1

ADVERTISING IN INSURANCE

Definition of Insurance, in law and economics, is a form of risk management primarily used to
hedge against the risk of a contingent loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the
risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for a premium, and can be thought of as a
guaranteed small loss to prevent a large, possibly devastating loss. An insurer is a company
selling the insurance; an insured is the person or entity buying the insurance. The insurance rate
is a factor used to determine the amount to be charged for a certain amount of insurance
coverage, called the premium. Risk management, the practice of appraising and controlling risk,
has evolved as a discrete field of study and practice.

One Definition Of Advertising Is: "Advertising is the non personal communication of

information usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature about products, services or ideas by
identified sponsors through the various media."(Bovey, 1992, p. 7) So much for academic
doubletalk. Now let's take this statement apart and see what it means.

NON-PERSONAL

First, what is "no- personal"? There are two basic ways to sell anything: personally and non-
personally. Personal selling requires the seller and the buyer to get together. There are
advantages and disadvantages to this. The first advantage is time: the seller has time to discuss in
detail everything about the product. The buyer has time to ask questions, get answers, and
examine evidence for or against purchase.

A second advantage of personal selling is that the seller can see you. the person rhea’s selling to.
Rhea can see your face; see how the sales message is getting across. If you yawn or your eyes
shift away, you're obviously bored, and the seller can change approach. Rhea can also see if
you're hooked, see what features or benefits have your attention, and emphasize them to close the
sale.

Finally, the seller can easily locate potential buyers. If you enter a store, you probably have an
interest in something that store sells. Street vendors and door-to-door sellers can simply shout at
possibilities, like the Hyde Park (London) vendors who call out, "I say there, Guv'nor, can you
use a set of these dishes?", or knock at the door and start their spiel with an attention grabber.
From there on they fit their message to the individual customer, taking all the time a customer is
willing to give them.

Disadvantages do exist. Personal selling is, naturally enough, expensive, since it is labor-
intensive and deals with only one buyer at a time. Just imagine trying to sell chewing gum or
guitar picks one-on-one; it would cost a dollar a stick or pick.
 2

In addition, its advantage of time is also a disadvantage. Personal selling is time-consuming.

Selling a stereo or a car can take days, and major computer and airplane sales can take years.

Nonetheless, although personal selling results in more rejections than sales, and can be nerve-
racking, frustrating and ego destroying for the salesperson, when the salesperson is good it is
more directed and successful than advertising.

From the above, it appears that personal selling is much better than advertising, which is non-
personal. This is true. Advertising has none of the advantages of personal selling: there is very
little time in which to present the sales message, there is no way to know just who the customer
is or how rhea is responding to the message, the message cannot be changed in mid-course to suit
the customer's reactions.

Then why bother with advertising? Because its advantages exactly replace the disadvantages of
personal selling and can emulate some of the advantages. First let's look at the latter.

First, advertising has, comparatively speaking, all the time in the world. Unlike personal selling,
the sales message and its presentation does not have to be created on the spot with the customer
watching. It can be created in as many ways as the writer can conceive, be rewritten, tested,
modified, injected with every trick and appeal known to affect consumers. (Some of the latter is
the content of this book.)

Second, although advertisers may not see the individual customer, nor be able to modify the
sales message according to that individual's reactions at the time, it does have research about
customers. The research can identify potential customers, find what message elements might
influence them, and figure out how best to get that message to them. Although the research is
meaningless when applied to any particular individual, it is effective when applied to large
groups of customers.

Third, and perhaps of most importance, advertising can be far cheaper per potential customer
than personal selling. Personal selling is extremely labor-intensive, dealing with one customer at
a time. Advertising deals with hundreds, thousands, or millions of customers at a time, reducing
the cost per customer to mere pennies. In fact, advertising costs are determined in part using a
formula to determine, not cost per potential customer, but cost per thousand potential customers.

Thus, it appears that advertising is a good idea as a sales tool. For small ticket items, such as
chewing gum and guitar picks, advertising is cost effective to do the entire selling job. For large
ticket items, such as cars and computers, advertising can do a large part of the selling job, and
personal selling is used to complete and close the sale.
 3

Advertising Is Non-Personal, But Effective.

COMMUNICATION

Communication means not only speech or pictures, but any way one person can pass
information, ideas or feelings to another. Thus communication uses all of the senses: smell,
touch, taste, sound and sight. Of the five, only two are really useful in advertising -- sound and
sight.

SMELL

Smell is an extremely strong form of communication. However, when it comes to advertising, it

is not very useful. A smell can immediately evoke memories. Remember times when you've
smelled something and what memories came to your mind. The smell could be a perfume or
aftershave that reminds you of Sheila or George. It could be popcorn, newly mown grass, char-
broiling steak, or roses. Any smell can conjure up a memory for you.

