Ken Hittel of New York Life Insurance discusses the company's online marketing strategies. He notes that the percentage of marketing dollars spent online has increased over the years and will continue to do so. Much of their online efforts aim to generate leads for agents by positioning the company as a trusted provider of premium insurance products. Their website, social media presence, and mobile capabilities serve to support agents and provide resources to consumers. While aggregator sites present a challenge, New York Life focuses on conveying their brand attributes of trust and the value of working with a financial professional.
DIGITAL LEADERSHIP: An interview with Saul Klein Partner with Index VenturesCapgemini
Saul Klein, Partner with Index Ventures
Saul Klein is a Partner with Index Ventures, one of the largest venture capital firms specializing in technology investments. Saul has 20 years of experience in building tech companies in both the US and Europe. He is the co-founder of Kano and Seedcamp; he also co-founded and was the original CEO of Lovefilm International, which was acquired by Amazon; and part of the original executive team at Skype, which was acquired by eBay. Capgemini Consulting spoke to Saul Klein to examine the disruptive impacts of startups and their implications for traditional incumbents.
DIGITAL LEADERSHIP: An interview with Caspar de Bono, Financial TimesCapgemini
Caspar de Bono is the Managing Director, B2B at the Financial Times (FT).
The FT is one of the world’s leading business news organizations, providing news, comment, data and analysis for the global business community. In
2014, the FT’s total circulation reached an all-time high with 700,000 subscriptions and sales across print and online. Significantly, digital subscriptions increased 23% yearon-year and now constitute nearly two-thirds of the FT’s total paying audience. Further, the FT has seen sustained mobile growth - mobile now accounts for almost 50% of the FT’s total traffic and 20% of new digital subscriptions. In an industry that has been swept by digital disruptions in the last decade, the FT stands out as one of the few incumbents that have successfully managed these disruptions. Capgemini Consulting spoke with Caspar de Bono, Managing Director, B2B at the FT, to discuss the impactof digital on the news media industry and the response of the organization to that tidal
wave of change.
The experts have weighed in. We’ve got 21 predictions related to social media, content marketing, online marketing and SEO from some of the biggest (or most insightful) names in the business.
DIGITAL LEADERSHIP: An interview with Saul Klein Partner with Index VenturesCapgemini
Saul Klein, Partner with Index Ventures
Saul Klein is a Partner with Index Ventures, one of the largest venture capital firms specializing in technology investments. Saul has 20 years of experience in building tech companies in both the US and Europe. He is the co-founder of Kano and Seedcamp; he also co-founded and was the original CEO of Lovefilm International, which was acquired by Amazon; and part of the original executive team at Skype, which was acquired by eBay. Capgemini Consulting spoke to Saul Klein to examine the disruptive impacts of startups and their implications for traditional incumbents.
DIGITAL LEADERSHIP: An interview with Caspar de Bono, Financial TimesCapgemini
Caspar de Bono is the Managing Director, B2B at the Financial Times (FT).
The FT is one of the world’s leading business news organizations, providing news, comment, data and analysis for the global business community. In
2014, the FT’s total circulation reached an all-time high with 700,000 subscriptions and sales across print and online. Significantly, digital subscriptions increased 23% yearon-year and now constitute nearly two-thirds of the FT’s total paying audience. Further, the FT has seen sustained mobile growth - mobile now accounts for almost 50% of the FT’s total traffic and 20% of new digital subscriptions. In an industry that has been swept by digital disruptions in the last decade, the FT stands out as one of the few incumbents that have successfully managed these disruptions. Capgemini Consulting spoke with Caspar de Bono, Managing Director, B2B at the FT, to discuss the impactof digital on the news media industry and the response of the organization to that tidal
wave of change.
The experts have weighed in. We’ve got 21 predictions related to social media, content marketing, online marketing and SEO from some of the biggest (or most insightful) names in the business.
Data vs Hunch - Beyond Lecture at Hyper Island 2015Beyond
How do you strike a balance between data and creative hunch in a digital marketing world obsessed with metrics and ROI? Slides from a session with the Hyper Island Digital Data Strategy class of 2015, at the school's Stockholm campus.
