The ‘You Never Know What They’re Up To’ campaign is a literal underdog story, one that saw AA Insurance compete with the market’s big players to promote its pet cover.
Real Kiwi pets got in on the act for AA Insurance’s brand platform ‘You don’t know what they’re up to – so let them play a little freer’. Dog and cat mischief was used to empower and reassure owners not to worry because they are insured with AA Pet Insurance.
It’s estimated that 64% of households in Aotearoa have pets, the second highest in the world per capita, compared to the US at 67% – but only 25% of owners have pet insurance.
It presents a big opportunity, but newcomer AA Insurance, which only established a pet offering in 2019, was finding it hard to gain a foothold.
A lack of awareness and modest budgets found the insurance company with 9% market share, behind the big dogs – Southern Cross at 40%, PD Pet Insurance at 17% and Petcover at 14%.
Along with protecting Kiwis’ beloved fur babies, getting people in through the pet insurance door added another gateway to introduce them to the wider range of AA products and services.
AA Insurance set a goal to grow pet insurance sales from members and non-members, increase premium values, and support uptake of AA products and services by differentiating its offering from its competitors.
Feeling like its previous campaign work was becoming repetitive – a stream of giveaways, free offers and competitions – AA changed tack, creating a platform to show its pet insurance’s point of difference: Petcube.
Using research and anecdotal evidence, AA found most pet owners worry about what their pets get up to when they’re not at home.
Pets can’t tell you about their day, they don’t understand how long you will be away when you leave the house and – worst of all – injuries or mishaps tend to occur when no one is watching.
By accessing community Facebook groups such as Chihuahuas of Auckland and Labradoodles of Christchurch,
AA Insurance gathered oodles of user-generated content of beloved pets, which resonated and fostered genuine connections with Kiwis.
AA’s partnership with global company Petcube, which produces smart cameras and other pet tech, promised innovative solutions for owners. It bolstered AA’s concept by allowing pet parents to be more connected to their good boys and girls while out of the house.
Ads were displayed on all channels, including social media, Three Now and TVNZ+. TikTok was also in the mix, which boosted engagement among younger audiences.
The platform drove 25.24 million impressions across all channels, and there was a 49% increase in online traffic, achieving 67,000 website visits in quarter three of 2023 and increased sales by 39% year on year.
Best of all, AA Insurance now leads the category with an overall rate of 35% of active consideration, beating SPCA at 33% and Southern Cross at 32%.
Judges’ comments
“The size of the challenge was enormous. This was an incredibly clever extension of overarching brand platform while connecting with the current market and building a pipeline for future customers.”
This was first published in the 2024 September-October NZ Marketing Magazine issue. Subscribe here.
