2018 Insurance Marketing Stresses Trust Message

Earlier in the year, Mintel Comperemedia identified four insurance marketing trends for 2018: courting consumer trust; fighting commoditization by redefining scope and repackaging; building AI savings and speed into underwriting, customer engagement and more; and competition via supplementary service and risk mitigation. AccuList USA's insurance marketing clients will be interested in Mintel's recent update on two of those predictions: trust messaging and expanded product scope. While all types of personal insurance lines showed shifts in messaging to win consumer trust via simplification, education and transparency, Mintel especially notes life insurance efforts to close the financial literacy gap through content marketing. An example is Allstate's launch of an advertising campaign in July 2018 that reminded viewers "truth today is hard to find" and concluded TV ads with "Now that you know the truth, are you in Good Hands?" Likewise, insurers Humana, Gerber Life, Kaiser Permanente, State Farm, John Hancock and Mutual of Omaha revamped direct mail messaging with some form of the line "insurance can be confusing" and then offered simplified language to which consumers could more easily relate. It was the marketing landscape for health insurance that saw major changes in terms of insurance scope this year. For example, the CVS pharmacy acquisition of Aetna opens the door to a one-stop-shop health care experience, including better digital customer service. Similarly, Mintel notes the Amazon acquisition of PillPack and the partnership between Walmart and Anthem as opportunities for established insurance products to expand and redefine the digital-age customer journey. Meanwhile, insurance marketers are watching to see how much the Amazon, JPMorgan Chase, Berkshire Hathaway collaboration to offer independent employee health care will shake up the status quo. For the full blog post, see http://www.acculistusa.com/trust-message-takes-center-stage-in-2018-insurance-marketing/

13 Ways to Use Direct Mail in 2016 Marketing

Here's a New Year's marketing resolution that we would suggest: Make 2016 a year of direct mail successes. Unsure of how to get the most ROI from "snail mail" today? A recent Target Marketing magazine article by Summer Gould conveniently lists the most effective uses of direct mail--13 ways to leverage this powerful tool for effective acquisition, retention and brand promotion. Here are just the top five: 1) generate traffic to a retail location, website or event; 2) gather sales leads by targeting your most qualified, active audience with a high response tool; 3) counter competitive offers by reaching out to competitor's prospects without broadcasting your strategy; 4) boost customer loyalty with exclusive offers and rewards; and 5) turn customers into sales generators by garnering and rewarding customer referrals. The list includes ways to fit direct mail into partner marketing and multichannel marketing efforts, with e-mail, social media, mobile and more, and ends up at No. 13: build brand awareness with what research shows is the most trusted form of marketing. For all the ways to best use direct mail in your marketing plan, read the complete article at http://www.targetmarketingmag.com/post/13-ways-direct-mail-works-best/