Deirdre puts her DIY skills to use in a new web film for NRMA Insurance via Lida Australia
Updated: A power tool-wielding senior handy woman has struck a chord with NRMA Insurance customers who are following her lead in droves to manage their policies online in the latest iteration of the NRMADE BETTER brand positioning via LIDA – the customer engagement business within the M&C Saatchi Group.
‘DIY Deirdre’ shows how easy it is for customers to log on to NRMA Insurance’s do-it-yourself facility to do things like update their address, make payments, view the finer details of their policy and even make or track a claim.
In the 45-second online spot the industrious Deirdre drills, angle grinds, paints, welds and constructs an elaborate dog house around a well-earned tea ‘break’ that she uses to jump online and update her policy.
Record numbers of NRMA Insurance customers have heeded her call to “Give DIY a Try”.
Within four weeks of the campaign’s launch, website log-ins had exceeded their target by 70%.
Meanwhile, its one-month target for Facebook engagement was reached within 15 minutes with the campaign going on to accumulate nearly a quarter of a million views and counting on the social channel.
Facebook fans were particularly taken with Deirdre’s gumption and energy. Indeed, ‘DIY Deirdre’ looks set to enter the vernacular if the following post is any indication: “I’ve had two boyfriends over the last 10 years, ALL I ASKED, ‘put some shelving up for me? all you need is a masonite drill ‘i ended up ‘doing a Deidre’ and doing it myself..funny if that term becomes viral… do you know if there are some awards I can nominate your ad for the positive portrayal of women?”
Says Jane Merrick, head of marketing, IAG: “We wanted to get cut through for our self-service online platform and it was a great insight from LIDA to introduce the lovable DIY Deirdre.
“She not only embodies the can-do Aussie attitude but has become something of a touchstone for women’s empowerment, especially older women.
“Strong female role models still seem all-too rare in advertising these days.”
Says Paula Keamy, creative director, LIDA: “Everyone loves Deirdre. She’s a great Australian woman – the kind of woman we all know and love. She just gets things done – making her the perfect character to show how insurance is NRMADE BETTER.”
11 Comments
Nice job Blaiklock
Didn’t know Adam still had it in him. These are well directed and a very funny spot.
Not too Risky.
Really like the ad. Very funny.
But anyone else thinking that actual product being marketed seems terrible?
It’s a website that allows you to “update your address details” (high demand), “pay your bill” (for those who don’t use direct debit) and “view your policy”.
Sorry, I know this is an ad website…so I should have left it at ‘Great ad’.
I like this too.
*Nup, don’t work here either.
Nice work Adam, I like it
Kinda similar to this lil puppy..but still nice!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-GmndiHz3c
What a sweet spot.
Nice work all round.
And great talent too with Janice, the mother of all Oxenboulds.
Ok, so the brief is to get (older) people to manage their insurance online.
But there’s a bitter undercurrent here.
The message being ‘we’d prefer not to have to deal with customers, so forget about our previous position of helpful customer service. Fuck off and do it yourself’.
A cost saving strategy perhaps? Too cynical?
Lovely spot, Paula. Nice one!
@Old CD Guy. I had a conversation with my Dad a while back on this exact topic. He was bemoaning how hard it was to deal with banks, insurance companies and so on on the phone. The waiting, the getting passed around to different depts, the repeating yourself over and over. So I showed him how to get all his info (banking) online.
It was an absolute revelation for him. He couldn’t believe how simple (and quick) it was.
But sadly he’s not confident with computers so he won’t do it on his own.
I guess my long winded point is, people of his vintage do appreciate the convenience of online, they just need a bit of a nudge to actually do it themselves.
If this ad has helped do that, I reckon it’s a great thing.
*and no, I don’t work for either NRMA or LIDA.
Good on you for offering a partial rebuttal of my point without resorting to the usual grab-bag of ill-considered and flimsy abuse 10:22. So the only message missing from the commercial is a disclaimer that you’ll need the assistance of a younger person who doesn’t regard a computer as some sort of new dangled alien device that’s totally beyond them. Nice.