‘Consumers think insurance is a con, we can change that’ says Churchill’s CMO

Positioning the Churchill dog as the savior of everyday disasters, the campaign’s three spots – garage door, wallpaper and car stereo – show the brand mascot interacting with an everyday object that represents a timely insurance issue faced by customers.

Brooksbank, speaking to Marketing Week, said she hopes the personality of the ads will help the brand stand out amid widespread distrust among insurance consumers.

She said: “We did a lot of research prior to launching this campaign and the unifying insight was consumers think insurance is a chore and a con.

“There is a natural distrust of insurers and people think they are profit driven and high fiving after weaseling out of claims. I think that is driven by a lack of differentiation on ads as everything is driven by price. We don’t think people are aware of the common things they are actually covered for so we want to address that with this campaign.”

Churchill is currently seventh out of the UK’s 40 biggest insurance brands when it comes to consumer index levels, which comprises consumer perceptions of quality, value, satisfaction and reputation, with a score of 7.1 according to YouGov Brandindex. However, Brooksbank is confident it can close the gap on rivals such as Direct Line, which holds the top spot with a score of 13.1.

“The dog character offers us huge amounts of personality and on our brand tracking we are the most trusted insurance brand,” she added.

The insurance brand has used celebrities such as Dawn French in its adverts in the past but Brooksbank says it is now moving closer to the consumer.

Referencing one of the new ads, in which talking wallpaper damaged by water bemoans its ruined appearance to the Churchill dog, she said: “We know what the important insurance issues are so we have to make sure our adverts are timely and actually resonating with people.

“Moving forward, Churchill wants to have more fun and continue to lift a sector often seen as boring.”