Are you familiar with “insurance blue”? It’s the navy blue color that exists as part of almost every insurance agency’s branding — the navy blue that says strength, stability, assurance and also BORING. When all agencies embrace insurance blue, it means you run the significant risk of blending in with everyone else when you do as well. Given that there are over 35,000 independent agencies in the US, maybe we need to back away from insurance blue and think differently.
Now, don’t get me wrong, this doesn’t mean that you have to retreat from blue altogether. There are plenty of patterns, shades and types of blue that are not just navy blue. Feel free to use a light blue, bold blue or another shade of blue. According to Wikipedia there are 76 different shades of blue, so feel free to explore!
If not blue, what can you do? It’s 2019, and the new rave is grey (it was beige before that). Colors and tastes can change, and your insurance agency should get a face lift every so often too. Your insurance agency’s brand isn’t meant to stay exactly the same forever. It should be modified and enhanced. Now this doesn’t mean you start from scratch. What it does mean is every 5 years or so you should refresh and spruce up your branding. Think about it — every time you get a new car, consider updating your branding.
Insurance agents have an opportunity to be a bit bolder in their marketing today. Lizards, cavemen and squealing pigs are selling insurance. We too can certainly have more fun and express ourselves in a more dynamic way. One way we recommend agencies embrace modern branding is by having a set pattern scheme. This allows you to include plaids, polka dots and gingham into your brand. Patterns allow your brand to be modern and more inviting.
Feeling a little overwhelmed and maybe nostalgic for the “insurance blue” color? Let me walk you through the steps of creating and enhancing your insurance agency’s brand.
- Start by gathering up your current branded items. Look to see how consistent they are and determine what you love and what you can let go of.
- Work with a branding firm that can help guide you through the process. You may be very close to your current brand which can cloud your judgement.
- Most branding firms will start with a brand survey that will help aggregate data points and find common themes for your insurance agency.
- Once the survey is done, there is generally a meeting to help clarify the results.
- Now the designers go to work with their big ideas about your brand. They will generally pitch you 2-3 starting points. You get to work with them to polish up your insurance agency brand and see it to completion.
- Once the style tiles are approved, the designers get to work on creating your official brand guide.
- You can take that out and start the rebranding process of all your materials and website.
If you’re lost on branding, it’s ok! Remember that many people seek your advice because they are lost on insurance. Working with professionals on this is not only a great idea, but will also help dramatically improve the quality. A great professional branding firm will understand your business, but may also help push your agency’s brand a bit out of its comfort zone.
Kelly Donahue-Piro is the Co-Founder of Agency Appeal and President of Agency Performance Partners.