However, that is smell's greatest problem for advertising. Although a smell can evoke a memory,
everyone's memories are different. For example, the smell of hay in a cow barn always reminds
me of my grandfather's farm in Indiana and the fun I had there as a child. To others, however,
that same smell makes them think a cow had an accident in the living room, not at all the same
response as mine. If an advertiser wanted to make me nostalgic about farms and grandparents,
the smell would be perfect. To others the smell might evoke ideas of cow accidents or the pain of
having to buck bales on a hot summer day, neither image of much use in making a product
appealing.

The point is, the effect of using smell in advertising cannot be controlled by the advertiser.
Although many people smell the same things, what they associate with those smells varies with
each person. Without some control, smell is a very weak form of communication for advertising.

Touch

Touch has a limitation that makes it of little use to advertising -- the customer has to come in
actual contact with the item to be touched. Thus the item must actually exist and be put in a
medium that can carry it. This puts touch more in the realm of personal selling than advertising.

It is possible to use touch for a limited number of products. For example, samples of cloth or
paper can be bound into magazines. The potential customer can thus feel percale or the texture of
corduroy; tell through touch the difference between slick magazine stock, embossing, Classic
Laid or 100% rag paper. However, for the majority of products touch is useless for advertising.
 4

Taste

Taste is probably the least useful communication channel available to advertising. Like touch,
taste requires the potential customer to come in actual physical contact with the product.
However, taste is even more limited than touch. There are few products other than food for
which taste is a major selling point, and there is virtually no medium in which an ad can be
placed that people are likely to lick; I'm sure few people are going to lick a magazine page or the
TV screen, nor get much sense of what the product tastes like from them. It is possible to use
direct mail, sending samples to homes, but that is an expensive way to advertise.

Thus, taste is much more effective in personal selling, such as sampling foods in supermarkets or
in door-to-door sales.

The remaining two senses, sound and sight, are the most effective and easily used channels of
communication available to advertising. For these reasons virtually all advertising relies on them.

Sound

Sound is extremely useful for advertising. It can be used in a variety of media, from radio and
television to the new technology of binding micro-sound chips in magazines to present 20-
second sales messages. It is also capable of presenting words and "theatre of the mind."

Words, the method by which humans communicate their ideas and feelings, are presented by
sound, by speaking aloud. Through the use of words it is possible to deliver logical arguments,
discuss pros and cons, and evoke emotions.

More, through the use of sound it is possible to create what is called "the theatre of the mind."
What this means is that sound can conjure in the listener's mind images and actions that don't
necessarily exist. For example, if you want to create before the mind's eye the image of a party,
you need merely use the sound effects of people talking and laughing, the tinkle of glasses and
ice, perhaps music in the background. Even easier, tape record a party and play it back. To evoke
images of a soft spring day the sounds of a breeze rustling leaves, the chirrup of insects, the soft
call of birds is sufficient. The listener's mind will take those sounds, combine them, make sense
of them, and create an image suited to their individual taste.  For example, a beer commercial
may play the sounds of a bar in the background, and the listener may imagine themselves in their
own favorite bar, and perhaps ordering that brand of beer.

Thus sound, in the forms of words and effects, are quite useful to the advertiser in affecting a
listener.
 5

Sight

Sight is arguably the most useful of the communication channels available to the advertiser.
Through sight it is possible to use both words and images effectively.

Words do not have to be spoken to be understood. They can be printed, as well. Although it is
difficult to put in written words the emotional impact possible in spoken words, with their
inflections and subtle sound cues, nevertheless written words are unsurpassed for getting across
and explaining complex ideas or arguments.

There is an additional factor in sight that makes it excellent for advertising. The old cliche, "A
picture is worth a thousand words," is correct. Think how long it takes to describe something as
opposed to showing a picture of it. No matter how many words you use, some details will be left
out that are visible at a glance. Thus sight can quickly and concisely show a customer what the
advertiser wants her to see, be it a product or how buying the product can benefit rher.

The five forms of human communication can be used to send any message to potential
customers. However, not all five are equal. Smell, touch and taste are of little use, but sound and
sight are of great value and effectiveness.

INFORMATION

Information is defined as knowledge, facts or news. However, you should bear in mind that one
person's information is another person's scam, particularly when advertisers talk about their
products.

Information comes in many forms. It can be complete or incomplete. It can be biased or

deceptive. Complete information is telling someone everything there is to know about
something: what it is, what it looks like, how it works, what its benefits and drawbacks are.
However, to provide complete information about anything is time consuming and difficult. For
example, to tell all about a car would require its appearance, manufacture and manufacturer,
what percentage of parts are made in which countries, cost of upkeep, mileage (city and
highway), cost (basic and with any and all combination of options), sales and excise taxes per
state, preparation costs, insurance costs per state and locale, ride characteristics (noise by db
interior and exterior, ergs required for steering and braking, relative comfort of seats, length of
reach required to use controls, degrees of lean when cornering), acceleration, braking distance at
many different speeds, etc.. All of this would require a documentary, not a commercial.
Complete information is impossible to provide in an ad.

