Insurance marketers have always leaned into sound. From jingles to artist spokespeople, audio continues to play a role in brand identity. In fact, insurance consistently stands out as an industry with strong musical logos and audio brands in annual lists by SoundOut, Veritonic, and amp sound branding. And in 2022, the opportunities for insurance brands to lean into digital audio is greater than ever.

The insurance industry has remained resilient throughout the pandemic, and as we ring in 2022, there are reasons to be optimistic. According to Deloitte, insurers around the world expect rapid growth this year, despite new and ongoing challenges.¹

So — what does this mean for marketers?

More personalized insurance products and services, maturing data strategies, and flexible pricing models are the latest iterations of customer-centricity in the industry. Marketers are supporting the continued investment in digital transformation on the business side with increased digital ad spend. In fact, US digital ad spend for the category continues to grow and is forecast to exceed $12.5B this year.²

So whether you’re a household insurance brand name or an emerging insurtech, here are the top marketing trends to watch in 2022, and tips for making the most of your ad campaigns with Spotify.

1. Forget brand building — it’s time for brand distinction.

Here’s the not-so-secret secret: Most consumers still think insurance companies are pretty much the same, even though insurers have poured massive amounts of dollars into advertising.

This means it’s time for providers to think beyond brand building. In 2022, we’ll see renewed efforts from insurers to stand out in the crowd, focusing more on brand distinctiveness. Traditional providers will find more creative ways to engage existing policyholders, and look to optimize the overall customer experience — all while emphasizing their stability and reliability. Their challengers will lean even more heavily on their digital DNA while building brand awareness to break into the consideration set. Establishing a presence earlier in the buying process for these newer brands will help establish and build trust.

Another crucial step to building brand distinctiveness is reaching your audience when they’re most engaged and attentive — and that’s where digital audio comes in.

Ready to reach the most immersed audience? Spotify’s millions of ad-supported listeners are engaged, attentive, and open to hearing from brands. In fact, new research reveals that digital audio is more engaging than radio, TV, digital video, and social media, and that Spotify ads drive 19% higher brand impact compared to all other media.³ With Spotify’s tuned-in audience, advertisers have a unique opportunity to tap into the power of audio, and tell stories that help your brand stand out.

2. Priority audiences are shifting.

The need for growth will push insurers to rethink their priority audiences — and, in turn, their targeting strategies and messaging. For example, the rise in switching has shortened customer tenure, especially among younger, digitally savvy policyholders. It's becoming ever more difficult for insurers to recoup their high customer acquisition costs, and many will question continuing with heavy investments in the "switch-and-save" approach.

Instead, incumbents will be hyper-focused on “micro-segments” in order to get more precise about which prospects and customers represent meaningful opportunities, and which don’t. And as insurtechs mature, they will saturate their bread-and-butter audiences: millennials and Gen Zs. Last year, I wrote about how these audiences have yet to reach peak profitability, even though the oldest millennials were well into their earning and child-raising years. To achieve the next stage of growth, digital providers will move up the age and household income ladders, bringing them in direct competition with their more-established competitors.

If Gen Zs and millennials are part of your core audience segments, start by creating ad campaigns that build trust. These generations are more likely to stress about their financial future⁵ and distrust financial institutions,⁶ but are essential for powering the growth of insurers. That’s where digital audio comes in: Spotify ranks No. 1 for brand intimacy,⁷ and in our latest Culture Next report, we reported that 40% of millennials and Gen Zs rank their trust in podcasts higher than their average trust in traditional media sources, including national TV news, newspaper, and radio. In fact, Kantar found Spotify to be the most trusted platform for ads and saw consumer receptivity to ads on music streaming services and podcasts increase last year.⁸ Learn more about how Nationwide combined an audio and video strategy on Spotify that resonated strongly with millennials.

3. The purchase cycle and customer experience converge more seamlessly.

Insurance providers are getting smarter and faster about using first-party data to inform their marketing, and they will also use it to achieve new levels of personalization and convenience for customers. Data will save insurers from having to choose between moving consumers through the buying stages or delivering an outstanding customer experience.

Creating a cohesive customer journey across channels and devices will remain a top priority for financial services marketers. At the top of the marketing funnel, this will mean easier ways for prospects to research policies as well as more personalized offers and next-best actions during consideration.

To drive customer satisfaction, this will mean more frequent and meaningful touchpoints outside of claims processing (and well ahead of renewal). After all, loyal customers are less likely to switch and more likely to bundle products, have longer tenures, and recommend insurers to friends and colleagues – all actions that benefit the bottom line.

The best way to attract and retain customers? Supplement your proprietary data with Spotify’s streaming intelligence to deliver your message in the most relevant moments.

At Spotify, we’re uniquely positioned to understand the context of our listeners. We’re a constant companion throughout the day, especially for listeners who pursue financial and investing topics: This audience is more than twice as likely to stream 4+ hours per day compared to Spotify’s total audience.¹⁰ In the storm of deprecations and opt-ins, Spotify’s 100% logged-in audience provides a rich data set for advertisers to understand who they’re reaching, along with their real-time context and historic platform behaviors — no cookies necessary. Ads on Spotify are served to users based on their listening context, which means they’re more relevant, more personalized, and more likely to resonate. And good news: Contextual targeting is now available for podcast ads, powered by the Spotify Audience Network.

🎧 Digital audio ads offer insurance marketers all kinds of new opportunities to reach an engaged, attentive audience at scale — and drive performance across the entire funnel. Learn more about how Spotify Advertising helps providers rise above the noise, putting all ears on you.