Insurance agency ducks big-ad tricks [Akron Beacon Journal, Ohio]

May 22--No lizards. No ducks.

Local insurance agent Mark Rensel is not anti-animal.

He just wants you to know he's not one of the big guys -- those with their animal and prehistoric men icons.

That's why his billboard near the intersection of Brittain Road and Tallmadge Avenue in Akron features the slogan "No lizards! No ducks! No Cavemen!" The billboard is emblazoned with a picture of the Tallmadge insurance agent, and his wife, Linda, and three of their four children.

The "icons and different phrases basically take away from what insurance actually is," Rensel said. "Over the years, the professional advice aspect of insurance has systematically been removed."

The picture of his family, he says, is designed to further separate him from those big companies with their mascots.

"We want to say that the family unit is important," said Linda Rensel, a licensed agent. "And we want to get the next generation -- in a family -- coming to our office."

It's not the first time an insurance company in Northeast Ohio has sought to use the big-time marketing of Geico (with its lizard, or gecko, and cavemen) and Aflac (with its quacking duck) to its own advantage.

In Boardman, outside Youngstown, the James & Sons agency in 2007 launched an advertising campaign -- including postcards, billboards and newspaper ads, featuring a "No Lizards. No Ducks. No Cavemen" slogan.

"These national providers are out there in your face every day," said Stephanie Maroni, operations manager at James & Sons. "We wanted to differentiate ourselves."

Rensel, who followed his father into the insurance business, said his billboard's slogan grew out of brainstorming among employees; he hadn't heard of the James & Sons effort.

In North and South Carolina, AAA of the Carolinas used a "No Ducks. No Lizards." pitch for its insurance services beginning several years ago.

"Let's be honest. It's not rocket science -- the concept," said Brendan Byrnes, with AAA of the Carolinas, when he heard about the Ohio agents.

At AAA of the Carolinas, he said the campaign was a "way for us to step away from the big players."

Rensel is thinking about putting the "No Ducks. No Lizards." slogan on the sign outside his office at 161 Northwest Ave. in Tallmadge. He built the building in 1999.

The billboard with the picture of his family -- including Mark LeFever, 25, who works in the office; Ryan, 8, and Kennedi, 6, will be up until sometime in September.

Rensel's wife, Linda, boasts that even her daughter, Kennedi, is involved in the family business. She likes "straightening up the office," Mark Rensel said.

Katie Byard can be reached at 330-996-3781 or [email protected].

To see more of the Akron Beacon Journal, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.ohio.com.

Copyright (c) 2010, Akron Beacon Journal, Ohio

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.