INVESTIGATE
Our challenge was to overcome people’s prejudices towards health insurers (“parasitic, bureaucratic and corporate”) and make Blue Shield of California a relevant, recognized, and, more importantly, likeable brand. Oh, and we had to do it with a budget that was just one-fifth the size of their main competitor.

INSIGHT
Unlike competitors' attempts to gloss over consumers' frustration with paying more as their experiences worsened, we chose to acknowledge these realities and show customers we understood what they were going through, while committing to make improvements.

IDEA
To demonstrate a genuine commitment to listening, we set up a "Chat Box," a mobile video recording booth in major California cities to let consumers share their experiences in their own words. These stories of backless hospital gowns, and confusion between codes for tonsil removal and circumcision are featured on a microsite and provided fodder for humorous TV spots.

IMPACT
Despite being massively outspent by competitors, brand awareness of Blue Shield has increased 57% and important image attributes like "easy to work with" have helped grow purchase intent.