Thus, for advertising, information must of necessity be incomplete, not discussing everything
there is to know about the subject. In advertising, what appears is everything the writer thinks the
 6

customer needs to know about the product in order to make a decision about the product. That
information will generally be about how the product can benefit the customer.

There is, of course, the concept of affirmative disclosure. This concept requires an advertiser to
provide customers with any information that could materially affect their purchase decision.
Lewis A. England, FTC Chair in 1974, said:

"Sometimes the consumer is provided not with information he wants but only with the
information the seller wants him to have. Sellers, for instance, are not inclined to advertise
negative aspects their products even though those aspects may be of primary concern to the
consumer, particularly if they involve considerations of health or safety . . . "

The Federal Trade Commission deals with such omissions by demanding affirmative disclosure
of such information, and backs up their demands with the force of law.

Bias is being partial towards something, feeling that something is better or worse than other
things. Biased information about a product is that which emphasizes what is good and ignores
what is bad about it. In advertising this is not only normal, but necessary. Of course an advertiser
is biased toward her own product and against the competition: selling her product is the way rhe
makes her money, and her competition's sales reduce that income. Thus any advertising will use
words and images that show how good rhea product is and/or how poor rhea competition's is.
This is biased information,

Different Types of Advertising

Advertising is the promotion of a company’s products and services carried out primarily to drive
sales of the products and services but also to build a brand identity and communicate changes or
new product /services to the customers. Advertising has become an essential element of the
corporate world and hence the companies allot a considerable amount of revenues as their
advertising budget. There are several reasons for advertising some of which are as follows:

 Increasing the sales of the product/service

 Creating and maintaining a brand identity or brand image.
 Communicating a change in the existing product line.
 Introduction of a new product or service.
 Increasing the buzz-value of the brand or the company.

Thus, several reasons for advertising and similarly there exist various media which can be
effectively used for advertising. Based on these criteria there can be several branches of
advertising. Mentioned below are the various categories or types of advertising:
 7

Print Advertising – Newspapers, Magazines, Brochures, Fliers

the print media have always been a popular advertising medium. Advertising products via
newspapers or magazines is a common practice. In addition to this, the print media also offers
options like promotional brochures and fliers for advertising purposes. Often the newspapers and
the magazines sell the advertising space according to the area occupied by the advertisement, the
position of the advertisement (front page/middle page), as well as the readership of the
publications. For instance an advertisement in a relatively new and less popular newspaper
would cost far less than placing an advertisement in a popular newspaper with a high readership.
The price of print ads also depend on the supplement in which they appear, for example an
advertisement in the glossy supplement costs way higher than that in the newspaper supplement
which uses a mediocre quality paper.

Outdoor Advertising – Billboards, Kiosks, Tradeshows and Events

Outdoor advertising is also a very popular form of advertising, which makes use of several tools
and techniques to attract the customers outdoors. The most common examples of outdoor
advertising are billboards, kiosks, and also several events and tradeshows organized by the
company. The billboard advertising is very popular however has to be really terse and catchy in
order to grab the attention of the passers by. The kiosks not only provide an easy outlet for the
company products but also make for an effective advertising tool to promote the company’s
products. Organizing several events or sponsoring them makes for an excellent advertising
opportunity. The company can organize trade fairs, or even exhibitions for advertising their
products. If not this, the company can organize several events that are closely associated with
their field. For instance a company that manufactures sports utilities can sponsor a sports
tournament to advertise its products.

Broadcast advertising – Television, Radio and the Internet

Broadcast advertising is a very popular advertising medium that constitutes of several branches
like television, radio or the Internet. Television advertisements have been very popular ever since
they have been introduced. The cost of television advertising often depends on the duration of
the advertisement, the time of broadcast (prime time/peak time), and of course the popularity of
the television channel on which the advertisement is going to be broadcasted. The radio might
have lost its charm owing to the new age media however the radio remains to be the choice of
small-scale advertisers. The radio jingles have been very popular advertising media and have a
large impact on the audience, which is evident in the fact that many people still remember and
enjoy the popular radio jingles.
 8

Covert Advertising – Advertising in Movies

Covert advertising is a unique kind of advertising in which a product or a particular brand is

incorporated in some entertainment and media channels like movies, television shows or even
sports. There is no commercial in the entertainment but the brand or the product is subtly( or
sometimes evidently) showcased in the entertainment show. Some of the famous examples for
this sort of advertising have to be the appearance of brand Nokia which is displayed on Tom
Cruise’s phone in the movie Minority Report, or the use of Cadillac cars in the movie Matrix
Reloaded.

Surrogate Advertising – Advertising Indirectly

Surrogate advertising is prominently seen in cases where advertising a particular product is

banned by law. Advertisement for products like cigarettes or alcohol which are injurious to heath
are prohibited by law in several countries and hence these companies have to come up with
several other products that might have the same brand name and indirectly remind people of the
cigarettes or beer bottles of the same brand. Common examples include Fosters and Kingfisher
beer brands, which are often seen to promote their brand with the help of surrogate advertising.

