Progressive scores touchdown with NFL-oriented campaigns
In the competitive field of insurance marketing, Progressive is winning with its NFL-oriented strategies. Football fans buy more insurance than the average American, and there are lots of them. Brand tracking data shows that Progressive has been consistently reaching this audience, with promising results.
Football fans are also insurance fans
While football itself is a risky sport, its fans like to play it safe. Data from YouGov’s audience profiling tool, Profiles, shows that NFL fans tend to take out more insurance of every type compared to the general population. Excluding health insurance, 83% of NFL fans are more likely to have some kind of policy compared to only 72% of non-fans.
They’re also more active consumers of insurance. Among NFL fans, 28% say they’re likely to buy a new policy in the next 12 months compared to 18% of non-fans. It’s essential to treat this audience well because they’re easy to lose. NFL fans are more likely than the general population to actively search a better deal when their policies are up for renewal (37% vs 30%).
Progressive’s football-focused campaign scores big with NFL fans
According to YouGov’s brand tracking tool, Progressive’s NFL strategy is working. Football-focused campaigns, such as “The Backup,” seem to be reaching their target audience. Advertising Awareness (% of consumers who have seen a brand advertised in the past two weeks) for Progressive is steadily higher among NFL fans than it is among the general population.
Last September, at the beginning of the NFL season, Advertising Awareness among football fans was 47% versus 39% among the general public. While this gap narrowed over the course of the year, especially during the off-season, it has remained significant.
Football-focused marketing may also be driving purchase consideration. NFL fans are more likely to consider buying Progressive the next time they’re in the market for insurance.
The difference changes over the course of the year, but peaked around Thanksgiving weekend, when around 22% of NFL fans said they’d consider buying Progressive compared to around 17% of the general population.
According to YouGov data, NFL fans are a ripe audience for insurers. They are more widely insured than the average American, and more likely to buy a new policy in the next year. Progressive chose an excellent target and has been consistently hitting it with NFL-oriented campaigns.
Methodology: YouGov Profiles is based on continuously collected data and rolling surveys, rather than from a single limited questionnaire. Profiles data for the US is nationally representative of the online population and weighted by age, gender, education, region, and race. Learn more about Profiles.
YouGov BrandIndex collects data on thousands of brands every day. Timberland’s Index based on six metrics, including General Impression, Satisfaction, Quality, Corporate Reputation, Value and Recommendation. Scores in this article are based on a daily sample sizes of approximately 1200 to 4000 depending on audience between September 1, 2023 and October 16, 2024. Figures are based on an eight-week moving average. Learn more about BrandIndex.