Obesity is one of the biggest drivers of preventable chronic diseases and health care costs in the country.  And it’s related to more than 30 illnesses, including Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and some forms of cancer.

For those who partner with health care companies in helping them communicate with members, the facts are clear: there are no winners on the business side of the obesity dilemma.  There are no “fat cats” prospering from the widening girth of the average American waistline. Insurers, including Medicare, Medicaid and private health insurance providers, have paid record claims in the past several decades for obesity-related illnesses.  And those companies now face the 2014 deadline: they cannot avoid these patients under the current new law. Consumers face higher and higher premiums, driven in large part by the high cost of these same obesity-related claims.  It’s a conundrum for which there is no simple solution.

But we can still dream, right?  A recent study examined how much the United States could save in health care costs if obesity rates were reduced by five percent.  The analysis found that the country could save $29.8 billion in five years, $158.1 billion in 10 years and $611.7 billion in 20 years.  The combined medical costs associated with treating preventable obesity-related diseases are estimated to increase by $48-$66 billion per year in the United States by 2030 — while experiencing a loss in economic productivity as high as $540 billion.

Another recent study found that an investment of $10 per person per year in proven community-based programs to increase physical activity, improve nutrition and prevent smoking and other tobacco use could save the country more than $16 billion annually within five years.  This is a return of $5.60 for every $1.80 spent. Out of the $16 billion, Medicare could save more than $5 billion, Medicaid could save more than $1.9 billion and private payers could save more than $9 billion.

Those are some big numbers.  But then, all federal budget and health care numbers are astronomical.  For those of us who are both consumers and health care marketers, where does our opportunity lie?

In the most basic sense, the onus is on us to be intelligent stewards of our own health care dollars.  I can recall my mother expressing what now seems to be a quaint attitude with regard to health care claims back in the 1970s: “You don’t want to ask the insurance company to pay out too much on your behalf.”  Sounds crazy today, doesn’t it?  Common sense — and vanity — would dictate that a healthy lifestyle would keep one in good graces with one’s insurer, by my mother’s standards at least.

But living in the real business world, where can we as marketing professionals be of service?  Where can our skills and knowledge base intercede to help resolve what is shaping up to be a great national challenge, this out-of-shape fiscal and health care crisis?

As communicators, the opportunity is there.  As niche-expert disease state marketers, the opportunity is even greater.

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Direct Choice Inc. is a full-service direct marketing agency that has worked with national and regional brands in a wide variety of vertical markets. In addition to this blog, you can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn.

Herewith, in no particular order:

1.  A compelling offer. Everybody needs an extra butt-kicker to turn inertia into action. Consider the offer—the Jillian Michaels of direct marketing—as one of the most critical elements of your campaign. 2 for 1, XX% off, VIP Service with purchase, Free gas card…whatever it may be, it should be solid from a business-case perspective and do-able fulfillment-wise.
2. A boffo opening. Whether it’s an email, text, website, direct mail piece, TV or radio spot—you’ve got about 4 seconds to grab that prospect’s attention before it wanders back to his or her iPhone/meal/activity/driving/etc. That means those first few milliseconds are the whole shebang. To the point, it’s got to have instantaneous, KILLER appeal: a super-sexy or deceptively official envelope, an irresistible opening copy line, graphics that lead you by the nose to click-through, or whatever. You won’t get a second chance to make that first impression, just like Mom always told you, so make it count.
3.  What’s in it for the prospect? SO much advertising copy goes on and on about “we.” As in, “At XYZ Company, we’re all about you.” Not so fast—the benefit to the prospect should come through loud and clear, over and over again, instead of shiny about-us copy. Keep the corporate glamour copy for the brochure, or as a back-cover credibility story; it’s not enough of a reason to get prospects to buy.
4. Demonstrate the benefits and features, don’t tell about them. ‘What’s the difference?’ you may ask. A quick example:

 Telling about the benefits and features:  “The New Sentry Home Security System has 79 alarm points and operates on an advanced Titan Technology platform, unlike any other.”

Demonstrating the benefits and features:  “With the New Sentry Home Security System, your home is impervious to unlawful entry, thanks to superior technology that gives you the assurance of a 21^st century virtual fortress.

      5. These days, it’s less about returning a reply device in an envelope through snail mail. It’s more likely to be a text, or a QR code for smartphone capture, or clicking on a banner
online. Whatever the channel, make it simple, non-threatening and fast.

