Ted Ward, Geico

The world of Ted Ward is inhabited by cavemen, talking lizards and normal-sized people living in homes with four-foot ceilings. But that's nothing unusual for Ward, who, at 56, is the master of a Geico brand machine that consistently cranks out humor to sell a decidedly dull product. As vp-marketing at Geico, Ward, the son of a home builder, refuses to tell anyone they are "in good hands" or "like a good neighbor" to sell his service. He doesn't have to. With a built-in, smart-ass grin, the stout, broad-shouldered New Jersey-ite has proven he can deliver 40,000 new customers a week to Geico. His salt-and-pepper hair and business casual attire give his amiable demeanor a neighborly tweak. Ward's favorite comedian is Steve Martin, and the ringtone on his cell phone is the 2001 song "Remind Me," a tune by Norwegian electronic duo Röyksopp that is the background to the caveman airport spot. Like so many marketers, Ward turns to his family to gauge the impact of his work."My [teenage] sons are more cave guys than lizards," Ward said. "I knew we had a reasonable effort when they would wear cavemen T-shirts. My wife was a lizard first; now she's going to the cavemen."Some odd conversation, to say the least. But Ward dismisses the humor factor when he busts down what has been his best idea. "Fifteen minutes could save you 15%," Ward recites on cue when asked. "It's our mantra. And marrying that up with quirky and original humor makes the very benign line work."His top attribute at Geico?"One of the advantages I brought was consistency," Ward said. "There is nothing less productive than shopping for an agency, and I have done it once [in 23 years]. Our competition juggles shops, and it hurts them. And I hope they continue to do it."Ward's proclamation is provincial compared to his reputation as a freewheeling guy who embraces challenges not just for profit, but for the fun of it."Ted is the guy most likely to attempt to fly around the world and barely make it because he loaded an extra case of champagne on the plane," mused Brad Armstrong, a former fratmate at the University of Virginia who happens to be evp and partner at The Martin Agency, Geico's lead shop since 1994.Geico has dodged the "gag and tag" label by keeping its product front and center, despite the show-stealing purveyors of its service."This is not a case where the theater has overpowered the brand name," said Charles Rosen, principal at the consultancy Amalgamated, New York. "Geico is top of mind for anyone looking for car insurance."Part of Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway empire, Geico has achieved solid financial growth of late. The company recorded revenues of $11 billion during the fiscal year ended December 2006, an increase of 9.4% over 2005, per Datamonitor, New York. Geico sells homeowner's, flood and a bevy of other insurance coverage, but it's the auto end of the business that puts Geico on the map. And while it is by no means the biggest player in its crowded category (No. 1 State Farm had $60.5 billion in revenues in 2006), Geico's market share gain of 13% has outranked all competitors in the past four years, per financial service rating firm A. M. Best, Brunswick, N.J. Geico's local market share captures have also been prolific. It is now No. 1, for example, in New York State and Washington.That's not all. J.D. Power's National Auto Insurance study, released in August, found Geico ranked fourth in overall customer satisfaction, with consumers praising its prices and speed of payment.But all this comes at a cost: Geico spends more on advertising than anyone else in its category. Media expenditures jumped to $576 million last year, up from $171 million in 2002, per Nielsen Monitor-Plus. The mix has remained roughly evenly split between network and cable TV, while online spending has quadrupled since 2005."Geico's slogan of 15 minutes and 15% has worked its way into the vernacular," noted Robert Hartwig, president of the Insurance Information Institute, New York. "The whole marketing for Geico has become part of [everyone's] consciousness when it comes to insurance."Car insurance is hardly the stuff that stirs souls. But in his 23 years at Geico, it is that substance that prompts skits—such as the "so easy, a caveman can do it" series of ads—that would be the envy of many comedy-writing teams.Witness a recent creative meeting at The Martin Agency. On a sweltering August morning, Ward pulls his cream-colored Cadillac Escalade up to the firm's Richmond , Va., offices for the monthly exchange of ideas. Those present include creative director Steve Bassett."The bar is getting higher and higher with this account," Bassett said. "They are a really tough client, but we've been on the same page with Ted from the beginning. He knows that advertising can't solve all of a business' problems."Bassett is the guy who came up with Geico's squirrel spots in which the little rodent runs into the road, the car veers out of control and crashes, and he runs back to the side of the road to high-five his pals. Bassett also helped sort out the speaking voice for the Geico gecko back in the late '90s. The agency called for tapes and they rolled in: Southern accents, surfer accents and so on. Instinct drove him to the upper crust Brit inflection.Bassett especially admire's Geico's laser-like focus on ROI. "They measure everything," he said. "And if an ad isn't working, they make adjustments to media weight immediately."The subject of the new radio spots is the upcoming Auto RX service, in which Geico will guide the customer through the auto repair process. The concept features a victimized motorist who welcomes a collision that will allow him to use Auto RX. "Wow, thanks so much for sideswiping me," said Martin copywriter Todd Brusnighan, nervously reciting his own libretto. "Maybe next time you can get the other side."Ward is reading along and rubbing his chin. Later in the script, the straight-man narrator proclaims that Auto RX is "like going to the doctor, except you don't have to get naked."Brusnighan watches as Ward reads the copy. Ward is already thinking precision: What are the most common accidents? Is the simple fender-bender more prevalent and, therefore, more believable? He'll find out. The spot will get made, with tweaks, and people will continue to ponder the omnipresence of Geico.But therein lies a problem. Ward, a man not given to worry but more to enjoying the ride, acknowledges the concern. "I worry about that," he said, referring to the possibility of overexposure of his brand.The Geico ads are everywhere. And not just the commercials. Consumers see the signage on the back of bumper cars at amusement parks, wrapped on turnstiles at train stations and on baseball park stadiums around the country. There are flyover banners, the tollbooth stickers, the print ads and so on.The enormous spending is driven by great competition and great profit margins. Accident rates have slowed, thanks to sturdier cars and more advanced risk-assessment methods. "There's no doubt it's a softening market, and Geico has managed to keep in front of that," said Rich Attanasio, an analyst at AM Best. "Geico is ahead of the game in some respects in that it doesn't rely on agents and is able to do its job with the 800 number and the Internet."When Ward left a now defunct agency and arrived at Geico headquarters in Chevy Chase, Md., in 1984, he was searching for something that could catapult him into advertising infamy. He had touched the heart of institutionalism before, seeking jobs for newly released inmates for the Virginia Department of Corrections."Things have changed a lot since Ted came along," said Phil Ovuka, director of media creative services at Geico. He predates Ward by three years, but has watched as his division's currency has bloomed. His staff worked most recently on the very viral cavemanscrib.com, an interactive site where 10,000 new visitors a day are spending an average of 13 minutes watching the cavemen cavort at a party and its aftermath."They gave us the creative from Martin, and we took it from there," Ovuka said. "The cavemen have lives now, thanks to us."Ward does, too, of course, though he seems inextricably linked now with the Geico brand.Said his old pal, Martin's Armstrong: "Ted loves life, he sucks it in and gets the best out of it. He's got an amazing ability to trust and experiment. It's kind of a 'Let's make an ad and see what happens' sense of adventure. And more often than not, it works." Photo by Nicholas McIntosh

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Ted Ward, Geico

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