Dudes have a thing for Flo, the perky Progressive Insurance saleswoman played by actress Stephanie Courtney. Perhaps it's her retro look or, in the words of one smitten blogger, her "kissable red red lips." In search of answers, ABC television's Atlanta affiliate tracked down the 38-year-old actress, who seems a bit baffled by all the fuss.
  On her look: "They tease my hair, spray it and stick the headband in it. And the makeup is like painting a portrait on my face. It's insane. It totally changes things on my face. It's like having a mask on."
  On her character: "It's me at my silliest. You start off with a script, but at the end they usually let me put a little zinger in there. We put a little mustard on it. That's when it gets fun. Flo could be one of my improv characters, always on and sort of cracked in a weird way."
  On her sex appeal: "I don't know what it is. The way I play her, she's pretty much the most asexual thing on TV right now. I think the Geico lizard puts out more sexual vibes than Flo does."
  Check out Flo's new holiday spot here.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Jacob Doherty, a 21-year-old loan collector from Kentucky who's "friendly, helpful and loves insurance," has won the chance to be in Progressive print and video ads from Arnold with Stephanie Courtney, aka Flo—the woman who inspires intense feelings from the AdFreak readership. Doherty's video, below, beat out 2,500 others to land him this gig, and it's not bad. His concept is decent, and similar setups have worked for other brands (Old Spice's "I'm a Man" ads spring to mind). He needs a dialect coach for everything but his T. Boone Pickens impression, though.

—Posted by David Kiefaber

MediaPost has published a new list of Google’s top ten search advertisers based on fourth-quarter data from 2010. According to the list, Amazon ranks as Google’s top spender, followed by AT&T, Capital One, Target, Expedia, Ebay, Progressive, Sprint, Geico, and State Farm.

Business Insider has dissected the list on their site. Despite the fact that Amazon is such a well-known brand and would probably show up in most searches even without paying for keywords, they believe that Amazon probably spends so much on Google “to pre-empt and bid up smaller competitors who could drive traffic and revenue from the biggest e-commerce keywords." It’s also not unexpected that financial and e-commerce companies would spend so much on search ads, says the post, because competition in their sector is especially fierce and the value of a lifetime customer is very high compared to the relatively low cost of an ad. Travel companies, with their generally expensive fares, rank high on the list for similar reasons.

So what does this list say about Google? Out of the $23 billion in revenue that they bring in from ads each year, their largest advertiser, Amazon, makes up less that 1% of that number, and according to Business Insider, Google’s isn't beholden to any single advertiser, a big advantage.

Stephanie Courtney, who plays Flo in the Progressive Insurance campaign, is one of the great commercial actresses working today. People love her—sometimes a little too much. But Courtney, a former member of the Groundlings, doesn't have a chance to really show off her comedic range in the Progressive campaign. She does in the video below—an amusing, unbranded Mother's Day video called "Dad's New Girlfriend," a side project from Biscuit Filmworks director Clay Weiner. Hopefully she'll get a major film role soon. She deserves it.

