IMCA CMO Council State of the Industry Survey to Guide Efforts to Raise the Profile of Marketing in the Insurance Industry – InsuranceNewsNet

InsuranceNewsNet — Your Industry. One Source.™

Sign in
  • Subscribe
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
Home
Topics
    • Life Insurance
    • Annuity News
    • Health/Employee Benefits
    • Property and Casualty
    • Advisor News
    • Washington Wire
    • Regulation News
    • Sponsored Content
    • Webinars
    • Monthly Focus
  • INN Exclusives
  • NewsWires
  • Magazine
  • Free Newsletters
Sign in or register to be an INNsider.
  • INN Exclusives
  • NewsWires
  • Magazine
  • Free Newsletters
  • Insider
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Editorial Staff
  • Contact
  • Newsletters

Get Social

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
IMCA
 Archive: IMCA
Order Prints
April 27, 2021 IMCA No comments Views: 0
Share
Share
Tweet
Email

IMCA CMO Council State of the Industry Survey to Guide Efforts to Raise the Profile of Marketing in the Insurance Industry

By Insurance Marketing & Communications Association Sponsored By IMCA

“Can you slap some lipstick on this?”

“Marketing – oh, you plan parties and order trophies, right?”

“It must be fun working in the arts and crafts department.”

“I’m assuming numbers aren’t your thing?”

Marketing and communications professionals in the insurance industry are used to hearing comments like this. They know that their creative and strategic efforts make a difference to the company’s bottom line but feel they do not receive sufficient respect and recognition from their colleagues.

According to the Insurance Marketing & Communications Association (IMCA) leadership, there is a simple reason for this disconnect: there are not enough marketers in insurance C-suites.

IMCA is working to highlight the importance of marketing and communications through the formation of the CMO Council. The Council engages industry-leading chief marketing/communications officers and their team members, offering a go-to, efficient source of must-have insurance industry trends, practical advice, and networking.

The Council’s first order of business was commissioning an industrywide research project, “The State of Insurance Marketing 2021.” Sponsored by Applied Systems, the quantitative research project is polling marketers – from entry level to CMO – at independent agencies, program administrators, wholesalers, MGAs and MGUs, carriers, and reinsurers.

The Council will use the survey results for webcast and conference discussion, to develop solutions, and share best practices to help insurance marketers, according to Peter van Aartrijk, IMCA board member and acting CMO Council chair.

Topics the study is exploring include:

  • How do you market to, and listen to, your primary audience?
  • What are the skills gaps in insurance marketing talent today? What skills will your next hire have?
  • What are the barriers to marketing and communications success that you are trying to overcome? Where do you go to solve those challenges?
  • Where have you increased or reduced your spending in the last two years?
  • What marketing technologies are you using?
  • How has the pandemic changed your strategy and tactics?
  • How do you evaluate your marketing success?

“We know that marketing is the engine that moves brands,” van Aartrijk said. “When done well, it drives relationships, business development, sales, and renewals. Our issue in the insurance industry is that even the word ‘marketing’ can get tangled. We see ‘marketing directors’ who position a piece of new or renewal business with underwriters. That’s a necessary and noble task. But prospect and customer marketing, led by well-designed strategy, is a whole different kettle of fish. The CMO Council seeks to highlight and elevate the critical role of these marketers.”

The results of the research will be presented at the IMCA’s 2021 Virtual Conference, June 22-24. Members of the CMO Council will provide insights and interpretation of the results in sessions including, “Crisis Communications: Effects and Changes to Marketing Operations,” “ROI: Legitimizing the Role of Marketing within the C-Suite,” “Barriers to Success: Where are the CMOs,” and “Finding and Retaining Talent and How to Address Skill Gaps.”

Coincidentally, the Insurance Marketers Group, an organization of insurance marketing professionals in England (“Our vision is to see a marketing professional on the board of every UK insurance business. Let’s make it happen.”), recently launched a similar survey. IMG leaders will share their results at the IMCA conference, with insights into the similarities and differences between the industry in North America and Europe.