A GUIDE TO SURVIVING A FICTION INFUSED FUTUREMiel Van Opstal
Keynote on the future of marketing in an era where virtual worlds and physically enhanced realities define a consumer's identity by matching behavioral observations and contextual
data to turn them into a profile built out of statistical correlations.
This new reality requires marketers, brands and companies to design for always-on, continuous and assistive engagement. The consumer journey must be rebuilt.
Real estate lead generation how to build a pipeline using social mediaThe Big Unit
The Digital revolution has brought massive changes in businesses operations around the world. Real estate was no exception too. Just like people search for information online, the digital revolution has brought changes in the way properties are bought and sold. If you want to get more information regarding real estate lead generation campaigns then visit our website. Read more: https://thebigunit.com.au/real-estate-lead-generation-how-to-build-a-pipeline-using-social-media/
Develop a creative approach, select the media that will most effectively attract and motivate your target markets. In this Digital age, the creative and promotional marketing should rely heavily on social media and digital marketing.
This project opened my mind to the world of advertising finding a problem and supplying a need in an effective manner that would attribute to a companies success.
Learn more about Automotive Digital Marketing at the most popular professional network for car dealers and interactive marketers working in the auto industry at http://www.automotivedigitalmarketing.com/
Peacekeeper, Navigator, Student: The Marketer to 2015Nick Johnson
***To find out more about marketing best practice - direct from marketing leaders from major brands like Adidas, General Electric, Toyota, Virgin America, Mondelez, Kohler, HSBC and many more, check out the upcoming Incite Marketing Summit in NYC on October 27 - 28: www.bit.ly/InciteMarketingSummit
***
This in-depth white paper focuses on the evolving role of the marketer within large organizations, and is based on feedback from over 1,000 marketing executives worldwide.
There are two parts - investigating the new brand/customer relationship, and then looking at how to get closer to your customers.
Topics covered throughout the white paper include internal collaboration, multi-channel campaigns, measurement to build a 360-degree view of the customer, and the increasing power of customers to define your brand.
***To find out more about marketing best practice - direct from marketing leaders from major brands like Adidas, General Electric, Toyota, Virgin America, Mondelez, Kohler, HSBC and many more, check out the upcoming Incite Marketing Summit in NYC on October 27 - 28: www.bit.ly/InciteMarketingSummit
***
A Recap of 2013 for the Daily Deal, Coupon, and Ecommerce Industries.Marc Horne
A recap of 2013 for the daily deal, coupon, and ecommerce industries presented by http://dailydealbuilder.com. Questions? email us at support@hcdesk.com.
Recap of 2013 for the Daily Deal, Coupon Software, and Ecommerce IndustriesChris Powell
I believe one of the greatest ways we can advance our businesses is by learning from past successes and failures, both internally and externally… Internally (within your company), what actions were exectured this year that brought you the most revenue? Most interaction, shares, and social media influence? What actions did your company take that caused you the most headaches and wasted the most amount of time / resources? What about externally? Have you closely followed your competitors to see what they were up to?
It’s important each year to create a SWOT analysis for your company that looks back on your actions of the past year, as well as one that looks forward to the upcoming year. Making a SWOT is one of those things I did while attending college, but never fully understood the value until I created one for my company
I’m enormously proud of the work the Zillow Group team did last year. Most notably, we took on the enormous task of integrating together the two leading companies in online real estate, and completed it in mere months.
But I get even more excited when I talk about the future, and my annual letter to shareholders is a great opportunity for me to lay out my vision and priorities. The opportunity ahead is enormous, and I’m happy to share a glimpse into why we’re so motivated to keep climbing the mountain ahead.
As a small business owner there's probably two things you want more than anything
else in today's economy.
More customers & more cash flow for your business!
However, you've probably come to realize, that's not as easy as it sounds today. I'm
sure this wasn't always the case.
Many businesses not long ago were booming during one of the biggest economic runs
this country had even known. You had as many leads and customers as you could
handle thanks to a thriving economy.
Your sales were skyrocketing, your employees were happy and you were on top of the
world, buying nice cars, investing in vacation homes in your favorite get-a-way
destinations, traveling the world with your spouse and family and enjoying the finer
things in life…as you should have.
