Despite declining ad awareness purchase consideration holds steady for GEICO and Progressive

Ted MarzilliCEO YouGov Direct
August 10, 2015, 1:35 AM GMT+0

Consumers might be paying less attention to the Gecko and Flo ad campaigns, but it does not seem to be deterring consumers from wanting to do business with their respective parent companies, GEICO and Progressive.

Since July 2013, both GEICO and Progressive Insurance have seen their advertising awareness steadily decrease among consumers likely to buy insurance over the next year.

Yet, despite a clear decline in long-term ad awareness, business seems to remain unchanged in two of YouGov BrandIndex's key revenue-oriented metrics. Scores in both Purchase Consideration and Current Customer have been holding steady during that time. Purchase Consideration measures the percentage of consumers who would consider a brand the next time they are purchasing insurance. Current Customer measures the percentage of consumers who currently have a policy with the brand.

It’s worth noting that GEICO recently began airing its first four TV spots made by Atlanta agency IQ.

Insurance Measurements By The Numbers

In July 2013, 67% of potential insurance customers said they were aware of GEICO ads over the past two weeks – by August 2015, that percentage had dipped to 50%. Over the same time frame, Progressive started with a 56% ad awareness, and are currently at 47%.

Both brands still score more than double the broader property and casualty insurance sector, which shows a more modest decline in ad awareness.

However, diminishing ad awareness has not meant a corresponding impact on purchase consideration or current customer levels. GEICO has held steady over the past 2 ½ years with 18% of potential insurance customers considering buying from them, while Progressive shows an uptick from 16% to 17%.

GEICO's Current Customers score is flat with 10% being current insurance holders with them, while Progressive has increased from 8% to 9% over the past 30 months.

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