Cornhill Direct runs search and social campaign

The ‘Household Economy’ campaign aims to build the Cornhill Direct brand online and is based on an audit of online behaviour around the Cornhill Direct brand, the insurance sector and its customers.   

The initial phase of the campaign used iCrossing’s proprietary measurement tools - Linguistic Profiling and NetworkSense Mapping and Monitoring - to run an analysis on the behaviour and language customers use when searching for insurance and related products throughout the purchase cycle. 

These networks, or links, of people and content where insurance-related products are discussed online were further interrogated through a social media audit. 

These customer insights informed the online strategy designed to drive awareness of, and engagement with, the Cornhill Direct brand. 

The core strategy revolves around a ‘family friendly’ ethos, expressed via a study on the ‘Household Economy’. iCrossing developed content that featured contributions from popular financial expert Jasmine Birtles. This was complemented with a series of useful tools and guides, including an e-book guide to home insurance and a website widget enabling users to calculate their ‘household economy’. 

The widget helps users place a financial value on activities within the home – for example the hidden cost of housework or cleaning the car.

The content will be hosted on both the Cornhill Direct site and seeded to relevant off-site social communities. This strategy ensures that users experience the Cornhill Direct brand throughout their online journey. This also attracts ethical links for SEO benefits. 

Julian Ireland, Strategic Partner, iCrossing, said: “Brands in general now need to show a new determination in order to engage effectively with their customers.   It’s about understanding your customer, and, in the context of marketing, realising they actively participate, not just passively consume! At iCrossing, we understand how consumers navigate and engage in conversation with financial brands on the web. It’s this approach that forms the heart of the strategy for Cornhill Direct – one that achieves brand impact and SEO value via links.”

Sharon Kellett, Direct Marketing Manager, Cornhill Direct, said: “It’s easy to buy keywords, it’s much harder to become part of online conversations and to really connect to the online networks that influence purchase. The research phase of this campaign has given us a new level of insight into how our consumer’s behave online – the language that they use and the places that they go.  Using that insight, iCrossing has created a campaign that speaks to our customers and how they behave, not how we want them to behave, and that’s how we believe we can really connect as a brand with our online audiences.”