Progressive Insurance is surely longing for the days when the Internet's most pressing question about its spokeswoman Flo was whether she is hot or not.
     Matt Fisher's devastating Tumblr post about the death of his sister, a Progressive customer, in a car accident—and his claim, though the company denies it (UPDATE: which Fisher insists, once again, is true), that it defended her killer in court in an effort not to pay out the benefit on her policy—have left Flo completely out of her depth. It's true of any bright, bubbly mascot when its owner does something insidious. They suddenly look clownish and insipid. (Had Geico been the offending party, the gecko would be swiftly fed through the lizard grinder.) And it's worse with Flo, who was already seen by many, with her too-happy demeanor and plastic sheen, as somewhat creepy.
     Progressive understands Flo is now a liability, at least for now, though the company was way too slow to replace her avatar with the corporate logo on its main Twitter account—leaving Flo to smile maddeningly as she robo-spammed canned responses at people who had read Fisher's story and were horrified. (Flo hasn't said anything on her own Twitter page in several days. The actress who plays her, Stephanie Courtney, hasn't tweeted yet—and of course, this has nothing to do with her, anyway.) Over on Facebook, Flo is seen in the latest post thinking deep thoughts, under this status update: "Is it possible to have déjà vu of déjà vu?"—a note, posted before Fisher's, that now seems oblivious at best. (Her thought bubble says "#flowonders." Surprisingly, that hashtag has been hijacked by only a few people on Twitter.)
     Even random consumer-generated Flo content is getting savaged—like the photo above, titled "The Great Wall of Flo," posted by a fan to Progressive's Facebook page. The only comment in response: "With this many Flo's, you could be screwed out of your progressive policy payout TEN TIMES all at once!"
     In the end, Flo will survive—she's too big to fail. But don't expect her to utter a word about this. As Go Daddy would say, she's what's outside. The lawyers are what's inside.

Remember six weeks ago, when people were calling for Flo's pale, peppy head on a platter after Progressive supposedly defended a customer's killer in court? Well, we knew Flo was too big to fail—and indeed she was. Stephanie Courtney's character is still on the air, and now she's fronting the kind of new initiative that's perfect for a brand trying to heal from a social-media flogging—a charity project. Progressive is teaming up with designer Candice Held to raise money for Dress for Success, a nonprofit that provides job-interview attire for women who can't afford it. Between now and Oct. 4, you can bid on a one-of-a-kind Candice Held dress that Flo wore in "red carpet" magazine ads earlier this year. It is quite the dress—it's a souped-up version of the plain store outfit Flo wears in her TV spots. And by souped up, we're talking 1,000 hand-placed crystals on the train. Bidding began at $200 and is already over $3,000. The "I ♥ Insurance" purse, arguably the even more awesome item, is not part of the package. "We chose Candice for this project because she's a top-notch designer, and we knew she'd do a great job turning Flo's everyday Superstore outfit into an elegant gown," says Progressive marketing director Miriam Deitcher. "It's a great dress and we'd love to keep it, but we're happy we can use it to raise money for a good cause." Likewise, Flo is a great spokesperson, and they'd clearly like to keep her, too.

Motorcycle shows always have hot girls around to show off the bikes, but design firm i.d.e.a.'s campaign for the Progressive International Motorcycle Shows took it one step further by turning the girls into bikes. Yes, that's what I meant to say. A crew of supernaturally flexible models (male and female, actually), after being detailed by fashion body painter Trina Merry, stacked themselves into group poses that mimicked a speed bike, a dirt bike, and a cruiser. Out of respect, I won't call them human balloon animals, but they aren't far from that. The whole thing might honestly be too avant garde for a bike show, but it's a neat concept that took a lot of hard work to pull off. I'm just concerned that the campaign, set to run in 13 markets nationwide, will be met with a lot of dumb comments about the models' headlights.

They’ve been with us for over a century now, greeting shoppers in store aisles, striking a pose on packaging, and popping up in TV spots and on the Web. If you’re a marketer, there’s more than a passing chance you’ve worked with one—and if you’re a shopper, there’s probably at least one of them already in your home. They are mascots—people or creatures who pitch brands to the public—and for a really old idea (the Michelin Man dates back to 1898), they have incredible staying power. By our count, there are some 140 major brand mascots out there.

And yet, only a handful are female.

From old-timers like Mr. Clean and Count Chocula to newcomers like the Kia hamsters and the Geico gecko, the most popular and enduring brand characters are all boys. But considering that women make 85 percent of all consumer purchases, doesn’t it seem like something’s off?

“I’ve talked to people about this issue, and I don’t know why it is,” says Jennifer Smith, owner of character creator AvantGarb, which made the mascot for TiVo (which, Smith points out, has no gender). Smith ventures that the dearth of female characters is a function of “a kind of Mad Men ethos” that still pervades the marketing trade. “But,” she adds, “we’d totally like to make more girl characters.”

