| Blue Shield of California
2007 ReBrand 100 Winners > distinction
Industry: Health Insurance - Below: Before Images, Rebrand Images, Summary, Credits
Summary:
Industry Setting - The health insurance industry is not highly trusted by consumers, faring just slightly better on this measure than tobacco and oil. At the same time, costs are continually rising, the industry is heavily regulated, and consumers are frequently frustrated when dealing with their health insurance. Most health insurance companies act, look and speak in similar ways; differentiation is low.
Challenge - In California, customers are confused about the difference between Blue Shield and Blue Cross – competitors that, in other states, are usually a single company. They have high awareness of Blue Shield but don’t perceive it to own any specific “attributes” that really matter to them. Additionally, Blue Shield did not conduct any corporate advertising for a period of several years, at a time when its competitors were increasing their spend.
Strategy - Blue Shield did extensive research to understand what matters to its key audiences, and began a journey to take the hassle out of health insurance. The company understood that the changes it needed to make wouldn't happen overnight, but also knew that immediate steps would be necessary to start making things easier for its customers. Part of this effort included learning to communicate in a whole new way.
Whereas the old corporate identity literally had fine print built into its signature, the
new identity system is designed to convey a greater degree of ease, friendliness and innovation that would appeal to audiences tired of expensive bureaucracy. A key part of the new identity system is the Iconic Phrase, a system element that dials up the presence of the shield in communications.
A brand identity sometimes gets limited play in advertising, thus creating a missed opportunity to strengthen the brand as completely as possible through its biggest footprint. This playful and distinctive mode of expression uses the shield icon as a natural part of speech, and lends itself well to advertising across media.
Result - Three months after launching, unaided brand awareness in the California market improved by six points. The new identity and advertising also inspired a significant investment in advertising for the first time in over 5 years, and served to rally the entire company behind the new brand, inspiring Blue Shield’s first-ever all-employee event.
Credits:
Client: Blue Shield of California - www.blueshieldca.com
Brand Strategist/Designer: Internal Blue Shield of California Marketing Team - www.blueshieldca.com
Strategy: Doug Biehn, Kimball Wilkins
Creative Director: Matteo Vianello
Art Director: Dolly Chen
Designers: Silvia Illingworth, Matthew Oscar
Writer: Katelyn Bottoms
Implementation: Layne Moon, Karen Clark
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