Data vs Hunch - Beyond Lecture at Hyper Island 2015Beyond
How do you strike a balance between data and creative hunch in a digital marketing world obsessed with metrics and ROI? Slides from a session with the Hyper Island Digital Data Strategy class of 2015, at the school's Stockholm campus.
A GUIDE TO SURVIVING A FICTION INFUSED FUTUREMiel Van Opstal
Keynote on the future of marketing in an era where virtual worlds and physically enhanced realities define a consumer's identity by matching behavioral observations and contextual
data to turn them into a profile built out of statistical correlations.
This new reality requires marketers, brands and companies to design for always-on, continuous and assistive engagement. The consumer journey must be rebuilt.
Real estate lead generation how to build a pipeline using social mediaThe Big Unit
The Digital revolution has brought massive changes in businesses operations around the world. Real estate was no exception too. Just like people search for information online, the digital revolution has brought changes in the way properties are bought and sold. If you want to get more information regarding real estate lead generation campaigns then visit our website. Read more: https://thebigunit.com.au/real-estate-lead-generation-how-to-build-a-pipeline-using-social-media/
Develop a creative approach, select the media that will most effectively attract and motivate your target markets. In this Digital age, the creative and promotional marketing should rely heavily on social media and digital marketing.
This project opened my mind to the world of advertising finding a problem and supplying a need in an effective manner that would attribute to a companies success.
Learn more about Automotive Digital Marketing at the most popular professional network for car dealers and interactive marketers working in the auto industry at http://www.automotivedigitalmarketing.com/
Peacekeeper, Navigator, Student: The Marketer to 2015Nick Johnson
***To find out more about marketing best practice - direct from marketing leaders from major brands like Adidas, General Electric, Toyota, Virgin America, Mondelez, Kohler, HSBC and many more, check out the upcoming Incite Marketing Summit in NYC on October 27 - 28: www.bit.ly/InciteMarketingSummit
***
This in-depth white paper focuses on the evolving role of the marketer within large organizations, and is based on feedback from over 1,000 marketing executives worldwide.
There are two parts - investigating the new brand/customer relationship, and then looking at how to get closer to your customers.
Topics covered throughout the white paper include internal collaboration, multi-channel campaigns, measurement to build a 360-degree view of the customer, and the increasing power of customers to define your brand.
***To find out more about marketing best practice - direct from marketing leaders from major brands like Adidas, General Electric, Toyota, Virgin America, Mondelez, Kohler, HSBC and many more, check out the upcoming Incite Marketing Summit in NYC on October 27 - 28: www.bit.ly/InciteMarketingSummit
***
A Recap of 2013 for the Daily Deal, Coupon, and Ecommerce Industries.Marc Horne
A recap of 2013 for the daily deal, coupon, and ecommerce industries presented by http://dailydealbuilder.com. Questions? email us at support@hcdesk.com.
Recap of 2013 for the Daily Deal, Coupon Software, and Ecommerce IndustriesChris Powell
I believe one of the greatest ways we can advance our businesses is by learning from past successes and failures, both internally and externally… Internally (within your company), what actions were exectured this year that brought you the most revenue? Most interaction, shares, and social media influence? What actions did your company take that caused you the most headaches and wasted the most amount of time / resources? What about externally? Have you closely followed your competitors to see what they were up to?
It’s important each year to create a SWOT analysis for your company that looks back on your actions of the past year, as well as one that looks forward to the upcoming year. Making a SWOT is one of those things I did while attending college, but never fully understood the value until I created one for my company
I’m enormously proud of the work the Zillow Group team did last year. Most notably, we took on the enormous task of integrating together the two leading companies in online real estate, and completed it in mere months.
But I get even more excited when I talk about the future, and my annual letter to shareholders is a great opportunity for me to lay out my vision and priorities. The opportunity ahead is enormous, and I’m happy to share a glimpse into why we’re so motivated to keep climbing the mountain ahead.
As a small business owner there's probably two things you want more than anything
else in today's economy.
More customers & more cash flow for your business!
However, you've probably come to realize, that's not as easy as it sounds today. I'm
sure this wasn't always the case.