Public Service Advertising – Advertising for Social Causes

Public service advertising is a technique that makes use of advertising as an effective

communication medium to convey socially relevant messaged about important matters and social
welfare causes like AIDS, energy conservation, political integrity, deforestation, illiteracy,
poverty and so on. David Ogilvy who is considered to be one of the pioneers of advertising and
marketing concepts had reportedly encouraged the use of advertising field for a social cause.
Ogilvy once said, "Advertising justifies its existence when used in the public interest - it is much
too powerful a tool to use solely for commercial purposes.". Today public service advertising has
been increasingly used in a non-commercial fashion in several countries across the world in
order to promote various social causes. In USA, the radio and television stations are granted on
the basis of a fixed amount of Public service advertisements aired by the channel.

Celebrity advertising

although the audience is getting smarter and smarter and the modern day consumer getting
immune to the exaggerated claims made in a majority of advertisements, there exist a section of
advertisers that still bank upon celebrities and their popularity for advertising their products.
Using celebrities for advertising involves signing up celebrities for advertising campaigns, which
consist of all sorts of advertising including, television ads or even print advertisements.
 9

Advertising; New Effort by Insurance Institute

LEAD: IN carrying out the industry's mandate, the 29-year-old Insurance Information Institute
publishes brochures, monographs and books; does original research; sponsors seminars, and
trains speakers for radio and television.

IN carrying out the industry's mandate, the 29-year-old Insurance Information Institute publishes
brochures, monographs and books; does original research; sponsors seminars, and trains speakers
for radio and television.

In the last five years it has discovered the mass-communications value of advertising. At first the
commitment was a small one, an inexpensive print effort in the so-called thought-leader
magazines, or small-circulation intellectual publications. Then it moved cautiously into
television, and before you knew it the institute was spending millions of dollars annually on such
causes as cracking down on drunken driving and curbing liability litigation.

Mechlin D. Moore, president of the institute, and Alan M. Siegel, chairman of Siegel & Gale, the
design firm that does its advertising, have a number of stories that they say show the
effectiveness of their efforts.

At the moment they are awaiting the beginning of the 1988 advertising campaign, which, despite
the great successes of recent television commercials, will be entirely in magazines. The reason,
Mr. Siegel said, is that the client wants to give a selectively targeted audience a lot of
information and offer even more information through couponed ads.

With a $6 million budget, it will run 74 two-page black-and-white spreads between now and
Dec. 31 in magazines.

''We will reach 74 percent of all adults, 18 and above, about 11 times,'' said Eliot Pussman,
executive vice president of Siegel & Gale.

This year's campaign, Mr. Siegel said, ''extends the image campaign to explain how the insurance
mechanism works, speaking of the benefits in addition to economic protection.''

Using specific examples, ads tell all the things that insurance companies did for a homeowner
and a small business that were burned out. Another ad talks about help following theft in both a
home and a business.

The magazines on the schedule are a combination of business publications and news weeklies:
Time, Business Week, U.S. News & World Report, Sports Illustrated, Forbes, Venture, Money,
Fortune and Inc.
 10

The media buying is being handled for Siegel & Gale by the well-known SFM Media
Corporation, since setting up a media department is something Siegel & Gale, which is basically
a design firm interested in corporate identity programs, is not prepared to do.

Mr. Siegel said about 30 percent of the company's revenues were currently coming from
advertising.

The advertising world apparently is like a black hole. People who never expected to be part of it
suddenly find themselves in it and, frequently, thriving. It usually happens simply enough when
a client, who admires the firm's communications abilities and creative talents, pushes the supplier
into the business.

For art studios and identity firms this is no giant step. In the case of Siegel & Gale the
metamorphosis was almost inevitable given the fact that Alan Siegel began his business career at
Batten, Barton, and Durstine & Osborn.

Most advertising clients of the 20-year-old Siegel & Gale, a subsidiary of Britain's Saatchi &
Saatchi, started as clients for identity programs. The clients, some of which have only assigned
projects, include USX; Chubb Group of Insurance Companies; General Electric Information
Services, Capital Holding, Mellon Bank, J.C. Penney, Citicorp and the American Stock
Exchange.

The Insurance Information Institute is the biggest advertising client. It started advertising
because the 300-or-so property insurance companies making up its membership felt that there
were issues that called for an industry point of view.

The institute's first campaign had to do with the dangers of drunken driving. That was followed
by a promotion for air bags and then by a campaign dealing with what it identified as ''civil
justice problems,'' or the explosion of liability suits. Last year, the advertising on television
addressed itself to the industry's contributions in the area of auto, product and workplace safety.

When you want to advertise about your truck insurance products and services, you have so many
options. You can choose from the different types of advertising available to you to convey your
message.

