• comparethemarket.com needs to standout and reduce the cost of customer recruitment
• comparethemeerkat.com provides the creative solution and a cheaper search strategy
• The brand now tops spontaneous awareness charts with volumes up over 100% year on year

The Challenge

comparethemarket.com does what it says on the tin. Like its competitors it compares rates, offers and deals from a multitude of suppliers and recommends the best one for you.

The trouble was that, before the introduction of Aleksandr Orlov, all of comparethemarket.com’s competitors shared similar benefits, marketing messages and share was being bought by spend, resulting in no real understanding of brand difference. 

In order to differentiate comparethemarket.com from its competitors, the brand needed to create and drive consumer affection for the name. Intense competition for the word “market” had driven the price up to £5 in paid search auctions and so creating a clear identity would enable consumers to find the price comparison site at a much lower cost to the brand.

The TV Solution

The solution was to combine the fun of the Cadbury gorilla with the functional benefits offered by comparethemarket.com – the ability to compare hundreds of suppliers in an instant.

The solution was Meerkat – with a PPC cost of just 5p – and Aleksandr Orlov. Loveable but desperately frustrated by the confusion between comparethemarket.com and comparethemeerkat.com, he was the embodiment of the message.

TV drove awareness and engagement with Aleksandr and his assistant Sergei as well as acting as the gateway to the online comparethemeerkat.com experience where consumers could literally compare meerkats from all over the world. Facebook and Twitter enabled fans to gain a deeper insight into the daily challenges faced by Aleksandr.

The message has been reinforced by a series of different creative executions in 30-second and 20-second edits. The campaign launched in January 2009 with a TV ad showing Aleksandr trying to educate the public about the difference between the two sites.

This was followed in February, April, July and October with new creative to keep the campaign fresh. They aired in shows such as Coronation Street and Celebrity Big Brother where large numbers of potential car insurance renewal clients were in the audience.

Results

The impact of Aleksandr Orlov has been immense. His catchphrase of “Simples!” has become a cultural phenomenon and the campaign has forced rivals to rethink their strategies.

The activity reached its 12-month goals in nine weeks, with the brand now number 1 in spontaneous awareness and consideration. Cost per visit is down 80% while volumes are up by more than 100%.

Aleksandr is also a star on Facebook and Twitter where he has over 600,000 fans and nearly 30,000 followers respectively.  He has also brought out a limited edition plush talking toy, exclusively available to buy at Harrods for Christmas 2009.