Here, a look at some of the few female characters out there. Maybe in time they’ll have more company.

Click here to view the Best Female Brand Mascots

Flo broke Michael Buffer's spleen.

At least, that's the punch line in Progressive Insurance's newest—and 89th—TV commercial featuring its characteristically peppy spokeswoman, Flo. Launched Monday, the ad is also the first in the Flo series to incorporate a live celebrity (of sorts). In the spot, Buffer, the boxing announcer, performs an insurance-themed version on his famously-drawn out slogan, "Let's get ready to rumble." 

The twist: "Let's get ready to bundle."

Bundling is the practice of buying both auto and home coverage from the same provider. Insurers say such package deals save consumers money, though some consumer advocates contend that's not always the case. 

It's a familiar point of focus for Progressive's advertising, which has in the past relied on off-beat concepts like combining a cat and a rocket ship to sell consumers on its bundled offering. 

Now, the company's executives hope the emphasis Buffer's bit places on the word "bundle" itself will help it capture a greater share of the bundling market. "It's a pretty big category," said Jeff Charney, Progressive's chief marketing officer. "If you want to own the category, you have to own the catchphrase."  

"[Buffer is] one of these guys that people like to have a little bit of fun with," added Charney. "And we're having fun with him the way the consumer would like to have fun with him."

Charney also hopes the length of the word will grab listeners' attention, even if they're not in the same room as the TV when the ad runs. "'Let's get ready to bundle,' for that many seconds—you hear that, if you are in the kitchen doing something, this will stop you."

In addition to the new ad, the insurer has four more spots in development around Flo, who it plans to keep using indefinitely. Created by Progressive's lead creative agency, Arnold Worldwide, Flo was first introduced in 2008. In 2010, the brand expanded its cast of characters with a male counterpart, "The Messenger," and last year Flo weathered a social media firestorm around the company's handling of a claim in which the policyholder was killed.

The idea going forward, Charney said, is to treat Flo's campaign like a sitcom, continuing to develop the character—and possibly inviting other celebrities to meet her. (In addition to Buffer, one previous ad in the series featured Sonic the Hedgehog, and a recent spot saw the brand's anthropomorphized product, a cartoon of a talking box, voiced by Saturday Night Live alum Chris Parnell.)

"She's at the top of her game right now, [and] we want to keep her at the top of the game," he explained. "If you have this philosophy that we have—almost like a network philosophy—as long as she continues to be relevant, she can run a long time. And that's our intent."

Progressive takes a swipe at "rate suckers" in this odd spot depicting bad drivers who cause price increases for everyone else as zombies who leap onto your car and suck on its surfaces with their gaping mouths. They hang on tenaciously in traffic, and continue sucking even after the driver stops and chats with a pitchlady (not Flo) about Progressive's Snapshot travel monitoring device (which, FYI, has raised some privacy concerns among consumer groups). The suck-action, for lack of a better term, is damn disconcerting, and such a distraction that it detracts from the overall message. Stop drooling on the hood, you freaks! It's strange there's no Flo. She's sucked for years.

Do you wish your wife were more like Flo, the ever-peppy, white-aproned saleswoman for Progressive Insurance? Do you wish your home were more like the Superstore, the white-walled setting of dozens of Progressive commercials, and regular habitat of Flo? Probably not. Still, this new spot from ad agency Arnold shows you what it would feel like anyway. It starts off with the sort of fairly routine "Have you heard about [Product X]?" discussion about which only marketers fantasize, and ends with a husband's whole world—including his spouse—being transformed into a scene from a light-filled insurance salesroom. According to Progressive, it's the first Superstore ad sans Flo—or at least, with Stephanie Courtney as Flo. She is approaching her 100th commercial for the brand, but also finds herself joined by a growing cast of characters and guest stars. Naysayers, don't get your hopes up, though—she's survived much worse than a little vacation.

