Going ‘viral’ is what all advertisers are after at the moment. Big companies are starting to push the boundaries in order to get noticed. But is being rude, suggestive or just plain silly the only way to get noticed?
Some companies will try so hard to get noticed they’ll even poke fun at themselves. In 2012 GoCompare did manage to go viral when they vandalised their own adverts with suggestions of exactly where their iconic opera singer could go!
In 2015, the Advertising Standards Authority reported that the most complained-about TV advert, was from Moneysupermarket.com, featuring a man strutting down the street wearing denim shorts and high heels. The reason for the complaints was that 1,513 viewers believed the content was ‘overtly sexual’. Mary Whitehouse would certainly have turned in her grave!
Michael Ward, managing director at PayingTooMuch.com says: “Many financial services brands use TV advertising, but not all do. For example, Hargreaves Lansdown don’t advertise on TV, but are very successful indeed. So how do Hargreaves Lansdown grow without advertising, but the top four comparison sites have to spend £100m+ in total a year just to sustain themselves?
“Is it because there’s precious little loyalty to ‘comparison sites’ as they don’t actually offer customers anything other than a list of premiums from other companies? Significantly, there’s no service in the traditional sense, as you can’t ring them up to ask questions and chat it over.”
This week Google announced they were winding down their comparison service Google Compare after just four years as the service hasn’t achieved the success Google had hoped for.
Perhaps just stacking up a list of other companies’ insurance premiums without offering any service just isn’t cutting it any more and the treadmill of edgy TV commercials and meerkat giveaways is wearing off?
Ward continues: “PayingTooMuch.com is growing rapidly, but not as a ‘comparison site’, rather as the next generation of online insurance broker. It’s going to be difficult for the top four to change their models and start providing personal service, but they need to change if they are to survive and prosper for another ten years.
“In my experience loyalty follows service which is where we continue to invest at PayingTooMuch.com”.
