If you’ve watched TV lately you’ve noticed that Fred Flintstone has a new job … pitching Geico. Yup, Fred and Wilma have joined the ranks for the gecko, Little Richard, and, of course, the ubiquitous cavemen (soon to be seen in primetime).
Geico has always been a great case study of communicating a consistent message in creative ways to different market segments. In the end, they have a parity problem. Their message is the same as other insurance companies — they save you money. So they rely on clutter-cutting advertising broken out by market segment to get people’s attention. The cavemen focus on the much sought-after young male demographic, the gecko (for some reason) tested really well with women in their 40s, and boomers and up are the target of the Little Richard/Peter Graves-assisted customer testimonials.
The new wave of spots trades the cavemen (they’re busy with their sitcom after all) for the Beverly Hillbillies, The Flintstones, and Cabbage Patch Kids. All are presented in faux E! True Hollywood Story fashion and position Geico as a money-saving solution that rescued them from their wayward lives of being a celebrity has-beens.
Note the segmentation at work here. I would venture to say that between the shows/dolls listed above, one or more of them recalls a nostalgic feeling in you. Flintstones and Hillbillies for boomers and Cabbage Patch Kids for Gen X and Y. A fun character from your childhood being parodied in tabloid fashion? You’ve just gotta watch it.
The point? Segment your communications. And as confusing as it sounds, be the same but different. By that I mean, at the heart of your strategy should be a very simple message (Geico saves you money — painfully simple, almost too simple if that wasn’t something that appealed to everyone!). Then, identify who you want to target and wrap this simple message in a creative vehicle that (a) gets their attention and (b) makes them stick around long enough to internalize your brand’s message. Easy, right …?
P.S. You can view all of the Geico creative here.