Many businesses not long ago were booming during one of the biggest economic runs
this country had even known. You had as many leads and customers as you could
handle thanks to a thriving economy.
Your sales were skyrocketing, your employees were happy and you were on top of the
world, buying nice cars, investing in vacation homes in your favorite get-a-way
destinations, traveling the world with your spouse and family and enjoying the finer
things in life…as you should have.
A presentation I gave at Digital Summit: Mass publishing is the lowest form of value the internet can provide you. Relying on a content publishing model for lead generation, and relationship building will not give you the sustainable, or scaleable competitive advantage you need to succeed in this new world of infinite noise. Nobody cares about your content because you’ve missed the true reason people consume content, because it fulfills their inner purpose. Learn what the five pillars are and why they must be new foundations for the future marketing organization.
1. For New York Life, Guarantees
Matter Both Online and Offline
AN INTERVIEW WITH:
Ken Hittel
Vice President, Corporate Internet, New York Life
Insurance Company
December 06, 2010
Ken Hittel joined New York Life in 1989. In his two decades with the insurance
provider, Hittel has spearheaded the development and maintenance of the
employee intranet and the public-facing NewYorkLife.com site. He also leads
New York Life’s social media and mobility programs. Hittel spoke to eMarketer’s
Lauren McKay about how the company uses online marketing tactics to extend
its role as a trusted provider of premium insurance products.
eMarketer: At New York Life, how important is the web as a marketing tool?
Ken Hittel: It becomes more and more important every year. New York Life has
always really believed in the web. We started creating a website back in 1995
and launched in 1996. We’ve grown to where my team will have 23 people next
year. There has always been support from the executive suite, the previous
CEO, Sy Sternberg and our current CEO, Ted Mathas. I report to the senior
advisor to the CEO, so there is a very strong recognition within the company of
just how important the web is.
eMarketer: How is this high level of importance reflected in your overall
marketing budget?
“The relative percentage of marketing dollars
spent on online has increased over the years, and
will continue to increase.”
2. Hittel: I can fairly confidently state that the relative percentage of marketing
dollars spent on online has increased over the years, and will continue to
increase.
eMarketer: How do you see web-based marketing efforts fitting into your
business model?
eMarketer: We do not market directly to consumers. We market through our
agents. What NewYorkLife.com is trying to sell is an appointment with a New
York Life agent. For years, people have assumed, with some justification, that
the internet cuts the agent out of the deal. Our strategy has always been to
reintermediate, or bring the agent back into the deal. We’ve been very
successful at that.
We are by far the number one sales lead generator within the company. We
have a dedicated budget that we get from the CEO to do lead generation
online.
We have to justify our results each year, especially if we want to ask for more
money. Certainly, for the past four years, I’ve asked for more money, and I’ve
been able to justify it based on our lead generation results and agent sales.
eMarketer: How does the online channel enable agents to better connect with
consumers online?
“A great deal of what we do online serves as a
resource for our agents.”
Hittel: A great deal of what we do online serves as a resource for our agents,
who are always able to point their prospects and clients to our web properties.
For instance, New York Life is very successful in what we internally call
“cultural” or ethnic markets. We’re usually either number-one or number-two in
the Chinese-American, Korean-American, Vietnamese-American and Hispanic
markets. We have dedicated in-language sites for those markets. So, our
agents who prospect in those segments use those websites to gain credibility
and show just how important New York Life thinks those markets are.
eMarketer: Are there certain demographic segments with which online tactics
resonate more?
Hittel: The high-income demographic is very interesting. We sell a product
called Guaranteed Lifetime Income that is essentially an income annuity meant
for people who are usually quite senior in age—the average age is 70. It is
designed to provide a guaranteed income stream for as long as the
policyholders live. We have produced more than 250 sales of that product
online through our agents with an average premium of $238,000. Offline with
no internet involvement, the average sale is $99,000. So, if an agent makes a
sale from an internet lead, it’s likely going to be more than two times the
amount of the premium.
So there is effectively a market of 70-year-olds using the internet to research
financial products. They research long and hard and eventually they come to
NewYorkLife.com or respond to one of our pay-per-click campaigns. They give
3. us their name, their address, their phone number, the best time to call—and
they end up writing us a fairly substantial check.
eMarketer: What is the reason for that?
