HISCOX. As Good As Our Word
Hiscox has an impeccable reputation in the financial services industry. I was part of the team that pitched for their account at
VCCP. Our brief was to tell consumers that what you need from your insurer above all else is trust. Together with my creative
partner, we devised the endline, defined the tone of voice and established a visual identity that lasted more than 10 years.
HISCOX. As Good As Our Word
HISCOX. As Good As Our Word
HISCOX. As Good As Our Word
Hiscox has an impeccable reputation in the financial services industry. I was part of the team that pitched for their account at
VCCP. Our brief was to tell consumers that what you need from your insurer above all else is trust. Together with my creative
partner, we devised the endline, defined the tone of voice and established a visual identity that lasted more than 10 years.
HISCOX. As Good As Our Word
HISCOX. As Good As Our Word
HISCOX. As Good As Our Word
BRITISH ARMY
BRITISH ARMY
In the mid 90's The British Army was suffering the cost of reputational damage caused by the Bosnian War. Our brief was to
remind educators, journalists and the public of the Army's important role in maintaining global stability and renew confidence in
army careers. Our campaign made an immediate impact on media coverage and recruitment figures. It also picked up various
industry awards.
HISCOX. As Good As Our Word
Hiscox has an impeccable reputation in the financial services industry. I was part of the team that pitched for their account at
VCCP. Our brief was to tell consumers that what you need from your insurer above all else is trust. Together with my creative
partner, we devised the endline, defined the tone of voice and established a visual identity that lasted more than 10 years.
Hiscox has an impeccable reputation in the financial services industry. I was part of the team that pitched for their account at
VCCP. Our brief was to tell consumers that what you need from your insurer above all else is trust. Together with my creative
partner, we devised the endline, defined the tone of voice and established a visual identity that lasted more than 10 years.
Hiscox has an impeccable reputation in the financial services industry. I was part of the team that pitched for their account at
VCCP. Our brief was to tell consumers that what you need from your insurer above all else is trust. Together with my creative
partner, we devised the endline, defined the tone of voice and established a visual identity that lasted more than 10 years.
In the mid 90's The British Army was suffering the cost of reputational damage caused by the Bosnian War. Our brief was to
remind educators, journalists and the public of the Army's important role in maintaining global stability and renew confidence in
army careers. Our campaign made an immediate impact on media coverage and recruitment figures. It also picked up various
industry awards.
Hiscox has an impeccable reputation in the financial services industry. I was part of the team that pitched for their account at
VCCP. Our brief was to tell consumers that what you need from your insurer above all else is trust. Together with my creative
partner, we devised the endline, defined the tone of voice and established a visual identity that lasted more than 10 years.
Hiscox has an impeccable reputation in the financial services industry. I was part of the team that pitched for their account at
VCCP. Our brief was to tell consumers that what you need from your insurer above all else is trust. Together with my creative
partner, we devised the endline, defined the tone of voice and established a visual identity that lasted more than 10 years.
Hiscox has an impeccable reputation in the financial services industry. I was part of the team that pitched for their account at
VCCP. Our brief was to tell consumers that what you need from your insurer above all else is trust. Together with my creative
partner, we devised the endline, defined the tone of voice and established a visual identity that lasted more than 10 years.
HISCOX. As Good As Our Word
HISCOX. As Good As Our Word
Customer’s expect more than ever from brands and the quality of their service experience will decide where their loyalties lie. This reflects in the rise of service related briefs, that creatives are tasked with, (R.I.P. U.S.P.). These can be tricky business problems to
solve. The facts are slipperier and the points of difference get fuzzier. So we dig deeper to find a voice that feels credible, and a
creative platform that’s fresh and relevant.
CaSE STUDIES. Every Brand Is Helpful Nowadays
Gone are the days of USPs and brand supremacy, people expect more for their money, customer experience dictates our loyalty and spend today. That's why so many briefs fall into the category of service briefs. Service briefs are messy and fiddly. Facts are rare. The points of difference are often blurry. So you need to think a little harder to find a platform that feels fresh and memorable, and dig a little deeper to find a voice that's sounds credible, and rings true.
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Here's 3 examples of my work - they're all service briefs, one way or another.
O2 HBB. Positioning O2 As The Honest Broker Of Broadband
As a late entrant to the broadband market we were asked to leverage O2's award wining service record to best effect.
