Extending an Established Brand to Drive Growth

Identified White Space Opportunities

Conducted consumer qualitative research to identify growth opportunities

Generated New Product Concepts

Generated new product and service concepts aligned with "white space"

Developed 5-year Growth Roadmap

Determined the optimal sequence and timing for new product introductions

Challenge:

Seeking to extend the brand into the online channel

American Family Insurance is a large private mutual company focused on property, casual and auto insurance. The company goes to market primarily through a “footprint” of licensed agents who work out of traditional brick and mortar offices. The company is proud of the personal touch delivered by its agents, and it considers its agent network to be integral to its success and a competitive differentiator.

However, with the emergence of highly successful online insurance propositions (e.g., Esurance) in recent years, American Family Insurance realized it needed to reevaluate its position regarding a direct-to-consumer offering. The company believed this path to market provided a way to increase relevance among a set of (predominantly younger) consumers who prefer to do business online. It also saw it as a way to significantly increase its geographic footprint, since it has licensed agents physically located in only 31 of the 50 U.S. states. The company hired FullSurge to develop a value proposition for the direct-to-consumer offer. In doing so, it was important for us to not devalue the company’s core/base offering, nor alienate its loyal agent base.

Solution:

Seeking to extend the brand into the online channel

The result was growth opportunities that represented both white space opportunities and a strong fit with one or more brand pillar.

FullSurge designed and conducted both qualitative and quantitative research with consumers. The research plan was designed to simultaneously accomplish two objectives: more deeply understand the “pillars” that underpin the American Family insurance brand, and to identify new product and service offerings—grounded in consumer unmet needs—that logically and credibly tie to these brand pillars. Our research helped flesh-out three brand pillars: protect, restore and inspire. Collectively, the three pillars formed the foundation for brand-inspired growth.

These brand-related findings were then combined with an exploration of unmet needs in American Family Insurance’s adjacency categories. The result was growth opportunities that represented both white space opportunities and a strong fit with one or more brand pillars. Specifically, we developed four growth platforms: Home Sweet Home, Protecting My Financial Wellbeing, Keeping Me Safe from Harm, and Dream Responsibly. Each platform consisted of three or four distinct yet related new product offerings, and each met minimum thresholds for revenue and profitability. Our final deliverable to the client was a comprehensive 5-year brand-driven growth roadmap.

What is the ideal level of involvement
that you’d want to have from an agent?

Impact:

Prioritizing and launching new products

FullSurge formally presented its findings and recommendations to American Family Insurance. The recommended growth platforms were endorsed and prioritized for launch based on three criteria:

size of the opportunity
complexity involved
speed to market.

Together, the three platforms will simultaneously strengthen an already solid corporate brand and provide the business with outside-core-category transformational growth.

Ann Norman

Director of Enterprise Brand Strategy

“Partnering with FullSurge brought critical brand strategy and growth expertise to round out our internal team. The work was well regarded across the organization and helped us expand our thinking beyond our industry, thanks to the FullSurge team’s rich experience.”