In late 2010, FMG shacked up with Saatchi & Saatchi Wellington, embarked on a bit of a brand refresh and ramped up its advertising, both to position itself as risk advice specialists with an in-depth understanding of the unique issues New Zealand farmers face, but also to try and move it further into the mainstream insurance market. And it’s taken a fairly novel, and some might say fairly un-rural approach to attract customers: a YouTube channel that was launched mid last year.
“We made the decision early on to use [the YouTube channel]as a vehicle to connect with ‘Lifestylers’ and the younger rural audience to offer advice and insights through an informal and often humorous approach,” says Glenn Croasdale, FMG marketing manager. “And we’ve seen some good results to date. This is a new channel for us and we are continuing to tweak our social media strategy to enhance the user experience.”
The thief’s guide to your lifestyle block video caught our attention last year, and it followed that up with some other clips to show the risks those in rural areas face, such as power surges. It also ran an integrated multi-media educational campaign last year called Stop & Pop, which used a combination of animated avian humour, online, social media, direct mail and public relations initiatives to increase awareness of tractor fire risks, educate clients, encourage behavioral change and ultimately reduce both the number and cost of claims.
FMG is set to launch some refreshed brand ads on 7 May.
