How NRMA Insurance Reinvented Itself with a Helpful New Identity
In collaboration with Accenture Song, NRMA Insurance has unveiled a fresh positioning as ‘A Help Company.’ This new direction aims to honour its century-long heritage, while striving to enhance customer experiences through a comprehensive multi-channel campaign.
The initiative introduces a revamped visual identity, and features a TVC that includes a Beatles cover by The Murlocs and debuted during Nine’s coverage of the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Speaking to LBB, chief customer and marketing officer at IAG Michelle Klein shared how this new positioning builds on nearly 100 years of heritage. She also highlighted NRMA’s strategic partnership with Nine for the Paris 2024 Games.
Her insights shed light on how NRMA Insurance is transforming to meet contemporary challenges while upholding its longstanding commitment to support and simplicity.
LBB> What inspired NRMA Insurance to adopt the new positioning of A Help Company, and how does it build on its nearly 100-year heritage?
Michelle> Help has been at the heart of NRMA Insurance since it was established in 1925, providing motor insurance policies to some of the first drivers in New South Wales. Since then, we have grown to become a national brand and have helped millions of people protect their cars, homes, and businesses. Help is in our DNA and what every person across the business strives to do every day.
Our goal in launching NRMA Insurance as A Help Company is to take that help to the next level. As we approach our 100th anniversary, Australians are facing new challenges, and we know from our customers they expect businesses they interact with to do more to proactively address their needs and support their communities. Establishing ourselves as A Help Company is a bold declaration of how we will deliver for our customers now and into the future through the insurance we provide and how we help communities through our education, social impact and advocacy initiatives.
LBB> Can you elaborate on the critical elements of the new visual identity and how it differentiates NRMA Insurance from its competitors?
Michelle> Life is busy, and insurance can sometimes feel complicated. Simplicity is at the centre of our new visual identity, and the clever and consistent use of iconography is an important part of this. Our iconic NRMA Insurance blue remains, but it’s now complemented by a secondary colour palette inspired by the Australian landscape, which adds warmth and modernity.
LBB> How does the campaign's partnership with Nine’s coverage of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024 enhance its reach and impact?
Michelle> This is the first time in history that NRMA Insurance has supported a network’s Olympic and Paralympic Games broadcast. The event is universally loved by people around the world, and it’s our honour to partner with Nine’s coverage, helping to bring the broadcast to Australians nationwide. Nine anticipates their coverage will reach 98% of Australians, and we are leveraging their entire media ecosystem. This was the ideal platform for our trusted Australian brand to connect with audiences nationwide.
LBB> What challenges did you face in integrating the concept of A Help Company into all customer touchpoints?
Michelle> This was a significant undertaking in a relatively short timeframe, but that’s the power of a strong company-wide proposition that our people believe in and have galvanised around. Engaging with teams across the business from the very beginning was essential, and that enabled truly cross-functional collaboration and delivery. It is also a testament to our partner Accenture Song, who has the breadth of capability, from creative to digital to customer experience, as well as agility and speed to bring a concept to market.
LBB> How do you measure the success of the new positioning and the campaign’s effectiveness in achieving its goals?
Michelle> We’ve been helping Australians for almost 100 years. According to Roy Morgan, we’re Australia’s most trusted insurance brand, and Brand Finance ranks us as the world’s fastest-growing insurance brand. We want to ensure we maintain that leadership position, so we’re really thinking about brand metrics around that. Our north star is to deliver a superior customer experience.
LBB> Can you provide insights into the creative process behind the new TVC directed by Sanjay De Silva and the choice of The Murlocs’ cover of ‘Help!’?
Michelle> The TVC launches a new era for NRMA Insurance as A Help Company by asking a single question: What would A Help Company do? It’s a simple but profoundly relevant concept.
Being A Help Company is more than marketing. It means taking action to educate and advocate for our customers at scale. Still, it’s also about brilliantly delivering the basics, and that’s what we wanted to capture through this first creative campaign.
People are seeking simple communication that tells them what they need to know. Through the creative, we’ve sought to find that perfect balance between utility and empathy, and we know from our testing so far that it is resonating with consumers.
The song choice is important. It’s highly recognisable and memorable. Importantly, it has a clear message that aligns with our proposition perfectly: “I need somebody. Help. Not just anybody. Help.”
LBB> How will you introduce new experiences, such as the Policy Snapshot and exploring new technology to assist customers?
Michelle> As an insurer, we’re here to help our customers when the worst happens. Still, as A Help Company, we also want to go beyond that to actively solve problems for our customers and communities and help people minimise risks before they occur. Checking your roof can help identify and prevent damage further down the line, but roofs aren’t easily accessible. That’s why we’re exploring new technology that can assist customers with these kinds of tasks.
LBB> What role does the Help Nation initiative play in the campaign, and how does it aim to address the increased risk of extreme weather events?
Michelle> Extreme weather is becoming more frequent and severe. Being prepared means households and communities can better respond and recover when events occur. Yet our research shows that nearly one in three Australians does not have a good understanding of extreme weather risks in their local area, and nearly one in two do not know what steps to take to prepare for an extreme weather emergency.
That’s why we created Help Nation - an initiative to help educate Australians about their local weather risks and how to prepare for extreme weather. To help us do this, we have proudly partnered with the Australian Red Cross, Lifeline Australia and South Australian SES. We are working with our partners to provide practical help to communities, including expanding Australian Red Cross EmergencyRedi workshops and hosting more than 2,000 workshops over three years in communities across Australia. Help Nation is another demonstration of what A Help Company would do.
LBB> How does the collaboration with Accenture Song contribute to the overall strategy and execution of the A Help Company positioning?
Michelle> We partnered with Accenture Song to reimagine the end-to-end customer experience. That’s what A Help Company is. It’s not a creative campaign. It’s a company-wide proposition that lives in every customer touchpoint. Help is our whole business. Our partnership with Accenture Song has enabled us to deliver this, capitalising on their broad capabilities with an integrated cross-discipline model across marketing, customer experience, digital, design and communication. It also involves a cross-border team of Accenture Song’s best global and local talent, many of which are Australian and have a deep affiliation with the NRMA Insurance brand, including Accenture Song CEO David Droga.
LBB> What are some plans for NRMA Insurance to continue evolving its customer experience and maintaining its promise as A Help Company?
Michelle> The new positioning highlights the ways NRMA Insurance helps its customers through its core products and services as well as its education, social impact and advocacy initiatives to create safer communities. The experiences and initiatives we introduce will always start with the customer and what problems they need solving. The question – What would A Help Company do? – will be our guiding principle.
