Robert Passikoff of Brand Keys, a brand loyalty and customer metrics consultancy, has taken note of Progressive Insurance’s big win with their “Flo” character.
From the setting Progressive has used in the ads–a heavenly place of consumer empowerment where insurance dreams of low prices and high service come true–to Flo herself, an emotional center has been struck, and it holds. Flo, with her retro styling, takes us back in time, while her contemporary “easy peasy” humor telegraphs the future of painless online transactions. Flo comforts us. Just old enough to be trusted and young enough to be uniquely cool, Progressive has embodied the solution to consumer’s fear of being rudderless as they choose the right plan, without going broke.
Passikoff notes that Progressive ranked 5th in Brand Key’s 2009 Customer Loyalty and Engagement Index, whereas it holds the number 2 spot this year–a dramatic year-to-year shift that was mirrored in both the stock price and market success of the brand.