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Our Solution:
The broadband market was littered with unscrupulous providers. O2’s late arrival to the party gave us the advantage of a clean
slate. We drew attention to common frustrations experienced by all customers. We explained how bad practice, had become
standard practice and how it was contaminating customer's online experience. We characterised these problems and bad behaviours
as ‘The Niggles and Narks of Broadband’. Then made it our mission to run them out of town, in a national integrated campaign.
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Our Results:
• Spontaneous awareness jumped from 16% to 28%
• Consideration doubled from 12% to 24%
• We generated media interest with a PR value of £576,804 in the first week
• Facebook ‘Likes’ increased from 16,000 to 65,000
• There were 70,781 downloads of the Niggle-Nobbling app within the first 3 months
• 150,483 new connections
• An internal O2 'Niggle Nobble Squad’ was set up to respond to customer comments or complaints
• A number of website faults, missing information and pricing inaccuracies were immediately flagged
and resolved.
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Overview:
Our campaign sent O2's 'brand police' into a spin. It broke a litany of brand rules and guidelines, but it laid the groundwork
for a new phase in O2's creative development and 'Pushing Boundaries' is what every creative hopes their work will achieve one
way or another.
SEE MY O2 HOME BROADBAND CAMPAIGN
HISCOX. Building Brand Affinity Through Shared Values
As the UK reeled from the aftermath of the banking crisis, expense scandals, citywide riots, looting and economic recession, Hiscox invited us to make a film about their uniquely ‘British’ values for their internal audience, investors and clients.
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Our Solution:
Rather than skirt around the state of the nation, we addressed it head on. In a world (and industry), that had been shaken to its core, Hiscox was a brand founded on unshakeable values. Their brief gave us an opportunity not just to communicate the convictions of our client, but restore faith in the basic principles that bind society together. An early version of the film was shown at a senior leadership meeting. Mr. Hiscox liked it so much, he asked us to make it into a brand campaign. Several rounds of research and a few months later, we found ourselves sitting in Ridley Scott’s Soho office talking with Tomas Alfredson,
who’d just won Best British Film at the BAFTA’s for TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY.
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Our Results:
• Brand affinity for Hiscox grew from 21% to 30%, significantly exceeding the agency's annual target
• Brand affinity rose 3 times higher amongst those who’d seen the campaign, than those who hadn’t
• Brand consideration increased from 16% to 20%, meeting our agency target before year-end
• Brand image statements grew:
- Trustworthiness: 20 points higher
- A different type of insurer: 32 points higher
- Cares for customers: 27 points higher
• Hiscox was the most referenced piece of work by all new business inquiries, and existing VCCP clients
Overview:
Most Advertising takes place in a parallel dimension where bad things never happen - even if you have taken out insurance.
The chance to present an insurance company as the restorer of balance in an imperfect world was risky, but it's a position that very few companies could dream of taking, or hope to succeed with.
BACK TO HISCOX
SEE MY WORK FOR HISCOX
O2 INTERNAL COMMS. Turning Customers Into Fans
In an increasingly competitive and value driven market, O2 needed to play a more vital role in their customers’ daily lives if they
were hoped to survive. O2’s CEO, Ronan Dunne, needed a film to communicate an important message to 12,000 employees:
O2 didn't want customers anymore, they needed fans.
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Our Solution:
Working with an event committee of senior executives drawn from all areas of the business. We presented a number of different
approaches but couldn't reach a consensus - and time was ticking. We went back to the drawing board and returned with 6 behaviours for turning customers into fans, that at least everyone could all agree on. We developed a clear, positive commentary around those behaviours and wrapped it in a simple and 'uncontroversial' animation style. We delivered the film in two weeks, on time, and under budget, much to the relief of all involved.
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Our Results:
• The screening event achieved the desired effect - O2's Top 400 rose to their feet and punched the air
• Our film, along with '6 behaviour' training days, was rolled out to 12,000 employees
• Fanbook became part of O2’s DNA and was played to new employees at their induction
• It spawned a series of follow-up projects and returned a tidy ‘internal comms’ revenue stream
• It brought VCCP’s strategic role into sharper focus for Telefonica, Who later bought O2 and translated Fanbook into Spanish
• One senior O2 Strategist described it as “A key piece of communication, at a crucial stage in O2's journey"
Overview:
Once it was all over, (and everyone survived unscathed) the most combative member of the committee, spoke to me. He explained that although he'd liked some of our more 'inventive' approaches, they simply didn't fit with the way
many employees perceived themselves, or the company they worked for. It had been a challenging process, under tight time restrictions but in the end he'd been proved right. We'd arrived at a solution that successfully communicated to the broadest
cross-section of the company.
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