Paul Nelson and Elliott Seaborn have been promoted to managing directors at the Boston headquarters of Arnold.

Previously, Nelson and Seaborn were managing partners, heads of marketing for the office. The change gives them operational oversight, with responsibility for client management, business growth and driving cross-channel business. They report to Arnold Boston president Pam Hamlin.

Nelson, 44, joined Arnold in 1995 and currently leads the anti-tobacco Legacy account, which is in review. In addition, he oversees the agency’s Jack Daniel’s business and the Centers for Disease Control’s “Tips From Former Smokers” effort. Nelson has spent most of the last 18 years at Arnold, save for a year at Toth Brand Imaging in Boston. 

Seaborn, 42, joined Arnold in 2011 and leads the agency's Progressive account. Previously, he spent more than nine years at Digitas, Boston, where he worked on General Motors and Aflac. Earlier in his career, he held account management roles at Ammirati Puris Lintas and Grey.

The changes represent the latest management moves under new worldwide CEO Robert LePlae. LePlae also made Wade Devers and Pete Johnson creative lead partners in Boston (amid Pete Favat's exit for Deutsch LA) and recruited Corey Mitchell, a former TBWA\Chiat\Day and MRM leader, to fill the president's role in New York. Mitchell succeeded Lynn Power, who left in June.

That was fast. Eleven months after taking the reins of Arnold as CEO and 15 months after he joined the agency as global president, Robert LePlae is out.

Succeeding him as the top executive at the Havas agency is Pam Hamlin, albeit with a different title: global president.

Hamlin is a 15-year veteran of Arnold who most recently was president of the shop's Boston headquarters. In contrast, LePlae was a newcomer to the shop, who spent the bulk of his career at TBWA and more recently, McCann Erickson.

In a statement, new Havas chairman Yannick Bolloré described Hamlin and other leaders at the agency as a "passionate and talented group."

Top accounts at Arnold include Hershey, Progressive, CVS, ADT and Fidelity Investments. Globally, the agency has offices in 14 cities that span 12 countries.

Progressive spokeswoman Flo sat out the Super Bowl—"We're not trying to make the noise even noisier," the company's CMO, Jeff Charney, said late last week—but she's all over the whole Facebook Look Back thing.

Below, check out Flo's "Look Back" video, which is apparently a parody, unless Facebook approved the unicorn image at the end instead of the Like sign. In fact, Flo's whole video is about unicorns, which she's been associated with ever since a 2010 ad, when she exclaimed that homeowners and auto insurance, bundled together, is like "unicorns and glitter."

There's also a Unicorns & Glitter tab on her Facebook page, where you can get more intimately acquainted with all things Flo.

Progressive is in a digital insurance war, and its ad-buying strategy is its secret weapon.

The insurance company has invested in systems on its own, bypassing agencies and working directly with ad tech firm Turn for programmatic buying and more recently for data management and measurement tools.

Advertising insurance is a high-stakes game online, and finding the right consumer is all about getting the best data to serve highly targeted ads. Progressive won’t discuss much of its tactics, protecting them like classified information.

“We’re buying display media all over digital channels across device, desktop, mobile and tablets,” said Chris Scott, Progressive’s head of emerging media. “The things we are excited about are the power of bringing data to the equation and how that adds to our campaigns.”

Progressive is not alone. A number of brands are contemplating the idea of ramping up in-house tech, which media players are trying to dissuade.

Other brands have already invested in their own programmatic platforms, including Geico, The Gap, Netflix and AT&T, ad tech execs said.

Jared Belsky, president of 360i, has seen a handful of brand clients try to jump headfirst into programmatic buying. “A lot of people are under pressure to strike technology deals,” Belsky said. “It’s pervasive.”

