Entry Number:
214
1. Agency AJF Partnership 2. Advertiser iSelect
3. Entry Title How Mr iSelect became the unlikely hero of health insurance 4. Category for this Entry N - Long Term Effectiveness
5. Author Lucy Cochran and James Sheard 6. Phone 03 9243 8100 7. Email lcochran@ajfpartnership.com.au
Directions appearing with each question must not to be deleted from the completed case; they serve as a guide for both entrants and judges. Complete entry form in - Type face: black font; 10pt minimum. All data must include a specific, verifiable source. Refer to the Effie “How to Enter” booklet for guidelines on properly sourcing your data. Data without a source will result in entry disqualification. Answer every question or indicate “not applicable” and define your target audience in the entry. Any unanswered question will result in entry disqualification.
8. Total Campaign Expenditure
Include production and value of donated media and non-traditional paid media. Check one.
Under $500K $500 – $1 million $1 - 2 million $2 - 5 million $5 - 10 million $10 - 20 million $20 - 40 million $40 million and over
9A. What was the strategic communications challenge?
What was going on in your category? Provide information on the category, marketplace, company, competitive environment, target audience and/or the product /service that created your challenge and your response to it.
A different way to buy Private Health Insurance
iSelect was a small brand who pioneered the insurance comparison site market in Australia. Privately owned, they embarked on the task to educate Australians on the benefits of purchasing insurance through an independent third party. They had big ambitions to go from a small challenger brand to a major player and identified private health insurance (PHI) as the key pillar of the business.
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Lack of bricks-and-mortar
Also in contrast to the major PHI providers, iSelect didn’t have a ‘bricks and mortar’ presence. This equated to both a diminished presence in people’s day to day lives, as well as a residual feeling that they might not be around for longi. This feeling was also exacerbated by the fact that iSelect was a relative
newcomer with an offering that was also new and somewhat foreign for the PHI category.
Our product was not perfect
Despite having contracts with around a third of the insurers, iSelect did not have Australia’s two biggest on their panel – BUPA (formerly HBA/Mutual Community/MBF) and Medibank Private. This presented a challenge in attracting customers who defaulted to these two big brands to minimise the perceived risk of making the wrong choice.
Overcoming major category inertia
Despite an individual’s PHI needs evolving on average every two years, most only ever reviewed their policy every fiveii. In fact in 2009 only 9% of Australians with health insurance indicated a likelihood to
switchiii; after all, people had already gone through the arduous task of getting cover, they weren’t going to
go through it again. iSelect needed to overcome people’s indifference towards their health insurance by showing them the possibility of a product more suited to their current circumstances.
The main players began to work harder at retention
In 2011, iSelect’s strategy to overcome consumer indifference led to many of the big health funds improving their retention and acquisition efforts. HBA/Mutual Community’s famous rebrand to BUPA signalled the rebirth of the ‘big new health insurer’ – one that behaved in a very new and uncharacteristic way. Suddenly major funds like BUPA and Medibank Private started to position themselves as members’ trusted long-term health partner. Additionally, they heavily promoted value-add benefits like subsidised gym memberships, free medical advice and vouchers for sporting equipment. This meant people became even more entrenched in their health fund.
9B. What were your objectives? State specific goals.
Your entry is expected to include compelling data including behavioural objectives and results. Only in rare instances are the judges likely to award an entry that only demonstrates attitudinal changes. Provide a % or # for all goals. If you do not have a specific type of objective (e.g. no quantifiable objectives), state this in the entry form and explain why and why the objectives you do have are significant and challenging in the context of your category, etc. You must provide benchmark and context for your goals versus year prior and in context of competitive landscape and category.
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9C. What was your strategy – and how did you get there?
What was your strategy? Was it driven by a consumer insight or channel insight or marketplace / brand opportunity? Explain how it originated and how the strategy addressed the challenge.
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The strategy:Position iSelect as being the independent expert on people’s side when it comes to navigating the complex and low involvement category of PHI.
9D. What was your big idea?
What was the idea that drove your effort?
The idea should not be your execution or tagline. State in 25 WORDS OR LESS.
Mr iSelect, the independent voice who delivers expert advice in a very non-insurance way 9E. How did you bring the idea to life?
Describe and provide rationale for your communications strategy that brings the idea to life. Explain how your idea addresses your challenge. Describe the channels selected/why selected? How did your creative and media strategies
work together?
In not more than three A4 pages show sufficient creative examples to enable the judges to understand the campaign. These pages can be additional to the seven A4 page written entry.
Mr iSelect represents the independent voice of iSelect that tells it like it is. He personifies the fun spirit of the brand and delivers the key benefits of iSelect: we're not a health fund, we do the hard work for you, our advisors
on the phone help you choose the health insurance that's right for you, and we house the health funds in one easy place. Mr iSelect delivers the right information to you, in a simple fun way, which shows he understands people’s needs more than anyone. He doesn’t talk down to you and is happy to have a laugh at himself.
Brand Campaign (January 2010-December 2011)
The campaign begins with Mr iSelect announcing, “we’re not a health fund – but that’s exactly why you should call us”, establishing iSelect’s independence.
Rate Rise 2011
Explaining the annual Government increases to PHI premiums, Mr iSelect shows, through simple ergonomic chairs, that not all funds increase at the same rate and that people should compare their options through iSelect.
Tax Time 2012
Mr iSelect consoles ‘Darren’ an employee who is envious of the team of celebrating accountants who have just discovered that it actually costs less to have PHI than to pay the insurance for not having any.
Olympics 2012
As the world watched the world’s best athletes compete at the London Olympic Games, Mr iSelect showed Aussies that iSelect may not be the best at sport, but they are the best at helping you make the right decision on your health insurance.
Tax Time 2013
As a seasoned professional, who has helped thousands of Aussies get PHI at tax time, Mr iSelect calmly abates panic as the countdown to ‘June Hurty’ commences.
Rate Rise 2014
With the biggest increase in almost a decade about to hit Aussies with PHI, Mr iSelect implores all to review their cover with iSelect. Unbeknownst to him, he is the subject of many an April Fool joke.
Creating a sense of tangibility
Setting the communications in the world of iSelect helped create a sense of brand tangibility and a greater perception of bricks-and-mortar for the brand.
Fun personality
The fun and witty personality not only positioned the brand away from the other providers, but it engaged with people on a level that allowed them to actually listen to iSelect. It was this level of engagement that opened people up to compelling factual evidence, persuading them to buy or review their PHI through iSelect. Deleted
10. How do you know your campaign was successful?
Detail why you consider your effort a success. Refer to your objectives (results must relate directly to your objectives in (9b) – restate them and provide results) and demonstrate how you met or exceeded those objectives using
quantitative and behavioural metrics. Did your effort drive in-market results? Did it drive awareness and consumer behaviour change? Use charts and data whenever possible. Explain what x% means in your category. For confidential information proof of performance may be indexed if desired. Demonstrate the correlation between activity and outcomes. Make sure you address every objective, whether fully achieved or not. Indicate why the results you have are significant in the context of your category, competition and product / service.
The following results contain information available from the public record. Due to client confidentiality, the figures behind some results have been withheld.
iLaroche, M, Yang, Z, McDougall, G, Bergeron, J, Internet versus bricks-and-mortar retailers: An investigation into
intangibility and its consequences, Journal of Retailing 81 (4, 2005) 251-267.
iiIPSOS Healthcare and Insurance Australia 2013, page 329 iiiIPSOS Healthcare and Insurance Australia 2013, page 468