Hittel: This happens with people who understand right off the bat that New
York Life is a premium provider. People don’t normally come to us looking for
the lowest cost term life product. They’re not going to get it from us. People
who come to us know that they want the services of a financial professional.
They are usually willing to pay a premium for the brand and they’re happy with
that. They trust us. They know that we are safe and secure. From that
perspective it’s not surprising that most of the sales from online leads are for
our permanent life insurance products.
eMarketer: How have insurance aggregator and price comparison websites
affected your online marketing strategy?
Hittel: If you do a search for “life insurance” on Google, you will certainly see
New York Life come up in the organic results, but also in the pay-per-click
results. You might also see AccuQuote, SelectQuote, IntelliQuote, NetQuote,
you name it, in the pay-per-click results. Name your aggregator; they’re pretty
much all going to be there.
Google may not necessarily be the best search engine, but really it’s the best
reputation management system. All the aggregators can, effectively, buy
themselves credibility to appear on the same level as New York Life or
Prudential or a MetLife. That’s why it’s all the more necessary for us to bring
our brand attributes and our value proposition of the professional agent
experience to the fore. The aggregators have basically framed the life
insurance purchase in terms of price. That’s not a battle that we can or even try
to win.
eMarketer: How has New York Life extended the brand across new channels
such as social media?
“We’re not just a gold-domed building on Madison
Avenue. We’re real people with real personalities.”
Hittel: We have been most interested in showing the “human side” of New York
Life. We’re not just a gold-domed building on Madison Avenue. We’re real
people with real personalities.
When we launched our Twitter channel, we did it in conjunction with our
company’s promotion of the Big East men’s and women’s basketball
championship. The channel launch wasn’t about life insurance. Instead we
designed it to showcase the seven New York Life individuals who were at the
games, tweeting in their own voices.
On our Facebook page, we joined with a company called Educated Investor to
offer basic financial education. Consumers can take quizzes and peruse a
variety of financial education materials. It’s basic information, like how to budget
your money. We’re not trying to hit people over the head with life insurance.
4. eMarketer: How have agents responded to social networks?
“Our agents are by nature social networkers.
They make their livings by meeting people and
building up their social circles.”
Hittel: Our agents are by nature social networkers. They make their livings by
meeting people and building up their social circles. It was no surprise to us that
so many of our agents just naturally gravitated toward online social networking.
That was the major stimulus behind realizing that, as a corporation, we had to
be there, too.
eMarketer: Any goals to use social media for more product marketing?
Hittel: Without a doubt. But first, in social media you’ve got to establish who
you are. That is what we’re trying to do at this point. Ultimately, if we can show
we are genuine, people will trust us. When the time comes to deal with a life
insurance company, if they trust us, they’ll be willing to talk to us.
eMarketer: What strides has New York Life taken in mobile?
“We’ve instituted click-to-call functionality, so you
can call an agent right from the agent locator on
your phone.”
Hittel: We created our first mobile site back in 2007 as a stripped-down version
of NewYorkLife.com. It’s mostly an action-oriented type of site and has turned
into a very effective lead generator. We’ve instituted click-to-call functionality,
so you can call an agent right from the agent locator on your phone.
There are service-oriented capabilities, as well. About two months ago, we
launched our Virtual Service Center, which is the mobile version of our online
customer self-service. That now is available to all of our policyholders and
contract holders.
eMarketer: Have you seen an increase in demand from consumers who want
to use their mobile devices for quotes and agent information?
Hittel: It just keeps growing and growing. In early 2010 we launched a microsite
called GuaranteesMatter.com, which was built entirely in Abobe Flash. Because
some devices, such as the Apple iPhone, do not support Flash, our content
was unable to be viewed on such mobile phones. Frankly, we weren’t really
thinking about mobility when we launched this site. But with our first month’s
traffic report, we noticed that a few hundred people had tried to access the site
via mobile, and that number kept growing each month. So, during the
summertime, we produced a stripped-down version of the
GuaranteesMatter.com site that works on all mobile devices.
eMarketer: Guarantees Matter recently hosted a video contest. Can you
share details of that campaign?