So last night I was watching a little TV when I noticed a commercial I had seen before, but had not paid attention to enough to know what company the commercial was advertising. Last night though, I took notice that is was Esurance. The video had no animation and no cartoony graphics/logo any where. The new logo was designed by a high-end designer since things were clean and professional.
The funny thing is this really made we think… was this commercial for the eSurance company that had always used “Erin” eSurance the animated character?
So after doing a little research, I found out that Esurance had in fact changed their logo, brand and commercials. The next thing I thought is how well is this transition going to go. It seems there is no easing into the new logo & brand. On one hand this will be good, but on another this will also confuse the marketplace. I bet it will take a year or two for everyone to fully relate the new brand to the “eSurance” of the past.
eSurance spent nearly $92 million on ads and media last year says the NY Times article announcing the new agency of record. Before this new agency was selected, eSurance did all their branding internal and now are looking to outsource things.
Old Brand:
So to refresh your memory, here is an animated commercial with Erin eSurance.
New Brand:
Now, here is the new and improved logo, brand and commercials.
What are your thoughts on this change? Please answer these few questions for the polls listed below and see what others think.
Some additional info here for anyone interested:
http://www.duncanchannon.com/2010/06/esurance-rebrand-launches/
Some additional info here for anyone interested:
http://www.duncanchannon.com/2010/06/esurance-rebrand-launches/
[And now with a working link.] Some additional info here for anyone interested.
[And now with a working link.] Some additional info here for anyone interested.
Michael,
Thanks for sharing a link to your website for more details. Glad we could help promote you and your new client.
Dale Berkeible
Michael,
Thanks for sharing a link to your website for more details. Glad we could help promote you and your new client.
Dale Berkeible
The new eSurance ads are indistinguishable from any other cell phone, insurance, or computer ads. Bland! The previous animated ads (almost in the style of Samurai Jack) were instantly recognizable.
The new eSurance ads are indistinguishable from any other cell phone, insurance, or computer ads. Bland! The previous animated ads (almost in the style of Samurai Jack) were instantly recognizable.
Well, that surely is true. The one thing the old Esurance had going for it was that it was completely unique. Hmmm, isn’t that what brands are supposed to be like unique and memorable? Well, it will be interesting to see how the new brand does and if Erin the animated character will come back at all.
I think Erin appealed to a different market than the new look and feel does. Do you think Esurance was looking to drop their young audience? This audience doesn’t have a lot of money, but they are highly tech-savy (the whole premise behind Esurance) and they are the ones having most of the accidents. I wonder if they have missed the mark.
Well, that surely is true. The one thing the old Esurance had going for it was that it was completely unique. Hmmm, isn’t that what brands are supposed to be like unique and memorable? Well, it will be interesting to see how the new brand does and if Erin the animated character will come back at all.
I think Erin appealed to a different market than the new look and feel does. Do you think Esurance was looking to drop their young audience? This audience doesn’t have a lot of money, but they are highly tech-savy (the whole premise behind Esurance) and they are the ones having most of the accidents. I wonder if they have missed the mark.
I think the problem with most TV commercials is they come at us so fast and furious that they just become noise and too many commercials require way too much thinking to understand what the message is.
After watching the new ad that was embedded in this blog I realized I had seen this ad multiple times on TV but the company never registered with me. Perhaps I’m not in the demographic or since I’m not in the market for insurance it’s not meaningful.
It is quite a departure from the animation but why does the middle aged white guy have to come across as such a dolt?
I think the problem with most TV commercials is they come at us so fast and furious that they just become noise and too many commercials require way too much thinking to understand what the message is.
After watching the new ad that was embedded in this blog I realized I had seen this ad multiple times on TV but the company never registered with me. Perhaps I’m not in the demographic or since I’m not in the market for insurance it’s not meaningful.
It is quite a departure from the animation but why does the middle aged white guy have to come across as such a dolt?
Chuck,
Great input, thanks for sharing. Actually you bring up a really great point in your comment. The commercial is fast and furiously hoping you buy insurance, all the while it is really also trying to get you to trust the company as any commercial does.
The downside of this is that you also have to overcome that this company has been around for several years, but has made big changes. Then you have to decide “Do I trust this brand more or less than I did before?”.
This IS a lot to get out of a 30 second commercial. On the Agencies website they show other forms of marketing to help rebuild and establish the new brand, but I have not seen them anywhere.
So is this something that is going to stick (the new brand, that is)? Do I want to do business with a company right now, today, because I am buying insurance or do I feel safer with the ol’ standby’s – Nationwide, Farmers, StateFarm or Geico & Progressive? With this many choices do I want to chance it on a company going through a big change like this?
Chuck, you bring up another great point “Perhaps I’m not in the demographic”. Through this article and discussion with a few people the question always comes up – Who is their demographic? With the previous brand obviously it was a younger audience. Since the >30something audience is more prone to accidents, is this a great audience to market too?
And here’s to the next question- Why is the middle aged white guy such a dolt? Any thoughts?
Thanks again Chuck!
Chuck,
Great input, thanks for sharing. Actually you bring up a really great point in your comment. The commercial is fast and furiously hoping you buy insurance, all the while it is really also trying to get you to trust the company as any commercial does.
The downside of this is that you also have to overcome that this company has been around for several years, but has made big changes. Then you have to decide “Do I trust this brand more or less than I did before?”.
This IS a lot to get out of a 30 second commercial. On the Agencies website they show other forms of marketing to help rebuild and establish the new brand, but I have not seen them anywhere.
So is this something that is going to stick (the new brand, that is)? Do I want to do business with a company right now, today, because I am buying insurance or do I feel safer with the ol’ standby’s – Nationwide, Farmers, StateFarm or Geico & Progressive? With this many choices do I want to chance it on a company going through a big change like this?
Chuck, you bring up another great point “Perhaps I’m not in the demographic”. Through this article and discussion with a few people the question always comes up – Who is their demographic? With the previous brand obviously it was a younger audience. Since the >30something audience is more prone to accidents, is this a great audience to market too?
And here’s to the next question- Why is the middle aged white guy such a dolt? Any thoughts?
Thanks again Chuck!