Who: Sonnet Insurance, with Mackie Biernacki for strategy and creative; OPC for production (directed by Max Sherman); Saints Editorial, Alter Ego and Fort York for post-production; Grayson for sound, and Ocean Media for the TV buy, with online and social handled in-house.
What: “Adulting Made Simple,” a new platform for the online insurance brand that humorously reminds consumers that, in a world full of small tasks and responsibilities, Sonnet makes getting insurance easy.
When & Where: The campaign is live now, running on broadcast, as online and social video along with other social content. One 30- and 15-second spot is in market already, with another to follow.
Why: Sonnet’s brand positioning is about helping consumers figure out their home and auto insurance quickly and easily. The company believes that its simplified offering will appeal to consumers who often already feel overwhelmed by the daily pressures of adult life, compounded by rising prices and inflation.
“For today’s 30- and 40-somethings, the realities of adulthood can seem daunting,” said Ashley Ritchie, Sonnet’s director of marketing. “All at once, they’re hit with juggling careers, raising kids, financial pressures, home ownership surprises, and much more. Adulthood can be, in a word, overwhelming.”
And while Sonnet can’t fix everything for consumers, it wants them to know that at least it can help them buy insurance quickly and easily. “The popular social media meme ‘I don’t feel like adulting today’ resonated with us as we thought about the mindset of our core target,” said Ritchie.
How: Sonnet has emphasized its speed and ease of use in the past, including in campaigns built around its partnership with the NHLPA. The creative approach used humour but (if we’re being honest) it was mostly for dad jokes, whereas the new campaign from Mackie Biernacki uses more modern humour (including jokes about dad).
“We’ve matured alongside the audience we’re trying to attract, and with this campaign, we’re taking our creative to the next level of adulthood for the brand,” said Ritchie. “With this campaign, we wanted to be modern, simple, and relevant by taking a back-to-basics approach that lets our product shine through.”
The campaign launched with a 30-second anchor ad that opens on a woman explaining that Dale just realized that “adulting can be an eternal struggle.” Dale is an early middle-aged man who’s slumped over his car, despondent because he can’t find the latch to open the hood, but unwilling to call his dad for help.
As he starts to spiral, the woman interrupts to help him “adult the easy” way with Sonnet insurance, and provides a quick overview of key features—get coverage online in minutes and 24/7 support after you buy.
“So I won’t have to call my dad for this,” says an interested Dale.
“Buying insurance is such an adulting moment that this concept was completely understood by everyone who touched it,” said Steph Mackie, founding partner and CCO at Mackie Biernacki.
New agency, new approach: Mackie Biernacki has been AOR for Sonnet parent company Definity since early this year.
“We decided a fresh approach was needed to speak to our target customers and brought in Mackie Biernacki as a new set of eyes to help shape the evolution of the brand,” said Ritchie. “When the [campaign] concept was first presented, there was an immediate reaction with everyone in the room sharing our own adulting experiences,” she said. “Whether you’re a rookie or a pro to adulting, everyone can relate.”