With the rise of auction-based online ad exchanges, brands’ first inclination was to invest in programmatic teams and technology. Now, like Progressive, they are licensing directly with data management platforms such as Turn and BlueKai as well as attribution players like Visual IQ.

Licensing these types of services could cost marketers $5 million annually at a minimum, according to sources familiar with the pricing.

Tech players said that do-it-yourself programmatic isn’t exactly rocket science and holds advantages, like allowing brands to maintain control of their first-party data.

“If it’s programmatic inventory, it’s really easy to do,” said Ted Dhanik, CEO of engage:BDR, the Los Angeles-based ad network. “You can train your receptionist to do it.”

In some cases, the agencies have done the training for the brands when they introduced them to programmatic. The media companies help establish teams to work with on the brand side, and that can lead to some interesting calculations.

“You need to throttle back putting too many strategic-minded people over there,” an agency executive said, suggesting that the brands could get too expert and strike out on their own.

Still, some say big media agencies like Starcom and OMD have the advantage. They sell brands on their data platforms, strategies and media deals, which keep the market in continual change as new players emerge such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Pinterest.

“Programmatic buying is ridiculously complex,” said one media executive. “We will beat you every time at the auction.”

Yes, LeBron James dressed up as Progressive's spokeswoman Flo for Halloween, but this isn't just a quick stunt. Nope. It's part of a new digital campaign that Progressive is calling "The Switch" (hopefully it's more charming than the aggressively bad Jason Bateman-Jennifer Aniston romcom of the same name) that will include the brand's first video Instagram spot later this week.

"We've paired the King of Sports, LeBron James, with the Queen of Marketing, Flo, for a unique, digital-first execution we're calling 'The Switch,'" chief marketing officer Jeff Charney said in a statement. "In the coming months, look for more digital bread crumbs that show a different side of each of these icons. The Switch is just getting started … there's much more to come on Instagram and other channels. Stay tuned." 

Hmm ... cryptic. 

Social Media Profile (as of 11/5/14)
Facebook Likes: 321,844
Twitter Followers: 32,300
Instagram Followers: 5,176
 

 

It’s game time. #FloBron #switch

A photo posted by @progressive on Nov 11, 2014 at 9:33am PDT

The brand has been rolling out shots of LeBron and Flo on Instagram this week. The Instagram spot is expected later this week.

Recent Advertising

Progressive's ads have a particular brand of humor, and the spot above fits in nicely with that. Personally, I'm not amused by hand puppets—though it is amazing that Flo is recognizible in such a fashion—but fake infomercials? Yes, please. 

Fast Facts

• The insurer was founded in 1937 by Joseph Lewis and Jack Green, who wanted to make auto insurance easy and accessible. 
• Flo, the company's infamous spokeswoman played by Stephanie Courtney, was introduced in 2008. She's been in more than 75 spots and has nearly 5.5 million Facebook likes.
• The company introduced many now-standard online features for insurers like purchasing insurance online and comparing rates. 
• Progressive was the first insurer to offer a "Name Your Price" option in 2009. 

Those who follow the saga of Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch's media interviews know he is notoriously a man of few words.

Whether it's answering every question with a laid-back "Yeah" or just thanking the press instead of uttering a real response, Lynch has unceremoniously been fined several times for his refusal to talk to journalists. However, not one but two brands—Skittles and Progressive—have now managed to get the tight-lipped athlete to talk.

Skittles, a first-time Super Bowl advertiser, staged a mock press conference with Lynch as part of the teasers for its in-game ads. He answers questions like whether he prefers cat or dog videos, if he wishes he could rush for a 200-yard touchdown, and if he'd rather arrive to the game in a blimp or a jetpack. There's also handfuls of the candy available for Lynch to chomp down on, which is probably why he looks uncharacteristically joyful during the stunt.



Separately, Lynch also sat down to chat with sports reporter Kenny Mayne for Progressive in the amusingly off-kilter video below. They mostly just play word association, although at one point Marshawn shares his love of Progressive's spokeswoman, purring, "I'm all about that Flo, boss."