You can use TV advertising, press advertising, mobile billboard, web advertising, phone calls,
word of mouth advertising, yellow page advertising, radio advertising, product placement and so
on for commercial truck insurance and cargo insurance advertisements.

The effectiveness of a truck insurance advertising depends on its use, target, investment, creation
and implementation. The effectiveness is also affected by the support of one to another. In a
 11

communication program, the medium has role to play. The effectiveness depends on the playing
that role successfully.

You may be provided with biased information about the effectiveness of a truck insurance
advertising type, by the players working in that field of truck insurance. So for a neutral idea on
the effectiveness you have to see all the perspectives.

Every commercial truck and cargo advertising type has its effectiveness in some places and in
some situations. It depends on when and how you use it. Make an advertising campaign
innovative and interesting to get success with it. To see an example of a good advertisement see
National Independent Truckers Insurance Company, RRG. created TV commercial at

So many variables decide the effectiveness of the advertising type in case of truck insurance and
cargo insurance. The size of ad, time of placement, target audience, the advertisement itself etc
decide the effectiveness of that type of advertising. Creativity is another big factor in cargo and
truck insurance advertising.

Following are the factors that help in measuring effectiveness of a type of

advertising used in commercial truck and cargo insurance. They are the metrics in
advertising.

Impressions- Number of people exposed to the advertisement.

Frequency - number of times your truck insurance advertising reached each people
Clickthroughs – The number of people who clicked on your advertisement
Post-impression visitors – Visit by the visitor, at a later time
Website traffic in unique visitors – increase in word-of-mouth
Sales – what is the number of sales, amount of sale etc. Some of the statistics that shows the
effectiveness and increase in the use of different advertising type.

In US traditional media is still have a big place in advertising. There are 13,599 radio stations,
2,890 broadcast TV stations, plus unlimited cable and satellite TV outlets, 2,366 daily
newspapers, thousands of internet sites are working in the advertising field. There are also other
players like direct mail, magazines, outdoor advertising, and other special and alternative
advertising working in advertising.

The revenue earning is varies according to the number of players. Radio earns $20 billion
annually, TV stations, cable, satellite TV stations together earn $67 billion, newspapers earn $49
billion, direct mail earns $24 billion, outdoor advertising earn $6.8 billion annually in revenue.
 12

New media and technologies in advertising like blogs, mobile phone based advertising,
podcasting, satellite radio, cable TV programming on-demand and online social networks are
also doing well now.

In general, considering each one alone, Press is the highest proportion revenue earner in
advertising. TV comes in the second position. Internet is growing at a very fast rate. Its share is
rising in the advertising industry (source: Advertising Association).

Search marketing represents 39% of all online advertising spending and will account for 44% of
online ad spending in 2010. Share of the different search engine marketing ways are 51% on paid
search ads, 12% on search marketing agency fees for paid search, 6% on paid inclusion, 11% on
search marketing agency fees for optimization, 10% on contextual ads and 11% on other areas of
search marketing. ---- Forrester Research

According to a prediction, online advertising market will grow nearly $10 billion over the next
few years. Internet advertising will increase from $6.6 billion in 2003 to $16.1 billion in 2009.
---- Jupiter

Benefits

Submit Your Articles Where Tens of Thousands of Content-Hungry Ezine Publishers Feed!

NEW: We are an article marketing, publicity generating, pre-qualified traffic building, and
article exposure service designed to get your expert articles in front of our content-hungry ezine
publisher audience. Previously fee-based, we are testing a new ad-supported model. That means
there is no charge to use our service during this test period and all new accounts get (10) article
submissions to prove to us your level of article quality. If your first 10 article submissions meet
or exceed our posted editorial guidelines, we will review your membership account to be
upgraded to our PLATINUM level of membership -- that allows unlimited article submissions
and priority approval speed into our high-traffic website. Every article submission is human
reviewed by our in-house editorial team.
 13

What You Get For Sending In Your Best Quality Original Articles:

 Boosts Your Personal and Business Credibility:

