the process with video and stills from their mobile phones which were used in a national advertising campaign that aired across television, online video, YouTube, and social media. Next Insurance used separate marketing budget for national media buy and paid social media amplification.

The Next team got to work and sought out small businesses who were struggling in the unprecedented times of COVID-19. These businesses were then tasked with creating individual representations of the word “Next” using their specific skill set, and the selected entrepreneurs got to work. All infusing Next Insurance’s brand into their project, they crafted planters, painted a surfboard, baked jars of delectable treats, performed acrobatics, and more. Next Insurance then featured these entrepreneurs and their work in a national television campaign. Featuring video interviews with selected participants, the advertisement shared the small business owners’ experiences and hardships as the COVID-19 crisis forced the country to shut down.

Next Insurance commissioned each to create a representation of the word “Next” with their unique skill-sets and asked them to collect photos and videos throughout the process.

From intricately painted surfboards to hand-crafted planters spelling out “Next,” the finished products were an incredible display of creativity and resourcefulness. Many of these finished works were then donated to various causes within the entrepreneurs’ communities.

Next Insurance then used the photos and videos taken by these entrepreneurs and featured a select group in a refocused national television advertisement, providing high visibility for these small businesses in their respective markets while helping build further brand awareness for itself across the country. Additionally, a dedicated Built By Business landing page featured select small businesses on the company’s website, highlighting their individual stories and creations.

Next Insurance saw visits to its website increase 70%, as more consumers sought to learn about how Next was helping small businesses get back on their feet. For the first time ever, Next Insurance exceeded a competitor in search volume, doubling the rate at which consumers searched for Next Insurance prior to the campaign. Overall, the company achieved a 9.4% absolute increase in aided awareness among small businesses as a result of the campaign, jumping from 4.7% brand awareness in 2019 to over 14%.

Next Insurance was also able to secure key coverage on the initiative with AdWeek and The Houston Chronicle, who highlighted one of the Built By Business participants - Mark Linen, a baker from Houston. The visibility brought by Built By Business benefited Mark’s company, Brotha Bakes. Linen had a tenfold increase in sales.