Provider Insurance Group Brings Youthful Humor to Insurance Marketing

Short attention spans make video one of the most effective communication tools available.

The insurance industry suffers from a lack of consumer respect and trust.

Put the two together and you have a recipe for image enhancement and humanization that even the most attention deficit disorder riddled consumer can stomach. And nowhere is this visual reputation management more powerful than with a community-focused insurance agency.

Recently, Astonish Results marketing partner, Provider Insurance of Massachusetts, took insurance video to unseen levels of comedy when they created the “Can You Make Insurance Funny?” scholarship contest in partnership with Wellesley High School.

Launched March 31, 2010, the Provider contest invited students from Wellesley High School’s TV/Video production class to produce 30-second marketing videos. The challenge was to use creative, humorous videos to promote buying insurance from Provider. All twelve students in the class submitted an entry, which are now viewable on Provider Insurance’s YouTube channel.

Provider CEO, and Wellesley resident, William Darcey, came up with the contest in early 2009, when the agency wanted a unique way to implement a creative and cost-effective marketing project. The goal was to produce video commercials that humanized insurance. “We decided to take a fresh approach to marketing utilizing the tech-savvy high school students who think out of the box.”

Funniest Video Contest Winnings No Laughing Matter

Provider put up $1,000 in college scholarship money for the grand prize winner, but all students gained , practical work experience and a lesson in marketing that has real world implications. In addition to the scholarship  money, the grand prize winner has the option of continuing to create video commercials for Provider Insurance, getting paid on a part-time, project-by-project basis.

Last year’s winner, Connor C., who is now finishing his senior year at Wellesley High while working part-time for Provider, has found the opportunity priceless. “It’s been a great investment in my future,” he says, “I feel like I’m ahead of the game.”

Grooming Future Producers Moves Agency to Social Media Forefront

Beyond the value of getting “professional-quality” marketing content and talent at a fraction of market cost, Provider is positioning itself as a leader in the social media marketing space. That’s an important advantage for a firm in an industry that needs to reach a younger audience through non-traditional marketing methods.

The winning video “Time to Say Goodbye” can be seen below in its entirety.

First and second runners up were awarded to the soggy but hilarious It’s not a Joke and Lemonade Stand Provider.

Astonish Results applauds the efforts of Provider for connecting with its Wellesley community while helping shine up the insurance industry’s image (as well as giving us a good reason to watch funny Youtube videos for an hour.)

About the Provider Insurance Group:

Founded in 1945, Provider Insurance Group is a Trusted Choice insurance agency that has grown over the past 60 plus years into a world class, client focused organization. After a rigorous examination and fitness review of 17 quality points, Provider was awarded the Five Star designation, which is held by less than 1 percent of insurance agencies in New England. Headquartered in Massachusetts, Provider also has an office in Woonsocket, R.I.