Getting published in EzineArticles.com boosts your credibility and begins the trust cycle
with your readership. For many authors, being listed with EzineArticles.com is an
excellent way to get started, especially if you are a published author or hope to be
published soon. There is a book inside each of us waiting to come out.
 Builds Brand Equity & The Brand Called You:
Having your articles featured in EzineArticles.com builds brand equity for you, your
business, and your expertise. It begins or reinforces in your customers' and prospects'
minds what you can do for them.
 Surges in Traffic to Your Website Like No Other Site Can Deliver:
This is caused by the ezine publishers who come to our site throughout the year to pick
up quality articles for their email newsletter or website in addition to our end-user base of
millions of people who are looking to immediately benefit from your expertise. When
your articles get picked up for reprints, you will often get a surge of traffic as your
articles are introduced to their email list members or audience.
 Massive Exposure To The Hundreds of Thousands of Unique Visitors That Come To
EzineArticles.com Daily:
Your articles may be viewed by the (MILLIONS of visitors) that use our site every
month! We work very hard to deliver a positive, fast and end-user obsessed experience
that keeps our fan base returning for more.
 Receive Quality and Relevant Leads to Your Website:
People who read your articles and click on your link(s) found in your Resource Box at the
end of each of your articles are highly-qualified prospects by the very nature of how they
found your website.
 7-10 Times More Effective Than Regular Advertising:
You become known as the expert by your article and this endears potential customers to
you before they even visit your website. There is no better way to "pre-sell" your
prospects than article marketing.
 You've Got A Head-Start on The Reciprocation & Trust Cycle:
Your prospects are pre-sold as you have already begun the reciprocation cycle by giving
first, through your expertise in your articles. When they visit your site, your qualified
prospects will already know something about you and feel endeared to reciprocate, or at
least check out your products.
 Market Your Business With No Face-To-Face Selling:
Having your articles in EzineArticles.com allows them to pre-sell your ideal target
prospects without you having to make any cold calls or face-to-face sales appointments to
sell your products or services. It's not so much about making sales directly as it is
 14

qualified lead generation. We get the pre-qualified visitor to your website and then it's up
to you to convert or monetize those visitors.
 You May Receive Free Ads in Targeted Ezines:
Your author Resource Box at the end of the body of each of your articles acts as an
advertisement for your business. When ezine publishers come to our site to pick up and
reprint your articles to their newsletter base, you essentially get free ads in their
newsletter. The better quality you put in your article, the higher your chances are of
increased distribution by the ezine publishers who use our site to find quality content to
send to their thousands or perhaps even tens of thousands of permission-based members.
 To Be Recognized as an Expert Author:
When your articles are accepted in EzineArticles.com, you become recognized as an
Ezine Articles expert author. This adds prestige and perceived value by others when they
view your articles in our site.
 Editorial Integrity - Your Articles Share Expert Company:
Every single article submitted by the tens of thousands of expert authors who call our site
home for their articles have been reviewed by our human editors who double check each
article for quality (grammar, spelling, no dead links, etc). This ensures the company your
articles keep has integrity.
 Improve Your Sales: (even if you're only selling an "idea")
While this is not the only reason you should submit your articles to EzineArticles.com, it
is a great one. It does not matter if you are selling products, services, or an even an
"idea". EzineArticles.com can help improve your sales by bringing your business quality
traffic and leads via the links in your resource box below the body of your article. Article
visitors often turn into customers.
 Optimize The Promotional Mileage Out of Your Existing Article Archive:
If you have already produced a series of quality articles, why not submit them to our
expert community to get even more ROI from your efforts?
 Find Customers That You May Have Not Been Able To Reach Before:
Every article you submit to EzineArticles.com is like casting a wider net to reach new
customers and traffic that would have never found your articles or website before.
 Get Continual Traffic To Your Website For Many Years To Follow For Free:
In the majority of cases, your articles will be in EzineArticles.com for at least an initial
180 days (6 months); however, many ezine publishers and webmasters who pick up your
articles for reprints, including your resource box, will display your articles and links for
many years. This means surges of traffic this year and many random spikes and continual
traffic over the next decade. We have no intentions at this time to remove any articles
after the 180 guaranteed-inclusion days, but reserve the right to keep our site fresh by
removing articles that are no longer current.
 15

Top 9 Reasons Why You Should Submit Your Articles To EzineArticles.com Now:

1. Increase Your Product or Services' Sales - the bottom line justification to submit your
articles today!
2. You benefit from the last 7 years of credibility and trust building that we've done to
EzineArticles.com in the marketplace; Hundreds of thousands of unique visitors who
come to our site daily may be able to find your articles.
3. Ezine publishers pick up relevant articles from our site for publication in their niche
email newsletters and websites. You can only benefit from this if your articles are in our
site.
4. Build brand equity & exposure. You may even find yourself published in someone else's
book because of having your article found in our site!
5. You may also find new joint venture partners who are introduced to you via your articles
in our site.
6. Your articles join good company along with the other thousands of experts who share
your editorial integrity/quality.
7. Get traffic spikes over the coming months and a continual level of traffic for years to
your website -- all because your articles are listed in EzineArticles.com!
8. Your articles will be sent to our high traffic EzineArticles.com RSS Feed. RSS stands for
Really Simple Syndication and it makes it easy for ezine publishers and webmasters to
get immediate notification when your articles are added to our site.
9. Your articles will be sent to one of our over 400+ niche daily email alerts that notify our
permission-based email list members whenever new articles are available that match their
unique interest.

Insurance Advertising - Discover How Independent Insurance Agents Generate

Leads

Each day, more and more Insurance Agents are leaving the captive corporate world to venture
into the realm of independent insurance agent. Rather than being locked into selling one major
insurance carrier's branded product line, they opt to offer a larger variety of policies, services and
costs; coinciding with the demand of consumers wanting to have choices and options at
competitive prices.

