Imc Product - Geico

Integrated marketing communications is key in promoting a company's product, communicating a message within the business itself as well as to the customer, and in determining what works best in order to sell a product or service. In this case I chose to analyze the integrated marketing communications of a well-known insurance company, GEICO insurance. Not only do they have an online site, television commercials and a Facebook page, they also have advertisements inside businesses that they communicate with, such as car dealerships and various online retailers in order to promote themselves.

GEICO is an American insurance company based out of Washington, D.C. They offer insurance policies not only for automobiles, but a multitude of other things such as house, renter, life, flood, overseas, identity theft insurance and more. It is the third-largest private passenger auto insurer in the United States. GEICO actually stands for Government Employee Insurance Company.

GEICO was one of the first insurance agencies to use humor in their advertising. Among their most successful advertising strategies is their multitude of commercials, of which can be seemingly categorized. The categories which are most famous can be the "good news" category, in which GEICO utilizes different bad situations, then gives the line but "good news, I just saved a ton of money by switching to GEICO." Another category would include its caveman phase, in which the commercials portrayed an upset caveman somehow hearing or reading the GEICO phrase, "so easy, a caveman can do it." There is also the commercials that begin with a man dressed in a suite asking the question "can 15 minutes with GEICO really save you 15 percent or more on car insurance?" This is followed by a silly rhetorical situation in which the answer is obviously yes, such as "does the buck stop here?" The next scene would be a female dear walking on set and stopping. Finally, there is the GEICO Gecko, who actually arose from the multiple instances of people mispronouncing the GEICO name as "gecko." They are probably most well-known for its advertisements using the GEICO Gecko. The GEICO Gecko is a clever marketing strategy, because the creature is small, seems harmless, is very polite and is "cute." Most of the time, people associate buying car insurance with negativity and headache. By using a loveable polite creature, more people are drawn to the advertisement. The Gecko was even voted America's favorite advertising icon in 2005, which shows how connections between humans and animals are strong. Not only is the animal small and enticing, the commercials he is featured in are also humorous.

Having elaborated on their commercial strategies, it is safe to say that one key element I would utilize would be the sense of humor used in their advertising. Indeed I do remember watching many GEICO commercials and genuinely finding them funny. Emotion tied to memory make a person more likely to remember a product. If you can make a customer smile, that is a good start at getting them to buy the product. If I was able to elaborate on this, I would actually commission a comedian, maybe famous maybe not, to be an advertising icon on print. That way, not only would GEICO dominate the television world with their funny advertisements, they could also be well known for their print ads as well. I would introduce an everyman who coincides with GEICOS advertising sense of humor and introduce him perhaps in some of the already existing commercials. His antics would be famous for selling car insurance via paper, such as magazine or newspaper ads. A good example could be the man they use on their existing commercials that air today that begin with "can 15 minutes with GEICO really save you 15 percent or more on car insurance?"

Another strategy that I would utilize is promoting the experience of being able to purchase car insurance. As stated by the chairman of the company, people do not want to get car insurance, even though they need it. Not only because of the cost but because it takes a lot of time and effort that any people do not want to sacrifice. The phrase they are most known for is "15 minutes can save you 15 percent or more." Since there is another company who already dominates