Youi insurance on The Inspiration Room

Check out our new Youi Insurance ads on the inspiration room site...cool....

http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/2009/youi-urban-and-suburban/

What a year at Youi Insurance!

Well, our first full year at Youi Insurance is over! Phew! It's been so cool. Not only have we surpassed every business objective set, we've scooped heaps of awards along the way.

We were voted Anthill publications Big Kahuna Coolest Company of the Year. For an insurance company....we'll take it! Just last week The Australian Financial Review voted our campaign the the 'launch of year'. Not bad! This along with the Media Federation 'Best Strategic Launch' of the year in November.

Bring on 2010...big targets, big plans....

Youi wins at MFA awards

We won the 'best strategic launch campaign' of the year at the MFA awards. Really cool to win so quickly. It's been less than a year since we launched. It does feel like a great strategic idea that's hitting home at the right time. It does feel weird to totally create something and watch it become a part of peoples lives. To see people wearing t shirts with the logo on because they want to and not because they have to is really good. I've spent the last 3 weeks in Melbourne shooting new TV commercials and to see and feel the acceptance of the brand is very motivating. After all in the city of black why wouldn't they want a black brand. Let's hope Youi lives forever.

Rock on.....

Youi has moved - way cool!

We've moved into a new building. It's really cool and things have improved dramatically. It doesn't seem so long ago that we were wondering how long the old building would be able to house us. But things are going so well that we needed more space urgently.

I wish I'd done this for Youi Car Insurance.

 At Youi Car insurance we're always looking for new ways to do things. This extends to Marketing. I was catching up on cool stuff this morning when I came across this idea for Nike for the Tour de France. People always write on the roads on the tour but these guys took it further. Great idea from Weiden and Kennedy. Again. Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Jb-KT4r6NY

I wish I'd done it for us. Oh well...if the bar gets set this high then hopefully it keeps pushing us to do cool stuff.

I really liked the first comment on the Creativity website relating to this initiative:

It's about involving people. It's about motivation and participation. That's how brands need to behave today - giving people tools and opportunities to express themselves and become part of the visible world.

I couldn't agree more. And we'll try.....

Great ad for the times.

I was watching Wimbledon last night and the commentators were praising the mother of the Williams sisters. They said how great it was that when an opponent of her daughters hit a great shot she applauded.

Well...in the spirit of this i think Aviva has done a great ad. An ad that is so right for the times. It made me want to phone them...that from a cynical ad guy...not bad!

Have a look: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSuR60ztYms

Michael - you rocked!

Michael Jackson was a legend. I heard somebody call him the first brand in the music industry. Brands do have a social responsibility: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZnZglcECH0&fmt=18

Youi Car Insurance - new ads, old thoughts

I've spent the last 5 weeks in Sydney making some new commercials for Youi Car and Home Insurance. It's been lots of fun and hard work but I think the commercials have turned out well. The style is developing and is becoming a real signature.

But working with freelance film crews and acting talent it becomes immediately apparent how deep the 'recession' is biting. A lot of the people have had a really difficult year so far. The sooner things change the better for everybody. I just think sometimes these people naysaying the recession from their comfy 9-5 jobs need to get out and speak to the entrepreneurial people in the community. They might see a very different picture. Society needs to cherish and revere these people and not let them become victims of this 'thing'. In fact society should be harnessing their creative energies when plotting the way forward. 

Anyway I'll get off my soapbox now!!!!!!!

New Youi car insurance ads-and owning 'assumption'.

Well, not actually car insurance, but we've launched home insurance now so I've just finished directing some new commercials for it. But the point here is 'research'. The launch of Youi car insurance has been amazing...far exceeding our expectations. But this can throw up its own problems. Which part of the campaign is working, what should we keep, what should we dump...tricky. Last week i was at the model makers (studiokite) who were making a model for our new ads. The guy clearly hadn't been told what who the model was for. So during the conversation he asked what is was for. Somebody replied that it was for a financial services company. Without saying who i said that the model was about making assumptions. To which he replied...'it must be for Youi then...'. I was astounded that he could so quickly leap to that conclusion. He then went on to explain the other chap, verbatim, one of the ads. (and then said how much he liked them! phew...I always hate those moments!) So as an adman, director and marketer i was amazed that we've been able to own such a strong positioning in a new market so quickly. I had a creative director many years ago, who stills remains the most powerful person I've ever worked with, by the name of Ricardo de Carvalho. His mantra was, be 'uncategorylike'. I loved this and hope that our campaign for Youi has achieved this. Our new ads will start soon and I'm looking forward to the reaction to them....