As we are well aware, this is no longer a "seller's market", but an "informed buyer's". People, in
general, are armed with more information than ever before. So, how do you, the independent
insurance agent, stand out from the other 100's of agents in your city? What marketing avenues
are available to you so that you capture the prospective buyer's attention and convert them into a
prospect and ultimately a long-term client? And which ones work?
 16

Regardless of your target audience, whether you have inched your focus to be product specific,
or if you are targeting a certain population segment; you need to investigate the various forms of
advertising available to you, the costs of such programs and the pros and cons.

Below is a breakdown of the most commonly used forms of advertising for the independent
insurance agency, and the pros and cons of each.

Television Advertising

As the average American spends more time in front of the television, it should be no surprise that
this is one of the most sought after forms of marketing available.

Pros:

 Ability to reach a larger and more diverse segment of the insurance seeking population
 You can specify time of day and network, reaching your intended audience easier
 Since most consumers are engaged by a combination of movement, color, what they see and
what they hear, this gives most businesses a platform to achieve full sensory contact
 Gives a business instant credibility and prestige

Cons:

 Cost for the commercial air time and/or multiple runs

 Cost for hiring a marketing agency to lay-out and film your insurance commercial
 Consumer expectation - no longer are we impressed with someone reading off a teleprompt,
they want to be entertained
 Competition for the consumer's attention
 Popularity of digital recorders has increased, giving consumers the ability to fast-forward
through commercials when watching their favorite shows

Many experts would agree that if you have the extra capital in your marketing budget to
incorporate television into your advertising that you should. However, it is important that you
research different advertising firms to help you explore your options with regards to creating
your on-air advertisement, the best way to target your audience and keep within your planned
budget.
 17

Newspaper advertising and local weekly shoppers

With regards to print advertisements, some independent agents turn to local newspapers and
weekly shoppers to advertise their agencies. Since many households either subscribe to at least
one newspaper, or pick them up at their local newsstands, it is a fast and simple way to gain
recognition by consumers.

Pros:

 Ability to reach more than one target audience by placing various advertisements in the
different sections of a newspaper
 You have the choice of large or small circulation papers to advertise your insurance agency
 Consumers who turn to the newspapers and weekly shoppers are looking for advertisers who
offer deals or bargains
 Multiple advertisement ad sizes to correspond with various budgets

Cons:

 Newspapers and weekly shoppers are usually read once and discarded
 Smaller advertisements have a more difficult time standing out when placed next to a larger
ad
 Quality of the print may distort images and photos in a way that can hurt your marketing
rather than help
 Ads, regardless of size, have to compete for the reader's attention

Like television advertising, it would be prudent to consult with a professional marketing firm,
preferably one that specializes in insurance marketing, to help you design an advertisement that
best captures your targeted audience's attention. The smaller the ad space the less detailed and
complicated the ad should be.

Also keep in mind the days the most sought after papers and weekly shoppers are printed. The
rates for a large advertisement over the weekend will be greater than the same sized ad featured
all week long.

Billboards and Signs.

While most forms of outdoor advertising are contained within billboards and large signage, some
independent agencies have broadened the term to include park benches, posters and seat rails at
public transit stops. This form of marketing has become a popular, less costly way, when
compared with television and print advertising, to reach a larger audience in major metropolitan
areas.
 18

Pros:

 Potential clients cannot simply discard or "turn off" outdoor advertising

 Name recognition is higher with those consumers who walk or drive the same route each day

 Billboards and signs vary in price due to size and location making it is easier to find one in
your budget
Cons:
 More often than not, outdoor advertisements do not fully engage a consumer's attention for
more than a few seconds
 Advertisements have to be simple and interesting enough for the consumer to remember
 Outdoor advertisements are usually contracted for a longer period of time than most
independent agencies had anticipated securing them for
 Posters and bench signs at public transit stops work well in major metropolitan areas where
lower, middle and upper class alike share the same transportation systems, however, not as
effective in areas where public transportation is not as common
If you feel various forms of outdoor advertising would be a compliment to your business and
marketing plan, consider placement wisely. Consult many firms for input and advice on the best
way to stretch your marketing dollar and how they can help you create eye-catching and simple
designs for your sign.

Internet Advertising.

Roughly 90% of all the households across the United States have access to the internet either at
home, at work or at school; making advertising on the internet the fastest growing marketing
medium for independent insurance agents. That household percentage goes even higher for those
families with a combined income of $100k or more. However, internet advertising gaining its
strength only in the last decade or so, there is still a lot an independent agent would need to
research, as with any form of advertising, before making a financial commitment.

