Comments on: Geico’s “False Bonding”

By: Boucher

Boucher — Thu, 15 May 2008 20:36:14 +0000

GEICO could not care less about their customes or other consumers. Texas has a Consumer Bill of Rights for Auto Insurance which states “An insurance company may not specify the brand, type, kind, age, vendor, supplier, or condition of parts or products used to repair your automobile”. David Halley, a supervisor with Geico in Texas, stated “We don’t specify what parts you can use to repair your auto, we just don’t have to pay for any parts except what we specify”. What a ripoff!!! If their rates are cheaper, I guess its because you get what you pay for.

By: Beth

Beth — Thu, 15 May 2008 04:43:43 +0000

When renters call Geico for renters insurance, they are actually referred to Travellers.

It’s still unclear how much of a cut Geico gets from policies established with Travellers as a result.

By: ankara nakliyat

ankara nakliyat — Sat, 10 May 2008 09:19:17 +0000

thanks.

By: Ken Norkin, Freelance Copywriter

Ken Norkin, Freelance Copywriter — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 23:20:25 +0000

Geico is on the mark in saying that renters are cool. The younger members of the so-called “creative class” that many cities are trying to lure are renters. As renters, they’re more likely to move for good — and cool — jobs than are homeowners. As Richard Florida, whose career is pretty much all about the creative class, writes on his blog: “(ownership) is a significant institutional impediment to the flexibility, adjustment and mobility the creative economy requires. NYC and London will derive even greater benefits over time from high rates of renters.” Of course, a radio spot trying to sell renter’s insurance isn’t the place to expound on the significance of the creative class. So the point gets boiled down to “renters are cool and they own cool stuff” — which they’re able to afford because they haven’t yet made themselves house poor with a mortgage and they’re not yet spending their disposable income on kids. This spot is playing to the affluent renters who are intelligent enough to understand the message that their cool stuff needs protecting. Sure, Bob’s rewrite makes the same point. But not with the creative personality that has become central to Geico’s brand.

By: Peter George

Peter George — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 16:53:11 +0000

Your premise, Bob, that GEICO is being insincere has to be dead on. It is illogical to believe that the company thinks renters are cool. But then again, how different is that from “Yes, honey, you DO look great in that dress.”? The insincerity may be there, but then again, it is the resulting bond that matters.

By: Graham Strong

Graham Strong — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 22:39:53 +0000

I was just about to write what Brian wrote. However, what definitely holds true of my generation when I was renting may not hold true for today’s Generation Y (or Z, or A2, or wherever we are at…) Perhaps they do look to the future more than we did?

One hopes that Geico did their homework on this one. But there is one thing that is for sure — *I* was a lot cooler when I rented…

~Graham

By: Brian

Brian — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 16:20:29 +0000

OK, first of all this comes from an organization whose spokesbeing is a gecko. You want logic?

Second, I think your “fall flat” prediction will be right but for a different reason. Renters do have cool stuff, which is why they are renters. They overspend for stuff and don’t save. It is this short-sighted thinking that would also lead them to take a pass on any voluntary insurance.

By: SpongeBob Fan

SpongeBob Fan — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 15:50:44 +0000

Well, many renters are younger and - you know - I think they do have more “cool” stuff. (A friend of mine, a renter, was the first one on the block with a DVD player and lots of DVDs. Which were all stolen a couple of years later when he had a break-in! Not that insurance would have probably covered that loss!)

That’s the advantage/problem with being 40+ … I’ll speak for myself — I could care less about cool. Used to care, not any more. I have more “stuff” than I can deal with … now something has to be a LOT more than just “brand-new” to get my attention.