Ultimately, both groups plan to use their survey results to help insurance company leadership understand that marketing departments do more than “pretty things up” – effective, innovative, and strategic marketing and communication is vital to company success.

IMCA is the oldest association for insurance marketing and communications professionals in North America with roots tracing back to 1921. Membership includes leading international and domestic multiline insurance companies and brokerage firms, regional and specialty companies, general agencies, and prominent industry suppliers. The organization represents over 130 companies, including the industry’s top five property/casualty writers. Members include senior level management and professional staff working in the areas of corporate communications, advertising, public relations, marketing communications, marketing and sales promotion, marketing research and technology. Visit IMCA at: imcanet.com.

Older

Why the Current IMO Model Doesn’t Work

Newer

Creating the Change Advisors Needed

Advisor News

  • Fidelity: retirement savers look long term, continue to save despite headwinds
  • Sometimes debt could be a helpful tool
  • Debt consolidation becomes more attractive
  • 31% of retirees say continued inflation would motivate them to rejoin the workforce
  • Inflation Reduction Act may have little impact on inflation
More Advisor News

Annuity News

  • Global Atlantic announces $10B group annuity reinsurance deal with Equitable
  • Colorado adopts new annuity sales regulations
  • National Western Life introduces new fixed indexed annuity, NWL New Frontiers
  • Jackson National announces second quarter 2022 results
  • Brighthouse Financial adds to Shield Level annuity suite with new product
More Annuity News

Health/Employee Benefits News

  • America’s Essential Hospitals praise new law, urge more funding
  • Retired teachers oppose $9M in STRS Ohio pension staff bonuses
  • Higher out-of-pocket patient bills are hitting hospitals hard
  • Best’s Commentary: Inflation Reduction Act will benefit U.S. health insurers
  • Virginia Obamacare rates set to fall next year
More Health/Employee Benefits News

Life Insurance

  • Sammons names Tyler Brown new government affairs director
  • Alex Murdaugh petitions to delay Mallory Beach trial amid murder charges
  • Sales of life combination products rebound in 2021, LIMRA reports
  • Integrity Marketing Group acquires Richman Insurance Agency
  • How to get the most out of Life Insurance Awareness Month
More Life Insurance

- Presented By -

How to Write For InsuranceNewsNet

Find out how you can submit content for publishing on our website.
View Guidelines

FEATURED OFFERS

Get Linked INN to your industry Connect with INN on LinkedIn to be first on all the news and insights that matter to your industry.

Press ReleasesAll press releases

  • Ibexis Life & Annuity Insurance Company Launches Innovative Fixed Annuity
  • National Western Life introduces newest fixed indexed annuity, NWL® New Frontiers
  • CybeReady Supports Security Defenses with CISO Toolkit
  • Life and Disability Income Insurance Products from MassMutual Now Available on iPipeline®’s End-to-End Digital Platform
  • Business on the Go with The Crump Mobile App
Add your Press Release >

Topics

  • Life Insurance
  • Annuity News
  • Health/Employee Benefits
  • Property and Casualty
  • Advisor News
  • Washington Wire
  • Regulation News
  • Sponsored Content
  • Webinars
  • Monthly Focus

Top Sections

  • Life Insurance
  • Annuity News
  • Health/Employee Benefits News
  • Property and Casualty News
  • AdvisorNews
  • Washington Wire
  • Insurance Webinars

Our Company

  • About
  • Editorial Staff
  • Magazine
  • Write for INN
  • Advertise
  • Contact

Sign up for our FREE e-Newsletter!

Get breaking news, exclusive stories, and money- making insights straight into your inbox.

select Newsletter Options
Facebook Linkedin Twitter
© 2022 InsuranceNewsNet.com, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • AdvisorNews

Sign in with your INNsider Account

Not registered? Become an INNsider.