GEICO

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GEICO
Type of Company	Subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway
Founded	1936, Washington, D.C.
Headquarters	Chevy Chase, Maryland
Key people	Olza M. "Tony" Nicely, CEO & Chairman
Industry	Finance and Insurance
Products	Auto insurance
Revenue	$9.212 billion USD (2004)
Employees	22,000
Slogan	"Real Service, Real Savings"
Website	www.geico.com

Government Employees Insurance Company, usually known by the acronym GEICO, is an American auto insurance company. GEICO is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway and, as of 2006, provided coverage for more than 10 million motor cars, trucks and other motor vehicles owned by more than 7 million policy holders. GEICO writes private passenger automobile insurance in the District of Columbia and all U.S. states, except Massachusetts.

Contents 1 History 2 Commercials 2.1 The GEICO gecko 2.2 Parodies 2.3 Cavemen 3 Market Reach 4 Competition 5 References 6 External links

[edit] History

GEICO was founded by Leo and Lillian Goodwin to market auto insurance directly to federal government employees and their families. GEICO was based on the assumption that such persons would constitute a more financially stable and less risky pool of potential insureds than the general public. After real-time access to computerized driving records became available in the 1970s throughout the United States, GEICO gradually began to insure the general public as well.

Since 1996 GEICO generally prefers to deal directly with consumers via the telephone and the Internet, freeing up capital that would otherwise be spent on employing insurance agents in the field and making the company the nation's largest direct writer of private auto insurance [1]. GEICO does, however, market their products through a small number of field agents, most of which are based near military bases. These agents are known as GFRs (GEICO Field Representatives).

[edit] Commercials

GEICO's advertising strategy incorporates a saturation-level amount of print (primarily mail circulars) and television parody advertisements, as well as radio advertisements. A common tagline used by GEICO is "fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance".

[edit] The GEICO gecko

The ads sometimes focus on the company's mascot, the GEICO talking gecko, created by The Martin Agency and most recently a CGI creature generated by Rhythm and Hues Studios. The gecko first appeared in 2000 during the Screen Actors Guild strike that ruled out live actors.[2] In the first commercial, the gecko was given an upper-class British accent because it would be unexpected, according to The Martin Agency's Steve Bassett. In current commercials the gecko's accent is more working-class (a typical East London accent), to further "humanize" him. "As (computer animation) got better and as we got to know the character better, we did a few things," says Steve Bassett, creative director at The Martin Agency. "We wanted to make him a little more guy-next-door. And he looks a lot more real than he's looked before."[3]

Early commericals depicted GEICO customers mistakenly calling the gecko because they confused the words "GEICO" and "gecko". The gecko is initially frustrated by these calls and tries to make people understand he has nothing to do with GEICO. Eventually, he decides to join forces with GEICO and becomes their spokesman. In recent commercials starring the gecko, he's ventured out into what seems like a domesticated jungle talking to his neighbors (other reptiles), who don't seem to be as enthusiastic about saving money on their car insurance. He says something to the effect of "Free GEICO quotes are like free...pie an' chips. I mean, who doesn't want free pie and chips? It's pie...with chips...for free! But pie and chips...you can get 'em anywhere. GEICO quotes: made from scratch, just for you. Only at geico.com." Also, he says to the camera, "Well, ello!! The current ads being shown feature the GEICO gecko, voiced by Jake Wood being interviewed by an unseen man parodying Larry King (voiced by James Urbaniak).

[edit] Parodies

Another common theme is misdirection, in which the commercial appears to be about something unrelated, or not even be a commercial, and a person comes to say "I've got great news", but then unexpectedly says "I just saved a bunch of money on my car insurance by switching to GEICO!". The commercials use a variety of fictional characters such as Speed Racer and professional wrestlers as well as real people such as Tony Little spoofing themselves. An additional theme is where fictional products are promoted, In 2006, the parody ad returns such as long distance phone company, tomato soda, fast-food joint featuring LeAnn Rimes and reality show but the plugs end with "But it won't save you any money on car insurance." After the GEICO slogan is heard, the commercials end with "Why haven't you called GEICO?" This type of reality-bending in commercials is reminiscent of the Energizer Bunny campaign for batteries which began in the late 80's.

During this time they also featured commercials that told you that in the time it takes to do a certain task, one could save money on car insurance. The tasks mentioned were related to the scene being played out, such as a man telling his wife "You Betcha" without any known remorse for it when she asks him if the dress that she's wearing makes her look fat (saying "In the time it takes to pull out the sleeper sofa..."), or a guy joking and mocking a high-profile businessman ranked above him at a high priority and serious business meeting (saying "In the time it takes to clean out your desk..."), or a man views an ice sculpture looks like Easter Island monolith (saying "In the time it takes to sweep the floor..."), and a woman joking and mocking a waiter to get more bread. (saying "In the time it takes to eat your meal...").

There are also ads that feature stories from GEICO customers about situations in which Geico assisted them, but told by celebrities such as Charo, Burt Bacharach, and Little Richard, who each add their own twist to the stories due to their well known ways of speaking. Don LaFontaine, Peter Graves, and Verne Troyer are also featured in similar situations and D.C. Douglas provides the voiceover. [4]

[edit] Cavemen

In 2005, GEICO began an advertising campaign featuring "cavemen" in a modern setting. In these commercials, a GEICO spokesman tells how signing up for insurance is "so easy a caveman could do it" and ends up offending the cavemen who are still around, either as part of the commercial's production crew or in erudite society. In 2006, a new commercial featuring the cavemen premiered. While Röyksopp's Remind Me is playing in the background, one of the cavemen is on a moving sidewalk at an airport when he spots a billboard for Geico featuring the insulting phrase. Other Geico caveman commercials include "Roast Duck with Mango Salsa," "Look's Like Someone Woke up on the Wrong Side of the Rock," and "So Easy, A Therapist Can Do It."

[edit] Market Reach

Over the years, GEICO has introduced several other products to its offering, aside from car insurance. GEICO is most widely known for its car insurance line of products, but also offers motorcycle and ATV insurance, home and renter's insurance, umbrella insurance, and boat insurance.[5] As of July 2006, GEICO has accumulated USD 21.2 billion in assets and has 12 major domestic offices including ones in San Diego, Tucson, Dallas, Lakeland, Virginia Beach, Fredricksburg, and Woodbury. GEICO/Berkshire Hathaway, which is headed by renowned investor Warren Buffett has four affiliate companies, GEICO, GEICO General, GEICO Indemnity and GEICO Casualty. According to Fortune Magazine, Berkshire Hathaway's property-casualty insurance has been "among the most admired in the country" since 2004. [6]

[edit] Competition

Major competitors include State Farm, Allstate, Progressive, and USAA.

[edit] References

• Revenue: premiums written (2004), from Berkshire Hathaway 10-K
• Little Lizard Says 'Ello To A New Inflection, The Hartford Courant, 22 February 2006

[edit] External links

• GEICO
• Slate.com article "The Best Ad On Television"
• Geico Caveman Commercials
• Jeffrey Daniel Phillips at the Internet Movie Database Trivia - Portrays one of the "Cavemen" in the Geico Insurance Commercials
• Ben Weber at the Internet Movie Database Trivia - Portrays one of the "Cavemen" in the Geico Insurance Commercials