Ramon Jones has followed his company’s “Nationwide is on your side” jingle-turned-mantra throughout his 23 years with the insurance brand, but didn’t begin actively defending the thesis until six years ago when he switched from Nationwide’s operations side to marketing. His career evolved from working in a call center as an underwriter and hearing people on the other end of the line dealing with catastrophe to taking the CMO chair in 2019 and trying to build public trust just before the world plunged into a pandemic.
“It’s a noble cause,” Jones said. “We’re trying to be there and be our best for people when they’re having a difficult time.”
Though Jones has never worked with an agency or in another company’s marketing department, his hours spent with claims representatives, salespeople, agents and brokers informed Nationwide’s marketing strategy once he became CMO. Under Jones, Nationwide marketing managed its reputation and lived up to its slogan, telling customers what they could expect from interactions with the brand: showing its modern, inclusive face and, he said, “not screaming at you, ‘Switch and save $500.’”
Taking his marketing chief role shortly after new CEO and fellow Nationwide veteran Kirt Walker was installed, Jones and Nationwide went into crisis management to deal with the pandemic in 2020. Jones continued to build long-term trust by bringing in Philadelphia soul mainstay Jill Scott to perform a soothing version of its seven-note jingle for a new campaign. Where Scott brought calm and stability, Nationwide added reassuring voices including Peyton Manning and H.E.R. to reiterate the “on your side” messaging without shouting it.
After 25,000 Nationwide employees worked remotely and juggled health and family concerns with the upkeep of a Fortune 100 company, Nationwide posted a record $52.9 billion in total sales in 2021. It topped that in 2022, with $57 billion in sales.
“That’s the consumer telling us that we’re doing something right,” Jones said. “It’s one thing to put branding into the market to get attention from a customer acquisition perspective; it’s another thing to reassure that consumer that trusting Nationwide is a good decision.”
It’s one thing to put branding into the market to get attention from a customer acquisition perspective; it’s another thing to reassure that consumer that trusting Nationwide is a good decision.
Ramon Jones
Nationwide’s response was tested during a different crisis in 2022. Roughly a year into its sponsorship of the National Women’s Soccer League, an NWSL investigation by former U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates found widespread abuse and misconduct.
After the report’s release, Jones spoke with other CMOs with NWSL partnerships—including outspoken Ally Bank marketing leader and previous Brand Genius winner Andrea Brimmer—and agreed to come together with a unified message for the league that held them “as accountable as we hold our own teams.” Nationwide was among the first NWSL sponsors to issue a statement, saying it was “deeply disturbed” by the findings but trusted the league to enact reforms swiftly.
“What I wanted to make clear to my partners over at the National Women’s Soccer League was that Nationwide would be there for them,” Jones said, with one major caveat: “As long as they are holding themselves accountable and as long as they are making values-based decisions going forward.”
As league and team leadership in the NWSL changed and new policies were put into place, Nationwide began supporting NWSL players with a career development program that brings athletes to its Columbus, Ohio, headquarters for two weeks, introduces them to business leaders and trains them in accounting, finance, insurance and financial services to provide options beyond their sports careers.
Jones credits his Philadelphia upbringing—including his years at Central High School and his first job cleaning school buses with his brother at age 13—for building a strong work ethic and showing him the opportunities that eventually pointed the way to the Wharton School of Business. It taught him to give back and see past challenges and imperfections to potential, the way he said people along his journey to Nationwide have helped him.
“It’s called the City of Brotherly Love, and it’s like you would treat your brother,” Jones said of Philly. “You’ve got to love your brother unconditionally, but you’re also going to hold them accountable.”
This story is part of Adweek’s Brand Genius 2023 honors, recognizing the top marketers who have delivered long-term success for some of the world’s leading brands.
This story first appeared in the July 2023 issue of Adweek magazine. Click here to subscribe.
