How Brand Marketing Impacts the $390 Billion Auto Insurance Industry

Welcome to part 1 of this month’s edition of our Brand Breakdown series, a monthly deep dive into the trending marketing initiatives of one company through the lens of owned asset optimization (OAO), a new approach to building consumer connection.

$390 billion

The direct written premiums in the US auto insurance market are projected to reach $390 billion by 2030 according to McKinsey & Company.

Companies that win auto insurance customers can grow revenue per customer even more by bundling in additional products like homeowners, life, and pet. If you factor in the multi-year lifespan of an insurance customer, it’s clear why brands like Geico, State Farm, and Progressive each spend billions of marketing dollars every year to connect with new customers.

But with advancements in autonomous driving and the rapid adoption of electric vehicles , the insurance industry could be poised for change.

As insurers update policies and pricing to reflect new market conditions, consumers might shop around for new carriers. This could be an unprecedented opportunity for companies to win new business — if brands can reach customers when they’re most receptive.

In this 3-part edition of Brand Breakdowns, We’ll reveal which brand marketing campaigns are resonating, which topics consumers care most about when shopping for insurance, and which company has the biggest opportunity to grow revenue through organic search.

Measuring the impact of brand marketing with search data

Auto insurance companies don’t sell policies and premiums. They sell promises to 215 million drivers that they’ll be there when the unexpected happens. But it takes a lot of trust to sell an intangible product that consumers hope to never use for around $2,000 per year.

That’s why brand marketing is so crucial in the insurance industry. The jingles, the taglines, and the familiar spokespeople build trust through consistency.

• ”You’re in good hands with Allstate.”
• “Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.”
• “We are Farmers. Bum-pa-dum, bum bum bum bum!"

But how can marketers measure the impact of a billion dollars worth of brand marketing?

One answer lies in search data.

Great marketing connects with consumers. It sticks in their minds and gets woven into the fabric of social discourse. When that happens, consumers turn to Google with questions and they leave behind a trail of digital breadcrumbs.

As marketing detectives, we can analyze those breadcrumbs to see which company’s brand marketing efforts were searched most by consumers in the past 12 months.

Progressive’s marketing drives slightly more search interest overall. However, in a head-to-head match between “Jake from State Farm” and “Flo” from Progressive, Jake takes the cake. The trend really took off when State Farm introduced the new Jake in February 2020.

It’s no surprise that the auto insurance brands with the most engaging marketing are also searched more often on Google. Progressive, State Farm, Allstate, and Geico all earned more than 20 million Google searches in the past 12 months.

We can even use search data to see which auto insurance companies have the strongest employment brands by looking at how often keywords like “jobs,” “careers,” and “employment” are paired with a brand’s name.

It’s clear that brand marketing drives consumer search interest. But it’s not the only way to connect with consumers and build trust. Understanding how consumers think is crucial to influencing them at key moments along their journey.

Which questions, topics, and perspectives are important to consumers, and which companies are meeting their needs when they’re most receptive?

Stay tuned for those answers and more in part 2 of our brand breakdown.

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