Progressive Thinking

Insurance is boring. It also happens to be, in my opinion, legalized extortion but we’ll save that rant for a different blog. Insurance is one of the necessities in life to help protect you and your family from any of a number of catastrophic events.

For decades, insurance advertising was equally boring. You can trust us. YOU can trust US. You can TRUST us. Regardless of the company, when you boiled it all down, it was the same message, over and over again. They all adopted this same homogenous approach, in an endless sea of sameness, making it difficult to tell the difference between any or all of the companies providing this service.

In 2008, Progressive was one of many insurance companies floating aimlessly in that sea. Brand recognition for them at the time ranked somewhere between zero and Progresso Soup. Like their name suggests, they needed to devise a progressive and creative marketing strategy that would make them stand out against the backdrop of their competition. Their very survival as a company depended on it.

Enter Flo.

This character made her debut in such a dramatic fashion that it not only put them on the map, it made them an instant tourist attraction. This creative approach to marketing their company immediately elevated their brand recognition and, over the next decade, more than doubled their business from $13 billion in 2008 to $30 billion in 2018. Their growth rate over that time period accelerated to 21% simply because they took a different approach from the crowd, and creatively reached out to connect with their target audience.

On hold advertising is boring too. It’s as if the same people responsible for creating the blended, milquetoast approach to insurance advertising had their hand in developing the narrative for this marketing medium. The new VoIP phone service offerings take this a step further, and have even convinced companies in different industries that it’s okay to use the same boring default music that they provide. The message they send is: It’s okay for you to blend in with your competition along with every other industry under the sun. Is that really in the best interests of your company?

Enter On-Hold Concepts.

We take a progressive approach to the powerful and intimate medium of on hold advertising. Creativity is one of the tools we use to help callers connect and engage in the content they are listening to while waiting on hold. We know your time is valuable. That’s why we treat you to an experience that is designed specifically to brighten your day while you learn about the services we provide. This same creative approach is available to help you connect with your callers and stand out from the crowd.

Flo is the creative engine that separated Progressive Insurance from the pack. This approach blazed a trail for solid financial growth for the company by helping them connect with their target market.

Take a progressive approach to the way you treat callers with On-Hold Concepts.

Put US on hold.

Tom McTee, Super-Genius
Woodstock Media Group
On-Hold Concepts, Inc.

https://www.fastcompany.com/90254247/10-years-of-flo-the-story-behind-progressives-accidental-ad-icon