Pros:

 Cost- you can spend much or as little as your budget allows

 Levels the playing field - the internet gives the independent agent a chance to compete with
the large insurance carriers with regards to search engine placement
 Whether a web site, a PDF brochure, an affiliated network or a video; any and all forms of
advertising can be featured and found on the internet
 Advertisement exposure is voluntary. Only the websites relevant to a consumer's online
search will pull up for them to look at. Someone searching for insurance agents in their area are
more often than not, looking for an agent to speak with
 19

Cons:

 People expect to be educated or informed by an agent's personal website - having out-dated

information or poor graphics can actually hurt your credibility .

 The ever changing internet - each of the major search engines change what they search for on
websites constantly with regards to how well they rank. Staying on top of these changes can be
very time consuming or expensive if you pay a firm to do this for you.
 Fear of identity theft - consumers are becoming skeptical of entering their personal contact
information online for fear they will have their personal information stolen or sold to
telemarketing companies and be subject to unwanted emails or phone calls

There are so many options and services available to the independent insurance agent to
effectively market themselves and attract more leads. The form of advertising you choose will
depend largely on the audience you intend to target, the area in which you do business, and
ultimately your budget. Be sure to ask questions. Know what you are getting and what you are
not with whatever forms of marketing you decide to use.

The 2009 Thumbnail Media Planner.

A Buyer's Market
The Opportunity: Because of reduced 2009 ad budgets and the weakened economy, 2009 will be
a strong buyers market for some media, but not for others.  The 2009 Thumbnail Media Planner
includes our exclusive media market outlook and pricing forecasts for each major national and
local advertising medium.

New Features Added in '09

Because of the future growth of online video, social media, and mobile phone advertising, we
have added special updates for you.

We Synthesize the Important Media Data for You

Every year we research and synthesize the most important media information for you--trends,
costs & more--for all major media.

Population and Marketing statistics.

 Audience information for all media.

 Media cost estimates for all media.
 Research & issues when you need to know.
 Market by market planning resources.
 20

Advertising Costs & Media Data.

The 2009 Thumbnail Media Planner provides information

and rates for all major national and local media, including
the Top 100 Markets. Some examples:

Includes...
< Market Research: Population trends, market sizes, marketing and ad spending, efficiency
benchmarks
< Television Advertising: Network, spot, cable television trends, including 2009 costs (CPP)
< Radio Advertising: Network and spot radio trends, including 2009 costs (CPP)
< Magazine Advertising: Data and page costs for over 70 top magazines in 17 categories
< Newspaper Advertising: Information and cost benchmarks
< Internet advertising: Trends and cost estimators for online advertising
< Direct marketing: Direct mail cost estimator and results benchmarks
< New Media: Dozens of Non Traditional Media “ideas”
< Local Market Advertising: Top 100 Market Planner, including population and average media
costs by
market for spot television, cable radio, newspapers and out of home media
< Advertising Research: Heads up findings on latest media effectiveness studies & much more!

Reap the Benefits of Thumbnail Planning

We call it a Thumbnail Media Planner because that’s what it is: a “short cut” planning tool
created
by a big agency media director to help you quickly do exploratory plans, quickly evaluate
alternatives and
new ideas, save time by discarding impractical ideas without zillions of hours of staff work,
immediately
answer many questions in meetings, and much more. Intelligent use of the Planner can save you
and
your staff tons of time while improving the quality of your work.

Fast Media Facts at your fingertips!

The Thumbnail Media Planner ™ was created to solve the problem of how to save time when
deciding on a media plan. In an effort to make the job of Marketing Directors, entrepreneurs and
agency personnel easier, we at 2020 Marketing Communications have created a media planning
reference that is essential and easy to work with. In fact, ours is the ONLY reference of its kind
on the market!
Our combined experience in advertising has demonstrated to us that a media plan should reflect
the best use of the client’s marketing budget whenever possible. Media buying requires up to
date knowledge and understanding of cyclical and diverging trends. The Thumbnail Media
 21

Planner ™ can be used to create a media plan on the fly as a rough sketch for feasibility, in
meetings or on the way to a meeting, in the hotel, on the plane, or even in the taxi! It’s a great
way to double-check or explore new options while saving time and effort.

Regardless of the industry, media buying is both a science and an art. Knowing how to apply
current data and trends to current opportunities is a must. A media plan shouldn’t be an endless
dead end street, but be doable in minutes, and then pursued if found profitable. Sketch a rough
“Thumbnail” media plan in just minutes instead of hours!

A media plan that takes into account ALL the various media planning factors is going to be more
effective and comprehensive than one that does not. Media buying that does not take make use of
the best scenario media plan out of several will usually fail. Media planning requires several
sketches to arrive at a winning scenario. The Thumbnail Media Planner gives you the right tool
to make quick sketches and move more quickly and easily to the next stage.
SPECIAL PROMOTIONAL PRICE: $69.95 for a limited time only! Volume discounts
available!

Bibliography.

http://www.directtruckinsurance.com.

http://www.eziearticles.com

http://www.coverneinsurance.com

http://www.directtruckinsurance.com

http://www.6izzle.com/author.asp?author=11807

http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~tafline/rhe.html