Are you ready to respond?

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Direct Choice Inc. is a full-service direct marketing agency that has worked with national and regional brands in a wide variety of vertical markets. In addition to this blog, you can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn.

Like any direct marketing, an offer for life insurance has to meet a need, have a market large enough to sustain it, and be able to reach that market cost-effectively to establish the right value proposition with their target audience.  In spite of rising costs, some resourceful insurance marketers have been able to do this…the ones that haven’t no longer exist.

Marketplaces change over time, but here are some conditions that have endured and helped life insurance direct marketers mine their markets profitably:

• Believe it or not, the NAIC Guidelines have been a stabilizing force that kept messaging and promotions consistent and focused on the core benefits and features of life insurance.
• Marketplace growth…according to the U.S. Census, the U.S. population grew 38.5% between 1980 and 2011, a staggering 86 million more citizens in 31 years.
• Groups (AARP, college alumni, credit union members, customers, etc.)… some groups come and go, but those that maintain membership size and a reason for being continue to provide the credibility that supports consumer trust and acceptance of insurance carriers.
• The celebrity spokesperson…remember Art Linkletter, Ed McMahan, Roger Staubach, and Sam Ervin?  They all lent their awareness, popularity and credibility to one mass market demographic group or another, providing rich rewards for life insurance companies.
• The ability to craft an offer for either a one-step application or a two-step lead generator, based on which approach was more financially suited to the acquisition-to-conversion model.

But, the cost of doing business keeps going up for direct marketers, and life insurance is no exception.  The increase in USPS postal rates, consuming an alarming percentage of the direct mail cost model, is just one example.  What tools do marketers have to keep revenue and cost performance at a level that satisfies their bottom line and also keeps top insurance management happy?  Here are just a few that are either new or have evolved over the last 30+ years:

• For the broad appeal DRTV marketers, what used to be only late night local broadcast media buy options has dramatically expanded into 24/7 segmented cable opportunities to reach out to viewers who have inferred profiles from well-defined and consistent program content.
• Third-Party Quoting Aggregators, DRTV Media Agencies, and Per Inquiry Bundlers have tightened DRTV efficiencies to capture more affordable leads for carriers.
• Marketers using lifecycle events are getting better at identifying, finding event data sources, and even creating lifecycle events for their target audiences…a reason to “consider” is always a better environment to have life insurance introduced.
• Better list segmentation, improved list hygiene, more flexible net name negotiations, solid database management, and innovative predictive modeling are leading-edge tools for effectively reaching your target audience.
• Direct mail graphic designers and production managers are taking advantage of innovative production equipment to develop more cost-efficient formats that do more for a direct mail package.  How much message and offer can you pack into an 11 ½ x 17 inch sheet?
• Smart insurance marketers are looking on the product “shelf” for riders that can change the focus of a product, find a new market, or improve an existing one.  And, consider that just by repositioning an existing product for a different need you can get a burial insurance offer to become a savings plan for a college fund!
• As people have become more comfortable with the internet, very astute insurance marketers have started combining internet advertising with traditional offline approaches to improve acquisition and conversion performance efficiencies.  Remarketing has a significant demographic and geographic impact on SEO and display results…there’s no reason that life insurance can’t benefit from this, and the price is right.

Today’s life insurance direct marketers have a formidable combination of past experience and knowledge along with new technology and breakthrough marketing innovation.  New cutting-edge marketing strategies, fresh well-crafted direct response creative, protection and strengthening of the brand, enhanced media channels that work harder, and more cost-efficient production all provide a power-packed new business bundle that can save thousands of test budget dollars on the way to that 35 million household life insurance marketplace…it really is “Back to the Future,” and it can be done even better today for a market that’s just waiting to be tapped.

¹ http://www.limra.com/newscenter/pressmaterials/10FOL.pdf

² http://insurancenewsnet.com/article.aspx?id=169778

“Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) is a strategic business process used to plan, develop, execute, and evaluate coordinated, measurable, persuasive marketing communications programs over time with consumers, customers, prospects, employees and other targeted, relevant, external and internal audiences.  The goal is to generate both short-term financial returns and build long-term brand and shareholder value.” – Schultz and Schultz, 2004

Pretty heady stuff, yes … BUT … eight years later the same philosophy applies even though different forms of digital communications are exploding on the scene.  It’s now clear that consumers have gained control of the marketplace, particularly in the communications area. They’ve determined what they want to see, hear, and process − and when.

