Direct Line: We solve problems
Story
Direct Line’s we solve problems campaign have been making waves for all the right reasons. The introduction of Archetype Winston Wolf helped the insurance company turn around their fortunes in an extremely challenging period. With the introduction of price comparison sites, the ‘direct’ component for the car insurance market effectively halved from 40% online share to 20% between 2009 and 2016.
As the number of quotes and sales declined every year, Direct Line were faced with a major problem, they had a declining share of a declining market. Cue, the introduction of Pulp Fiction’s infamous, Winston Wolf.
Campaign summary
With the introduction of the ‘fixer’, in February 2016 Direct Line saw a positive YOY growth in car insurance quotes for 12 consecutive months. Not only did they see a 10% growth over the 12 month period and halted 5 consecutive years of decline. The company saw an overall ROI of £1.22 and the general public were accepting of the fact that Direct Line offer a better product or “hassle-free insurance that just works.” In addition, Direct Line had once again it’s title as the clear market leader in terms of preference scoring 15% for car and 14% for home.
Judge’s comment
With a challenging scale of task, Direct Line manage to reposition itself as a brand and I think the long term impact with be massive.
Ed Aspel Cancer Research UK
Film contributors
- Direct Line: Mark Evans, Marketing Director, Direct Line Group and Kerry Chilvers, Brand Director, Direct Line Group
- Agency: Richard Huntington, Group Chief Strategy Officer, Saatchi & Saatchi and Luke Bozeat, Chief Operating Officer, MediaCom UK
