It takes a lot for an ad to really resonate with its intended audience. There are clever ways of tying in to strong emotion, but these are usually the domain of the radio or TVC, where you have a little more time to attract an interested party.
When it comes to print ads, your time with the eyeballs you're after is limited - even less so with outdoor billboard ads, where you rely on the driver being stuck in a traffic jam or bored on public transport and looking around for a distraction.
Enter King Price, king of snappy outdoor recruitment. Some call it cheeky, others naughty - whatever you decide, there's no denying it elicits a response of sorts, which is a win in the advertising industry. Natalie Bisset, General Manager of Marketing at King Price, tells us more...
1. Competitive advertising at its best! Tell us how this differs from the typical outdoor ad? Bisset: We don't generally compare ourselves to our competitors; we know we are in a league of our own. Not just because of our unique product offering, but also because our marketing budget is a fraction of that of 'the boys in green'.
That said, this billboard is not part of our advertising campaign, but rather forms part of our most recent recruitment campaign aimed at industry experts.
2. Aha. Who devised the ad - what was the brief? Bisset: Our team brainstormed the message together; it forms part of our recruitment campaign which will be implemented across outdoor, print and online, with the aim of attracting some fresh talent to assist us with our rapid growth and launching our new products.
We are growing at a rate of more than 50 members of staff a month, and we think it's a lot more effective to speak to potential candidates directly. We want to hire people who want to work at King Price.
3. Good strategy. Has there been any comeback on the ad? Bisset: We've received hundreds of compliments on our courageous, out-of-the-box idea. And of course, we've also received loads of CVs to go through!
4. That's great! Let's look broader, to King Price's tongue-in-cheek approach to marketing and advertising...
Bisset: Insurance has been seen as a grudge purchase for too long. Most people would rather scrape the scale off of their shower doors with their teeth than talk about policy exclusions, underwriting conditions and claims procedures. We get that and we're here to make insurance more enjoyable in every single way.
King Price Insurance doesn't have a lot of cash to spend on fancy commercials (take a look at how low our premiums are and you'll get it), but what we do have is an amazing, fun, crazy company culture and a game-changing approach to insurance. That's why we need to make every cent count when it comes to cutting through the clutter and communicating with the public.
We want to be the 'Nandos' of the South African financial services industry: edgy, funny, cheeky, disruptive and courageous. We don't have a chicken-grilling station in the office yet, but between the free Slush Puppies and popcorn we give our staff, it just might be on the cards one day...
Certainly sounds like the right balance of humour and consumer insight to keep the business fire burning and attract today's fickle employee. For more on King Price, visit their Twitter feed.
