I’ve commented before about the zany, but highly effective, marketing campaign featuring superstar meerkat “Aleksandr Orlov” and his “Compare The Meerkat” site…
“Emotional Direct Response Meerkating?!?”
So I was interested in this recent article…
“Comparethemarket warns Google to play fair”
…and decided to take a look at the what’s been happening with the campaign.
The results of the campaign continue to be impressive…
According to the company, Comparethemarket has a market share “north of 30 percent”.
Sales at the parent company were up 19% although profits looked to be flat.
But, I’m wondering if they might be getting a little off track.
In an earlier post I discussed some potential problems…
“Is Direct Response Meerkating Dangerous?”
The latest development involves a line of cute meerkat cuddly toys that customers get as a gift when they purchase insurance…
…as we see here…
Couple of problems I see with this…
1) It’s not funny. Not even amusing…and I’m a big fan of the original ads.
2) It’s kind of weird that they’re showing the “customer” looking a little uncomfortable…if not actually horrified!
3) There’s a loss of focus. Originally, it was all about “cheap car insurance”…a very simple (‘simples?”), clear proposition. Now they’re trying to sell home and pet(!?!) insurance as well.
4) Is a cute cuddly toy really going to attract new business? As a gift to existing customers to improve retention, sure. For new business, I’m doubtful.
Looks like there’s also a problem in that Alexsandr and the whole meerkat alternative world may have become TOO successful…
…as the campaign looks to drive traffic directly to the main site rather than the “spoof” site…
A problem with traffic clogging the site? I would have thought more bandwith and a subtle re-focusing of the campaign would have been better.
I sense some problems coming up with this campaign.
Are Alexsandr’s days numbered? Watch this space!