The Progressive campaign is also raising money for Lynch's charity, Fam 1st Family Foundation. The running back has signed a pair of cleats, which will be sold on eBay—with all proceeds benefiting the foundation.

Please keep being you, Beast Mode.

For marketers, Instagram has proved to be an ally. The platform allows them to quickly track how their campaigns are doing and learn from what's working and what isn't. And with 400 million monthly users, some brands are even launching new products there.

During a discussion with Daniel Habashi, Instagram's director of brand development, Progressive's digital marketing director, Nader Ali-Hassan, credited his brand's success to its ability to look at the numbers. 

"We joke [that] we're in an arms race [in the insurance business]," said Ali-Hassan. "It's 10 a.m. and you've probably seen seven insurance ads already. But for us, it's about being innovative and being first, and the great thing about digital marketing is that we can measure and track if something works." 

Keri La Ra, director of global social media and digital compliance at Starwood Hotels & Resorts, agreed. "The best part of it is that we can learn from it," La Ra said.

Earlier this year, Starwood launched Tribute Portfolio, a new chain of hotels, and used Instagram's "Carousel" option, which lets consumers swipe right to see a few images, as its main source of promotion. 

"Social media, instead of complementary marketing, is now at the forefront," said La Ra. Though, she added, "How you engage with consumers on each platform is different." 

For example, Starwood's Instagram followers expect to see more polished looking content from the brand than what they'd typically see on the platform, she said, and that leads to more engagement.

Starwood has also bet big on LinkedIn and Uber, according to La Ra, who said that mobile is the fastest growing marketing channel for the brand. 

Instagram's Habashi noted that it makes sense for marketers, who are increasingly looking to mobile, to push out content on Instagram because people use Facebook or Instagram an average of one out of every five minutes they're on mobile. 

"And 79 percent of American mobile users are only putting down their phones for two hours a day," said Habashi.

Plus, knowing when consumers are engaging with their content—Instagram recently revealed an hour-by-hour breakdown of when its users are on the platform—helps marketers figure out what's working and what isn't much faster. 

New York Comic Con wants to shed its "little brother" status.

"It's been a climb," said Lance Fensterman, senior global vp of ReedPOP, which produces New York Comic Con and is not affiliated with the original San Diego event. "Over the last four to five years, you've seen the film studios, television and more mainstream brands really take notice of this passionate fan community that we've developed."

That growth will be even more apparent this year—its 10th, which kicks off today—with attendance expected to top 155,000, forcing ReedPOP to move beyond the Javits Center for the first time, adding the Hammerstein Ballroom several blocks away. "We've more or less maxed out the growth that we can have in that venue," said Fensterman. (The 45-year-old San Diego version has been capping attendance at 130,000.)

And brands have taken note of the New York convention's burgeoning popularity.

"In New York City, there are very few venues and events that take place that really attract millennials," says Todd Reynolds, marketing manager from the Northeast region for Chevrolet, which has been a partner since 2011. Chevy made the convention one of its stops in 2011 when it was rolling out the subcompact Sonic. "We felt that based upon the demographics and age groups that were attending, it would be ideal for consumers we were trying to reach."

This year, Chevy is working with the American Cancer Society—part of a larger collaboration for Breast Cancer Awareness Month—to create a special T-shirt designed by comic-book artist Amy Reeder that will be sold at the official show store. Chevy will also display a specially wrapped pink Camaro on the convention floor and continue to promote its #IDriveFor hashtag; Chevy donates $5 for each hashtagged post.

"We don't do a lot in NYC as far as promotion because of costs," said Reynolds. "But this is the one promotion that we do each and every year."

