Challenge: To evolve John Hancock’s “Real Life, Real Answers” campaign and brand strategy, which had been in place for 10 years, to ensure the brand’s continued relevance in the marketplace.

Objective: After working closely with John Hancock for a decade, our goal was to help develop the “next generation” brand strategy and campaign that would evolve John Hancock from a respected but entrenched “insurance company” to a credible “insurance and investment” company.

Solution: Plan-it designed and conducted extensive exploratory research among a breadth of audiences, using a wide variety of discussion and visual techniques to delve deeply into consumer emotions. We also worked closely with the creative team on the development of the resulting campaign, “Insurance for the Unexpected. Investments for the Opportunity” to ensure on-point messaging.

Result: The principals of Plan-it recommended an “evolved” positioning direction that became the foundation for the new communications. Within six months, attitudes toward John Hancock improved dramatically in critical areas associated with investments (e.g., investment expertise, service, and flexibility). The “Insurance for the Unexpected. Investments for the Opportunity” campaign went on to win awards in almost every major creative show in the industry. The New York Times later ranked John Hancock among “100 most powerful corporate, media, and product brands of the twentieth century,” the only insurance company included on the list.