What Is Geico's Advertising Strategy

Different Marketing Strategies at Geico

“15 minutes could save you 15% or more on your car insurance.” Is this familiar to you? This classic slogan appears again and again in Geico advertisements. When you are in the cinema, you are exposed to Geico ads before the film starts; when you are watching television, you are exposed to Geico ads between shows; when you are driving a car, you are exposed to Geico ads on the radio. Geico of being everywhere is benefit from the company’s effective advertising strategies. Geico, a brand builder, lays out distinctive marketing strategies from a broad perspective. The individual advertisement and company’s website are using different strategies to approach different target audience.

Different Strategies

In the “hump day” commercial, walking delightedly through a drab office, a dumb-looking camel keeps asking, “What day is it?” enthusiastically until a poker-faced employee responds, “It is hump day.” In strong contrast with the camel, all other employees are depressed and impatient. The commercial ends with two guys playing guitars. One of them asks, “How happy would someone be by saving hundreds of dollars on their car insurance by switching to Geico?” The other responds, “Happier than a camel on Wednesday.” (Wednesday is the hump of the week) (YouTube) This commercial does a great job of being memorable. It uses a hilarious animal image to entertain the audience. The Camel’s contagious laugh has attracted viewers since the ad appeared. Many viewers leave comments under the video on YouTube, saying they watched it again and again just for fun. According to Paul Davis in “Fifteen Percent or More”, the camel commercial “is even more than the combined total number of views of 60 popular Geico commercials that aired from 2009 to 2013 with a total number of over 11 million views.” (liberty.edu) This individual strategy- humor, is effectively persuading audiences to choose Geico insurance and reinforcing its brand. Through the hilarious image in the commercial, Geico makes people happy. The message is intended to make consumers think they will be “Happier than a camel on Wednesday” if they buy Geico insurance.

Individual advertisements aim at persuading people to buy Geico’s product. The audience of the commercial “Hump Day” are viewers with no age limit. They could be adults using other car insurance but want to switch to Geico; they could be teens who do not have a car yet but want to own one in the future. If the person did not know Geico, he or she would be impressed by the Geico campaign and would remember this brand. If the person was not satisfied with his or her current insurance company and felt stressed, he or she would catch the contagious emotion in the commercial. For instance, the ecstatic camel is in sharp contrast to those agitated staffs. Using comparative metaphors, Geico is tempting consumers without consciousness. It is as though whispering in target consumers’ ears “Do you want to be stress-free and happier than a hump day camel? Geico is your best choice!” Moreover, Geico fully understands the huge market potential among those whose age is between 16 to 25, because this group reflects new drivers who do not have car insurance. This group is a new generation that prefers identical and trendy forms instead of seriousness. Geico’s commercial is trendsetting. It is creating a group of consumers with lifetime loyalty to Geico. After making a connection with them, Geico enlarges its