AT&T will again be the presenting sponsor for the main stage, which houses the marquee events and panels—this year will see Marvel debut the first footage from its upcoming Netflix series, Jessica Jones, and the U.S. premiere of Fox's X-Files revival. Three upcoming network TV shows from Warner Bros., including CBS's highly anticipated Supergirl, will air their pilots there. And Sony will bring Jack Black and the stars of the upcoming Goosebumps movie to the main stage (seen below, last year).

The convention also has a livestream, #NYCCLive, in partnership with Courtyard by Marriott and Twitch. Courtyard will have its own booth on the show floor, where it will film live segments, including interviews with guests. General Mills' Honey Nut Cheerios will also sponsor a morning recap livestream.

New York Comic Con has added six new brand partners this year, including Progressive and Pepsi. But ReedPOP's director of accounts, Lawrence Settembrini, said the company can still be choosy. "The one thing that we don't want to see is a brand come in that doesn't understand the space but wants to activate and not know what they're doing and fail," he said. "It looks bad for the brand, and it looks bad on us."

Along with being the presenting sponsor of the official NYCC app, Progressive will give out storage lockers to attendees and have 20 people dressed as pitchwoman Flo to hold fans' places in line.

Pepsi saw the convention as the perfect place to offer its upcoming special edition "Pepsi Perfect" bottles from Back to the Future Part II ahead of the nationwide launch.

"It just made a ton of sense for us to be involved," said PepsiCo marketing director Linda Lagos. Fans can snag one of the bottles by either dressing up as Marty McFly (hoverboard optional) or competing in a "Wild Gunman" contest.

"Our partnership with NYCC allows us to literally have these guys physically interact with the product and aspects of the movie that they've only seen on screen," said Lagos.

In a competitive, jam-packed category like insurance, it can be difficult to reach consumers in an interesting and relevant way. Over the years, Progressive has managed to portray itself as a fun, likeable brand by creating a relatable character that's stood the test of time. 

So how did the brand break through all the noise? 

Speaking at the ANA Masters of Marketing Conference in Orlando, Fla., Progressive CMO Jeff Charney shared insight into how Progressive has been able to take marketing for an insurance brand to the next level. Here are a few of his suggestions:

Don't follow the latest trends

Charney said if you're doing what everyone else is doing in the marketplace, then there's no way you'll be able to make your brand stand out. Marketers need to forge their own paths and be leaders, he said. Using nostalgia as a tool for connecting with consumers, or what Charney referred to as "memory-lane marketing," was a way for Progressive to inject itself into Internet culture in a way that was different from other insurance companies. 

In a recent campaign modeled after an after-school special, Flo delivers the now famous line, "Sprinkles are for winners," which was completely improvised on set. It's now become a meme-worthy sensation and even appeared in a Lil Wayne song. 

Do things people don't expect of you

Right around last year's Super Bowl, just as interest in Marshawn Lynch was peaking, Progressive decided it wanted its next social push to star the Seattle Seahawks running back. Focusing on the fact that Lynch is a man of few words, the brand got him to share more than just a few words about car insurance in a social-only push that went viral. 

It was an unexpected partnership but one that paid off in the end for Progressive.

Run your operation like a Hollywood studio

At Progressive, Charney runs his operation like a Hollywood studio. The brand has built a host of supporting characters around Flo, including her family. In eight years, the brand has continued to build storylines and new content around its cast of characters.

"Fresh content wins," Charney said.  

Don't rely on demographic data

Demographic data really isn't that important because it can sometimes be misleading, the CMO said. Rather, "it's the insights behind the data. It's the 'so what?''' that matters more. That idea led Progressive to develop one of its newest characters, Baby Man.

Disruption is not dead 

Some may say the idea of disruption is an outdated fad, but Charney argued disruption is very much alive. "If you don't disrupt, you're wasting money," he said.

An example Charney pointed to was Progressive's recent trip to New York Comic Con, where the brand—using the insight that people hate waiting in long lines—created the Protector Corn, a unicorn that saved people's spot in line so they could walk around, go to the bathroom or grab a coffee.