When you think about Go.Compare, you probably start singing ‘that’ jingle unintentionally. You may picture Gio Compario, the face of Go.Compare’s advertising for over a decade, even if you don’t know his name. And in all honesty, you’re probably a bit irritated by the earworm that’s now stuck in your head. (Sorry, not sorry.)
For years, Go.Compare didn’t really mind irritating people given the exceptional brand recall, which has made it one of the UK’s most iconic advertising campaigns of all time.
Industry expert Danny Denhard says the campaign is deliberately annoying so that it sticks in your mind and provokes a reaction, while marketing guru Harry Lang believes: “Gio Compario probably tops the list of the ad characters most people would like to see euthanised”.
“However, the longevity of the campaign and consistency of the jingle means most adult car owners can sing it in their dreams/nightmares,” he adds.
But when things changed over lockdown due to filming restrictions, media and marketing agency Hearts & Science noticed a distinct change in the public mood…
Go.Compare director of brand and campaigns Paul Rogers, along with Hearts & Science client partner Michele Cameron, explains exactly how the agency jumped on the opportunity, ultimately driving double-digit increases in positive brand image and taking the campaign ‘beyond advertising’.
The Go.Compare Opportunity
During 2020, due to lockdown (and filming) restrictions, Wynne Evans (the real actor behind Gio) started appearing alongside his Italian alter ego in Go.Compare’s TV adverts. During this time, we spotted some positive upticks in perceptions of the brand and the relationship between the two seemed to make the British public warm to Gio’s character.
Then, in 2021 Hearts & Science and creative agency DRUM ran a hugely successful partnership with Family Fortunes, taking the relationship between Wynne and Gio even further to increase likeability and purchase intent.
And when the brand decided to change its name and URL from Gocompare.com to Go.Compare, our challenge was to bring about double-digit increases in positive brand image for the future with five times less media spend. We knew exactly where to start…
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The Voice of Choice
The goal of our big idea was to take Wynne and Gio’s camaraderie mainstream to tell a richer and more culturally engaging story that would accelerate Gio’s likability in the British public’s eyes, leaving them with a feeling of ‘buongiorno a te’ opposed to ‘con te partirò!
So we brokered the brand’s sponsorship of The Voice UK and created ‘The Voice of Choice’ campaign. The talent show was a perfect fit as it not only communicated the brand changes at scale, but was a natural home for an all-singing, all-dancing double act between Gio Compario and Wynne Evans.
The operatic duo took to The Voice’s instantly recognisable spinning chairs with the aim of finding a diamond in the rough who was just as passionate about singing – and presumably insurance – as they were to become the third act for an operatic trio.
Wynne and Gio took up contestant ‘Dot’ and performed alongside her in the final act. Dot was to follow a journey in the idents that mimicked the path of a contestant, from audition rounds, coaches’ mentoring stages, to the final itself. The strategy behind this was to keep audiences entertained without the usual fatigue viewers experience with typical programme sponsored idents.
The sponsorship was promoted across owned brand channels and ITV social channels with bespoke content on TikTok featuring Dot, Wynne and Gio as well as ads running across VOD. Hearts also produced a three-minute branded content film, The Wynners Story, in a mockumentary style.
This told the full story of ‘The Voice of Choice’ vocal competition itself with behind-the-scenes clips and character profiles. It aired on social channels and YouTube to compliment the sponsorship and then to wrap up the campaign.
So, did everybody Go.Compare?
The sponsorship made a significant contribution to driving awareness surrounding the name change (62% viewers vs. 24% non-viewers). Market research company Savanta said this was: “well beyond that which other marcomms might have achieved”.
Exposure to the sponsorship has led to a considerably enhanced brand image; with likeability at +13pp, advocacy +18pp and different all increasing markedly and irritating decreasing -7pp. It also led to an increase in future consideration to the same level as the market leader.
“This was a bold and innovative step for Go.Compare,” said director of brand Paul Rogers.
“We could have used standard TV adverts to announce the rebrand but this was a bold and stimulating idea. What is brilliant, is how the sponsorship was taken beyond advertising into something more engaging and effective as we continue to evolve our media approach.”
