Social Distribution: customers passing on product recommendations to their family and friends when making a direct purchase from (for example) an insurance company or broker.

It doesn’t sound like a revolution.  Haven’t people always done this?

For the past month we have been working on a brand project in Insurance.  The product is an add-on policy that has real (money-saving) value for many consumers, but most don’t know that this kind of product exists and so are not searching for it.  As a result, conventional direct response channels for customer acquisition don’t work.

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VCCP‘s latest work with Hiscox is intriguing. The May 2012 TV ad is clear: Hiscox aren’t selling low cost, speed, convenience or even – quite – great customer service; they’re selling moral fibre.

Leading on a positive honourable relationship, between brand and consumer, makes a lot of sense in the financial services sector, where we know trust has been damaged. More FS brands would be attempting the same perhaps, if it weren’t such a high risk strategy. A business has to be squeaky clean – and stay that way – for their brand successfully to adopt a moral positioning. (The Co-op does it; anyone else in FS?)

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