HISCOX: ‘OBVIOUS RISKS’

There’s nothing like a threat to focus the mind

PROBLEM: Even insurance brokers don't really want to talk about professional indemnity insurance.

SOLUTION: They will if you dangle a piano over their head.

MEDIA: EXPERIENTIAL

Some types of insurance are an easy sell. It’s not difficult to see the need for house insurance, or travel cover. But professional indemnity insurance? Good luck with that.

For insurance brokers, however, selling these more esoteric forms of cover is a way of life. And these are precisely the people Hiscox wanted to attract during BIBA, the annual shindig for British insurance brokers.

Our stand idea was based on the thought ‘if only all risks were this obvious’ – a playful contrast between the immediate threat of a dangling grand piano, a tank full of spiders or a telescopic boxing glove and the subtler risks of legal action resulting from below-par professional services.

In building the stand, we wanted to demonstrate an understanding of the challenges brokers face in selling business insurance. But more importantly, we wanted to grab their attention in a crowded and competitive exhibition space.

As well as a precarious red piano, the stand included a tank full of ominous-looking spiders, into which visitors were challenged to drop their business cards.  The event was supported by activity in trade press, and we even commissioned a chalk drawing of a gaping hole outside the venue.

‘Obvious Risks’ resulted in a number of successful leads for Hiscox – and was named best stand in its class by the BIBA organisers.