On another sadder note the beaching of over 50 pilot whales on my home beach in Kommetjie in South Africa left me really shocked last week. My friend, Lee Doig, and my sister Sandi Unite live in Kommetjie and spent the day trying to get them back into the sea, but they just kept coming back. They ended up euthenasing over 40 of them...hectic. check it out on youtube  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0b-PAoRhNk 

New Youi website and ads...Barack at 100 and the Best job in the world.

It's been a while....a few things have changed with Youi Car Insurance. Our website has been updated and I think it's looking really good now. We started a new ad campaign on television at the beginning of April. It's going well. The business is doing really well and we're exceeding our expectations. In these tough times where people generally stick with their trusted brands it's really good to cut through.

...and Barack Obama has had his 100 day report card. All seems pretty good although I got a mail from Amnesty International today hinting that he's made some progress but has a long way to go.

The 'best job in the world' campaign for Queensland Tourism has picked up best of show in the One Show Advertising Campaign advertising festival in the States. It's a great campaign and shows that it can be done differently. Well done to Cumminsnitro in Brisbane.

You can view our new ads at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oY937NvLwuM

Honesty

I was flying back today after completing a new batch of commercials for Youi car insurance. At the airport I'd bought the Monocle magazine for the first time. What a great read.

In it Paula Scher from Pentagram in New york writes an essay titled 'Truth be told - How to rule in 2009'. In it she says: Call me an optimist, but I believe we may have reached a time in our history when our major expectation of our leaders is that they talk to us intelligently, as adults. What this means is that information has to be provided to us in an honest, logical, non manipulative manner, and then a course of action should be based on the leader's best reasoning - with a strong, inspirational appeal to our better natures.

And more: I believe the public will finally perceive strength in honesty and reason rather than swagger.

This is so true and if we have to go through this crisis for people to start realising this then bring it on! I do hope that some of this is coming through in our advertising for Youi. We're learning all the time and refining our message. If you're reading this please tell me what you think. You can view our last set of ads on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8IRkFggOWA

Victorian bush fire

I was in Melbourne on Saturday when the temperature hit 46.5 degrees. Wow. That was hot. But to imagine a fire being blown towards you at 60km/h+ in that heat  is too much to comprehend. The images that have been shown on TV and in the newspaper are horrific. My heart goes out to all affected by this tragedy. Let's hope that this will make people sit up and take global warming seriously... nobody should die in vain.

Optimism

It happened....! Barack Obama is now the most powerful man in the world. (According to the Americans!) What a change overnight from Bush. I did a lot of the advertising for the African National Congress when Mandela was voted in. The euphoria and sense of optimism that prevailed then is very similar to the Obama effect. I do believe he has a lot of the characteristics of Mandela...and not just because he's black. I believe he is the glue that society needs in tough times. He's not judgemental and is seen to be very compassionate. He sees all people as being equal. I really hope he can bring about the change that society needs...

I think as a brand Youi is trying to embrace these new principles by putting the consumer first in all of our thinking. And we're very optimistic at the moment...we believe our approach is right for the times...

The commercialisation of a president.

As the inauguration day draws nearer American companies are jumping on the band wagon. I have just been looking at the new Pepsi site. refresheverything  It's just great to see optimism at this really tough time. Perhaps brands can make a positive contribution to society. And I'll keep banging my drum...let's make this financial crisis mean something. Obama has shifted things, let's keep the momentum going. As my wife says (and Gandhi!) ...Be the change you want to see in the world. And she's always right! Our brand is all about you and respecting you by not making massive assumptions about you...so I'm hoping to make a small contribution to the change. have a look at us...youi
I loved this video in the campaign: youtube

What will global financial crisis mean for car insurance?

Happy New Year! I was asked by a guy (whilst trying to buy a kayak paddle) what I did. I said I was a 'strategic/creative consultant' for a car insurance company called Youi. After asking me what that meant he asked me how we were feeling about the coming year and what the impact of the financial crisis would be. I assured him that people will always need car insurance and that because we had a very real competitive advantage we would be okay. I also told him that luckily we were new and weren't sitting with massive overheads and huge staff numbers.

But maybe it's more than that...

Yes, we're part of a massive financial group but I do feel that we're the little hungry guys doing it differently to benefit consumers. We're not fat cats and do everything possible to do it all ourselves. (for instance, we don't have a huge fat cat ad agency...I do it...from strategy through to creative ideas and then I go off and direct the commercials myself.) I do have to catch myself when our Chairman arrives late and because our limited parking is first come first serve he ends up parking around the corner on the street. Can't see that happening in the big car insurance companies. Perhaps survival of this crisis is about being humble again and not thinking you're important. Let's just work smarter and respect one another....