GEICOween 2.0

The Overview: 

With the holiday season being the main attraction for many companies, GEICO's goal was to get ahead of the conversation by becoming the only insurance brand to dominate Halloween season. The ultimate goal is to gain consumer attention and engagement that will drive consideration and inquiries in an otherwise slow month for insurance shopping.

The Challenge: 

One of the challenges we faced in 2020 was celebrating Halloween while being mindful of the country's current state during COVID -19. It was essential to avoid creative reminders about the death of loved ones or ignite phobias like Wiccaphobia or Arachnophobia.

Research: 

Based on research and feedback from 2019, the direction for 2020 was to make GEICOween more cohesive throughout digital, OOH, print, direct mail, social, and product lines so that customers would quickly recognize the GEICO brand. The tone we chose to focus on is reliable, excitement, and humorous, but not silly. In keeping with the whimsical spirit, GEICO can be fun while remaining a responsible insurer and the industry leader for significant savings, expertise, and quality customer service. 

The Solution:

After brainstorming, reviewing research, and data from 2019s GEICOween, we ended up with three strong concepts. One was based on the idea of scary campfire stories; another centered around witches/wizards/magic which aligns with our witch commercial, and the last vision the team pitched was the poltergeist/ the ring - a scary take on the constant binge-watching our customers enjoyed during 2020. Ultimately, the witches/wizard concept was selected as the best choice because it seamlessly aligns with our commercial placement. Having elements of the Gecko stirring up a potion/brew had a relatable take on the increase in cooking/baking our customers were doing while at home.

The Result:

• Social: The GEICO channel during GEICOween impressively stood out-by taking top spots in our weekly industry-wide competitive social media updates.

• GEICOween 2019 Organic Engagement Rate: 4.28%
  GEICOween 2020 Organic Engagement Rate 23.33%
  2019 Organic Engagements 4,315
  2020 Organic Engagements 27,098

• The mosaic social creative resonated with audiences due to the running storyline and carousel images with each post; they received a large amount of feedback and praise from the audience.

• GEICOween 350 billboards featured 43 markets with 23 states with a 23% impressions increase.

• GEICOween sponsorship with Meredith on their Martha Stewart magazine and we had 100% share voice. We had an 80% VCR on pre-roll and 13% over the delivery of impressions.

• Our Snapchat filters had a share rate of 8.62%

The TEam

Creative Director: De Lisa Patterson
Designers: Kelly X, Kellie W, Matt P.
Copywriter: Lauren T.