Retro-Theme Marketing, a Fun Approach to Motivation and Sales

Now that the new year has settled down into just “the year,” it’s a great time to inspire growth-driven agency action. But, touting what you offer the same way, year after year, can be downright dismal for everyone involved. Sure, the use of social media can generate fresh interest, but if you employ it simply to digitize what you already do, the enthusiasm it engenders is minimal. So instead of randomly tweeting and posting photos, develop theme-marketing campaigns that motivate your people and prospects. Here’s one fun example.

Go Retro

Retro is something that charms everyone. Young people see retro objects and images as kitsch, while boomers view them with nostalgia. This makes it an ideal insurance marketing theme with universal appeal. Inherent in it is the promise of classic service, promulgated via modern marketing.

Younger Prospects

Use social media to attract young insurance prospects. Display cool, stylized images of interesting “old stuff.” For instance, send tweets with photos of outdated devices that say something like “Is your [auto] insurance protection as outdated as this rotary dial phone? Get up-to-date at a great price. [Phone number] [Landing page URL].” Follow-up with images of an ancient TV, a manual typewriter, a classic car, etc. Employ variations of this approach on additional social media.

Baby Boomers

There are 72 million U.S. baby boomers, all of whom are old enough to recall the everyday objects of bygone decades. Feature more than images of stuff; also display photos of 1950s families on picnics, in and about their cars, etc., to evoke warm feelings for the past. Build them into “Time Capsule” campaigns that contrast the relatively modest insurance limits of the past to the much higher numbers of today. Use your website, social media, email, and direct mail to distribute such marketing messages.

Further Promos

Bring long-established commercial insureds into the picture. Co-sponsor a “retro day” with them where the prices they charge for a selected product or service is the same as it was in the year they were founded. For instance, a plumber charges a 1950 hourly rate of [$5] to fix a simple clogged drain.

Another approach is to offer small, retro items with every auto or home quote. Potential giveaways might include toy models of old cars, old-time candy bars, rotary dial smartphone apps, gift certificates to a local ’50s theme diner, tickets to old car shows, etc. All promos are subject to insurance regulations.

Staff Participation

Motivation is needed throughout the calendar to encourage agency employees to meet established sales goals. Success depends on the people involved, realistic expectations, and making the process pleasant for the seller as well as the buyer. A well-considered retro marketing campaign, conducted over multiple months, is entertaining for all.

Involve the entire agency by encouraging employees to find old family photos, old toys, old product packaging, old insurance company giveaways and more. (Tip: Old is relative, so declare a minimum age for stuff to avoid hurt feelings.) Photograph these objects to bond employees to the concept, instead of just purchasing stock photos.

Feature your campaign images, formatted in classic retro style (using photo filter software), on your website, Facebook wall, Pinterest pinboard, YouTube videos, and tweets. Display them in your emails, direct mail pieces, in-office posters, and more.

Keep staffers excited for the duration of the campaign with such agency events as a 1950s sci-fi film hosted in your conference room during lunch (popcorn provided), a ’60s dress-up day, break-time assembly of a retro jigsaw puzzle, and more.