Reasons to Celebrate May

When you live in Louisville, Ky., May means one thing: It’s Derby Time! The city on the Ohio goes all out for two weeks prior to the big horse race. The Kentucky Derby Festival kicks off with one of the largest fireworks displays in the country and concludes the first Saturday in May with the “most exciting two minutes in sports.” These two weeks feature a different event almost every day—everything from a marathon run to a “bed race” to steamboats chugging down the river. There also are great parties, many providing substantial donations to local charities. In our travels, many of you have asked if we go to the Derby. We have attended a few in the past. But the tickets are hard to come by and battling the crowds is just not for us. But it’s a great party and very little work gets done during Derby Week.

Now there’s an additional reason to celebrate May. May is a great month for independent agents because it’s Trusted Choice® Month. I am very pleased to announce several positive Trusted Choice® advancements.

One of my main goals during my presidency is to have at least 6,000 agencies participate in the branding program. I am proud to say that, as of the end of March, more than 5,500 agency locations are on board. Also, Hartford Steam Boiler recently joined the growing ranks of companies supporting the brand, bringing the total number of companies participating to 33. It’s great to include this company, which agents use for its special abilities to write boilers and as the backer for this coverage with other companies and other ancillary coverages. I congratulate Hartford Steam Boiler for its wisdom and foresight.

May’s Trusted Choice® ad campaign will include television ad buys exceeding $250,000 and a new commercial featuring Big “I” CEO Bob Rusbuldt. The ads will run on CNN, ESPN, Fine Living, The Travel Channel, The Food Network, FoxNews and HGTV. The ads are available in 30-second and 25-second versions that you can tag with your agency information.

Trusted Choice® also will run an aggressive business-to-business ad campaign in several trade publications. The ads will run through August and spread the Trusted Choice® message directly to many of our clients through their industry-specific publications. The campaign will feature full-page, four-color ads that will run two or three times in each selected publication. The brand is also featured on the Internet site www.homestore.com. The ad directs consumers to the Trusted Choice® Web site for information when making decisions regarding financing, insurance and moving.

Another Trusted Choice® program has met with great success. The Trusted Choice® Board set aside $600,000 to assist states in growing their Trusted Choice® memberships and in conducting advertising campaigns promoting the brand. As of early April, state grants totaled more than $512,000, or 85.5% of the fund for 2006. These grants are distributed on a dollar-matching basis, so states use the money to augment their advertising budgets. States can use the funds for billboard campaigns, radio and print advertising and recruiting materials. Sixteen states have taken advantage of this program. There is still money left, so interested states should submit their grant applications today.

As you can see, things are really happening for Trusted Choice®. If you are not participating, I urge you to consider joining. The brand program is growing exponentially. Consumers now and into the future will look to a familiar brand that will assure them a quality experience when purchasing items both real and intangible. I have said it before, and it warrants constant repeating, that in order to survive in this marketplace, you simply must be able to brand yourself. By joining Trusted Choice® and signing the Pledge of Performance, you are taking your agency’s branding to the next level. Consumers want to deal with an agency that is dedicated to providing an excellent experience whether it’s buying a tenant, homeowners or multi-million dollar package policy.

Trusted Choice® participants have stepped up and separated themselves from direct companies, such as ones that have trivialize the insurance purchase to a little green lizard that supposedly provides proper advice and coverage. Join Trusted Choice® and reap the benefits!

Bill Stiglitz
President