It used to be said that you have less than 3 seconds to get someone’s attention when they receive your Direct Mail piece.  But with the arrival of over 206 social media sites worldwide (that doesn’t include the defunct ones) the consumer’s attention span is shorter than ever.  (Did you know that there is even one called vampirefreaks!  There are more than 1.9MM registered users!  Really?!?)

Each of these (maybe not the vampire one) competes directly with traditional forms of marketing communications for the time and attention of consumers, creating a new and more challenging issue for traditional direct marketers.  Simply put, integration becomes not an integration of existing media forms but the integration of old and new media forms.

One of the primary challenges is that most marketing organizations are structured to talk, not to listen. Hearing what consumers have to say is, in many cases, a totally new concept to marketers who are accustomed to being in control.  We’re used to communicating to them when we think it’s appropriate for them to hear our message. Clearly, in a marketplace where consumers now drive the dialog, it becomes critical for marketers to listen.

So now what do we do?  One area which marketing has not fully addressed is how to overcome our favoritism to the 4Ps (Product, Price, Placement, Promotion) that permeates all marketing and communication concepts.  Our practices supported by consumer behavior were developed and matured in a sophisticated, media rich, data intensive market where resources were readily available and managers had extensive marketing and communication training.

The switch to a totally integrated, push and pull, online and offline approach is required. Consumers have already made that leap but we marketers are finding it difficult.  We always look for empirical data saying it “will” work so we can assure our clients that it “will” work.  Getting the first client to take the leap into the Social Pool requires a lot of coaxing, a life-jacket, some swimmies and maybe a snorkel.

To be really relevant to customers and prospects going forward, marketers need to LISTEN, develop new concepts and approaches based on what the consumer is doing, where and when. That is where I believe the future of Integrated Marketing lies.  Jump in folks, the water is fine.

Christine Wagner

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Direct Choice Inc. is a full-service direct marketing agency that has worked with national and regional brands in a wide variety of vertical markets. In addition to this blog, you can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn.

Take a deep breath.  Exhale.  Imagine you are preparing a multi-course meal for millions.  Everything is to be served perfectly prepared at exactly the right moment, adjusted to the taste of each recipient, and delivered in a format that most pleases them.  Really.

Let us begin.

Assemble your team.  There is to be a sous-chef for each channel (the good ones can juggle more than one).  Plan your menu and begin by building a rough schedule, starting at channel delivery and working back to today.  It is incredibly important to include all of the channel leaders in the initial planning session using a written creative brief approved by the client.  Include budgets by channel.  Focused and targeted briefs usually deliver improved and on-time creative, more efficient campaigns, better results and greater margin.

Negotiate with the team.  Create a detailed schedule containing critical path points for each channel.  Get agreement on deliverables.  No, there is never more time or money.  Today’s programs (clients) insist that we do more for less.  Better and faster than ever before.  Remember to breathe.  It helps.

Coordinate the flow.  Depending on the focus of the campaign, the historical role of chef has changed.  In some progressive (i.e., efficient) companies, there has been a shift away from the traditional account executive role.  Teams may now be led by AEs whose specialties are data, media, production, web, finance and creative.  We’re developing talents we never knew we had.  The key point, as always, is to complete every task on time as scheduled and under budget.  That includes the clients AND lawyers.  During the project execution period you may need to practice your “be nice but persistent” skills. Remember to smile before you pick up the phone.  Re-read your emails before you hit send.  Take a short break before the re-read and send on the tough ones.  Don’t forget to be nice.  We’re a team.  This is supposed to be fun.

Execute and report on your successes.  Keep the team in the loop.  Share the positive results.  Adjust and fix the imperfections.

Repeat as necessary.

Technology will continue to change the way and the speed at which we touch our prospective customers.  To stay on top, we have to keep pace with the changes and continue to improve the mix.

The mantra “Better, Faster, Cheaper” applies more than ever to each step of the creation process.  Digest it or lose it.

Enjoy!

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Direct Choice Inc. is a full-service direct marketing agency that has worked with national and regional brands in a wide variety of vertical markets. In addition to this blog, you can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn.