Slow Down GPS
If Insurance
Issue 37 | December 2015
Agency
Forsman & Bodenfors
Creative Team
Art Director Samuel Åkesson Copywriter Joakim Labraaten Designer Johan Fredriksson
Production Team
Digital Producer Andreas Johansson Agency Producer Magnus Kennhed Film Production Company Bacon STH Director Tarik Saleh App Production Company Starcut PR Agency Juno Digital Production Company Earth People
Other Credits
Planner Lars Friberg PR Strategist Maja Bredberg Account Director Maria Bergkvist Account Managers Kristina Wilmar Joachim Levin
Date
August 2015
Background
Across the Nordic countries, If Insurance was committed to minimising risk for its customers. While a driver could be insured against the consequences of having an accident involving a child, better for everyone would be to help prevent it ever occurring.
Idea
The Slow Down GPS app was designed to get drivers to slow down in areas where there were likely to be kids around, playing on or near the street.
It was like any other voice navigation app except for one little feature. When driving in areas near schools and day centres, the satnav voice suddenly switched to a child's voice.
It was a subtle audio signal that told the driver there could be children playing nearby. Take care.
In a crowdsourcing project on the If Insurance website, people were asked to help develop the product by suggesting other locations where the voice should switch.
A free download in the App Store and from Google Play, the app only works in Sweden, Finland and Norway.
Results
Tracking studies showed brand like scores were 49% higher among those who had seen the campaign than those who had not.
Furthermore, 81% more saw If as a company that cared about people. 48% more believed that If would also be good at handling claims.
Our Thoughts
From those wonderful people who brought you Jean-Claude Van Damme's 'Epic Split' comes this ingenious takeover of your car's sat nav.
Clever, yes, but I wonder how usable the app really is? I suspect that this idea makes a better video on YouTube than it does making it safer on the roads.
On the other hand, that might easily be the whole point of the exercise. After all, the video has been viewed nearly a million times (in both its Swedish and English forms) on YouTube alone and the PR story has probably reached several millions more.
If the task was to communicate how If Insurance are not just innovators but caring innovators, then job done.
Brilliant, said Matt.