All insurance companies are less or more the same, right?
They sell insurance, after all. But look a bit closer and that’s where the similarities end. Stands to reason.
Indeed, NFU Mutual stand apart. For well over a century now, they’ve insured the farmers of Great Britain and have been part of the fabric of rural life, at the heart of many of our rural communities. Today, they’re an award-winning, multi-million pound insurance and financial services organisation. And one without shareholders (the Mutual bit).They exist for the benefit of their members. Attentive, local service is their hallmark and they do it like no one else. Small wonder they recently picked up the the prestigious Which? Award for Best Insurance Services Provider 2015 — and for the second year in a row.
As a longstanding www.thirtythree.co.uk client, we worked with them on a campaign to attract and recruit people to work in Claims and Underwriting in their regional centres of excellence in Bristol and York. Two quite different markets with very different recruitment problems. Saturated Bristol, ‘Who’s NFU Mutual?’ in York. One office in the city centre, the other on the harder-to-reach-if-you-don’t-have-a-car outskirts.
Following desk-based and on-the-ground research, and some sterling work from our Brand and Insight team, we had a clear idea about what we needed to do and, thank you Adam Lane, a strong brief.
The thinking
Focus groups with existing Bristol and York employees showed us that people came to work with NFU Mutual for many different reasons. There wasn’t one thing that NFU Mutual did particularly well; there were many. How they live and breathe their values, the time people were given to do a great job, the offices themselves, the training, development and career progression, even the fact that they run yoga classes and dance lessons at lunchtime — and have a regular supply of fresh fruit in the office.
We also knew that we were going to be talking to a very broad audience, from school leavers to experienced senior underwriters. So we needed one big idea that we could translate into lots of little ideas. An idea that gave us consistency while allowing us real flexibility — and be bang-on NFU Mutual brand. Brutal simplicity of thought, that’s the key here.
Less, More
It came down to this: You get more from work with NFU Mutual. A lot more. But we wanted to show what that More meant and give it context — for our audience and in relation to other employers in the two cities. Hence Less THAT, More THIS. Like:
We can be serious and playful. We can clearly and quickly highlight NFU Mutual’s strengths. We can talk to students and graduates, second jobbers and senior, experienced underwriters. We can do lots with it — across all media.
What did we do with it?
Plenty. Starting with www.GetMoreFromWork.co.uk. The website’s home to everything you could ever wish to know: about NFU Mutual, the jobs, the people who work there, the rewards and the locations. And, of course, you can apply, quickly and simply. It’s a beautiful thing, especially on mobile.
More: The films
2 days of filming, 4 NFU Mutual employees, 112 props, 1 friendly cow called Daisy (I kid you not), 5 films — for social media and the website.
From chattering teeth toys and dancing flowers to…
…we used our people and props (and some very lovely art direction) to show what getting more from work actually means.
(Yes, there’s a story to the above. At their head office at Stratford-upon-Avon, NFU Mutual — in support of their charity of the year, Guide Dogs — is attempting to break the record for most people in one place dressed as dogs. As you do.)
And here we have the results of everyone’s hard work. Five x 30 sec films. Each a snapshot of some of the things that make NFU Mutual a great place to work.
And finally:
We’re also on the streets, in the papers and all over the airwaves.
It’s been a great campaign to work on, for a fantastic client. Don’t forget to take a look at the website (and please share it if you know someone who’s looking to get more out of work).