Progressive Insurance is going online to find its popular TV commercial character 'Flo the helpful insurance expert' a 'helper'. Besides holding auditions in Miami next week, the insurance company is also encouraging hopefuls to submit their auditions online at its Help Flo website.
Progressive has been using 'Flo' for customer outreach and engagement online ever since she was introduced with the launch of the company's 'Superstore' campaign in January 2008, Toby Alfred, general manager of customer acquisition for Progressive's Personal Line, tells MarketingVOX.
Growing Brand
Her character, as well as the concept of the Superstore for insurance policies, is a fun take on a serious subject, Alfred says - which is also the point of the current campaign. "What we are looking for is to have people engage with us in a different way than they typically might with an insurance company," she says. Web site visitors can vote on their favorite videos.
Alfred reports that Progressive's brand awareness increased by 5% between January 2008 - when the campaign launched - and November 2009. Its brand consideration rose 23% during that same time period and its brand impression, by 18%. It is impossible to dissect how much of the social media component of the Superstore/Flo campaign contributed to those numbers - especially as Progressive has increased its digital marketing over the past 18 months, Alfred says.
"Social media heated up during that time frame and as a result our presence online did as well."
Social Media Outreach
In general companies are expected to increase their digital marketing spend this year as such social media success stories continue to stack up. Companies will increase their digital marketing budgets by an average of 17% in 2010, according to research by Econsultancy and ExactTarget today. The report finds that digital marketing will account for 24% of overall marketing spend this year. Social media is driving much of that increase - both onsite and offsite, according to Linus Gregoriadis, Econsultancy’s research director.
