Ad spending booms in war of car insurers; Progressive, Geico campaigns push industry outlay to $1 billion.(News)

Advertising Age, March, 2006 by Frazier, Mya

Byline: MYA FRAZIER

Looking for that rare beast, a booming ad category? Look no further than the car insurance business, where Geico's Gecko offensive has spawned a billion dollar ad war that looks set to escalate in 2006.

There are actually a host of reasons why car insurance providers have beefed up their marketing outlay in recent years. For one thing, greatly improved and rapidly searchable consumer databases allow the insurers to better analyze the risk they're taking underwriting any applicant, making them considerably less wary than they used to be about promoting their services to the masses. For another, the same technologies have lead to something of a commoditization of the business, a leveling of the playing field that has made brand...

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