So how can insurers drive demand without price being the sole deciding factor?
Audience insight is key. Whilst 30% of travel insurance is bought through PCWs, 40% is bought at the time that a trip is booked. This highlights the importance of using data to fuel audience understanding. Identifying an audience which is currently (or better still, is about to be) in-market will mean that you can advertise to an audience wherever they are consuming media, and not just within a highly sought-after and therefore highly priced, contextually relevant environment. Targeting the right people at the right time will help to gain a slice of that vital 40% of the market.
It is important to differentiate – both in terms of brand messaging & tone of voice as well as within your product offering. A brand that has a distinctive personality can gain cut-through by delivering on metrics such as favourability and memorability. This is a difficult thing to deliver creatively, but consistency in tone of voice and innovative, engaging use of media can really help a brand to stand out and get more bang for its buck. This also filters through to product offering. The banking industry has some great examples of challenger brands such as Starling and Monzo using technology and strong customer service to rapidly gain brand recognition and steal share of market. This encompasses everything they do, with their messaging and media approach reflecting the fresh and youthful feel of their brands. Starling highlighted this approach in the brand campaign, “A Bank Built for You,” which highlighted how banking is more than just money, with product development based on features that customers asked for. Differentiation within a cluttered market can help consumers to overcome the paralysis of choice and combat a lack of understanding to choose a brand based on product rather than price.
According to a poll of 10,000 consumers in Spring 2024, travel insurance providers are the least trusted of all general insurance providers. Strong communication and brand messaging is also a great way for brands to build trust, vital in a category where trust is this low.This should be reflected in a media strategy which targets channels, formats and environments where this messaging can be most effectively communicated to the desired audience.
Personalisation will also be an increasingly important way for brands to drive demand. Embedded insurance, allowing for personalised, relevant and real-time insurance policies, will make the process more straightforward for customers, removing some of the confusion which has led to cost being a deciding factor. This is also an advantage which individual travel insurance brands can have over PCWs – the benefit of going direct to a specialist provider is that consumers can be reassured that they are getting the product that suits them best. Again, advertising should play a vital role in amplifying the impact that personalisation can have. The role of media here is to highlight customer stories that show the simplicity of the user journey and benefits of the product. Data could be used to personalise messaging and activity to the user via media and show an individual the benefits that a personalised insurance product can bring to them.
In a growing category without a single brand that clearly dominates the space, a focus on data-driven audience targeting, an innovative and consistent brand tone of voice and a simple yet personalised user journey could be the key to unlocking increased market share and accelerating the growth of a brand.
