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This week, we explore contrarian marketing moves with Tory Pachis, SVP of Marketing at Amica Insurance. From embracing longer ads to removing price from messaging, hear how going against the grain can drive growth.
—Elena
Longer ads can still hold attention.
One of Amica's most successful campaigns was a four-minute story about life insurance. Despite conventional wisdom about short attention spans, viewers watched from start to finish. The key? Emotional storytelling that resonates.
You can break through without breaking the bank.
Building brand awareness isn't easy. Three years ago, Amica Insurance’s unaided awareness sat at 3%. But rather than follow the insurance category's typical playbook of mascots and humor, they chose a different path.
Here's what worked.
- Start with data. Amica's first move was measuring brand health. Understanding their starting point helped create urgency with leadership and make the case for investing in brand.
- Find your white space. While competitors focused on price and humor, Amica discovered their differentiator—empathy—while listening to real customer service calls. And instead of making the brand the focal point, Amica positioned itself as the guide helping customers solve problems.
- Invest differently. Beyond just placing their logo on Celtics jerseys, Amica committed $2.5 million to build early education centers in New England—making their high-profile sports partnership also about community impact.
- Balance brand and demand. When Amica invested in TV brand campaigns, their paid search became more efficient. Branded searches replaced expensive generic keywords like "auto insurance."
- Double down to stand out. When industry challenges led competitors to cut marketing, Amica increased investment—growing share of voice when it mattered most.
“There’s no such thing as ‘performance branding’ marketing”
In this article from Marketing Week, Mark Ritson argues that marketing trying to build brand and drives sales at the same time may do neither well. We’d suggest the two types of marketing can support each other—but clear measurement practices are crucial.
Emotion is the key to attention.
“There’s this concept of people having short attention spans and that the future is 15-second, six-second ads. I think there's a place for all of that. But I also think if you're delivering the right message, with an emotive storytelling component, there's still a place for 60 seconds. Dare I say even 90-second long-form ads.”
—Tory Pachis, SVP Marketing, Amica Insurance
