What They Were Up Against.
Over many years, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota earned the position as the preferred Medicare health insurance option in Minnesota, amassing a 50% market share. But for the first time, the state legislature gave for-profit health plan giants like Aetna, Humana and UnitedHealthcare the opportunity to penetrate the market, creating a new competitive threat. Meanwhile, the federal government terminated support for many of our client’s most popular Medicare plans, forcing 300,000 seniors to change their health plans. As the enrollment window neared, BCBS-MN asked Yamamoto to strengthen their marketing to break through a commodity perception through a complementary initiative focused on opportunities for seniors to live active, healthy lives.
What We Did To Help.
We identified the MN Senior Games as the perfect platform. During the Games, we documented the performance of six athletes ages 54–89. This resulted in TV spots, web videos, social content, print ads and a 30-minute film. We executed posters for a Twin Cities Nice Ride bike sponsorship and negotiated a six-year exclusive title sponsorship with the MN Senior Games.
Video
What happened next.
In the face of challenging market and competitive conditions, Medicare enrollment numbers were strong, both for retention and new member acquisition. Also, despite limited time in-market, a Voice of the Customer research study showed the You & Blue campaign drove exceptionally high brand recall, with unsurpassed brand attribution (83% correct), which was 3x more than all others in the marketplace. The campaign had the strongest effect on encouraging members to consider coverage compared with the campaigns of all local and national competitors (performing at the top of 35 U.S. campaigns). The campaign was also awarded Gold in the General-Insurance category and Bronze in the Branded Content General-Documentary categories at the 2019 Telly awards.