Harrington-Hoch Insurance is the oldest insurance agency in East Central Indiana. It’s image, corporate identity and building were very old and showing the signs. There were new competitors making headway into the market and the enduring agency was starting to lose ground. They are in a location that was experiencing its own challenges with some possible negative effects for the agency.

These challenges facing Harrington-Hoch were many. Could a rebrand give new life to an aging and established company? Would some research help with this decision making process? Should they stay in their current location of 40 years and risk any negative side-effects of doing so?

Our first step was to get to know the owners and staff and learn more about their business, perceived challenges and goals. Applying The GateWay Methodology, IronGate conducted intensive brand research with customers and employees. From this research we were able to gain insight into their customer personas and what was important as it relates to their insurance needs — and in their relationship with Harrington-Hoch. We then created a fresh rebrand that repositioned HH as a trusted advisor and insurance provider.

Our GateWay methodology revealed the company had a great deal of legacy customers and their location wasn’t really hurting new business development. Most of their new business was fostered by agents either visiting a prospective client’s home or business, or simply over the phone. There was concern among management that a poor location was impacting their image and reputation. After more than 40 years at the same location, our research convinced them to stay in their current location and invest in the community. They fixed up their building facade and remodeled the interior as well. New corporate identity and signage also enhanced the overall look. A new logo, tagline and brand palette was created, in conjunction with a new website, photography, and brand anthem video. Additionally, a series of billboards were concepted and designed that depicted little accidents in a light-hearted way that expressed that HH would take care of all of their insurance needs. The tagline “We Got This” worked well with those marketing images and garnered attention. A customer testimonial campaign was also implemented focusing on a younger demographic. All of these tactics made Harrington-Hoch feel fresh and relevant.

Harrington-Hoch received much needed exposure from their rebrand, creating momentum and placing them top-of-mind with both existing and potential customers. The campaign success was verified by an abundant amount of compliments and increased referrals. During the next two years they saw sales growth increase about 8% each year.