Budget Direct Insurance wins top award for hard-hitting advertising campaign.

An innovative advertising campaign from online insurer, Budget Direct Insurance, has bagged two major marketing awards.

The stunt, in which nearly half a million Singaporean motorists received flyers that were inspired by a “parking summons” hit the headlines and set the internet on fire. It led to heated debates on national radio and online, hitting a nerve with some Singaporeans whilst others welcomed its ingenuity.

The initiative, which was a collaboration between Budget Direct Insurance and advertising agency Co:Horts Communications, has now received top recognition from Singapore’s media industry.

The Gong Show Creative Media Circle Awards 2017 awarded two bronze trophies for the hard-hitting campaign. Categories won were for Direct Mail and Promotions and Activation. This year’s theme at The Gong Show was entitled Defeat all Monsters. Judge Melvyn Lim from Ogilvy, said: “Agency life is fraught with proverbial monsters that kill creativity. This year we wanted to recognise the works that defeated them.”

The ambitious Budget Direct Insurance marketing ploy was carried out on a massive scale with around a 300-strong team working throughout the night to deliver the flyers to some 2,000 public car parks.

The CEO of Budget Direct Insurance said he is delighted to receive the prestigious award. Simon Birch said: “The campaign hit a nerve with some Singaporeans but it certainly captured people’s attention. The debate about it got quite heated at times.”

He said the campaign had been a big success with an increased number of motorists getting quotes and buying insurance.

He added: “Ultimately our aim was to let Singaporean motorists know they can get a better deal on their car and motorcycle insurance. We’re excited about what we have to offer and felt we needed to reach out directly to motorists to get the word out. A regular flyer wasn’t going to cut it. We needed something that motorists felt compelled to read and a “parking summons” flyer did just that.”

Budget Direct Insurance worked in collaboration with Singapore creative company Co:hort Communications. Its creative partner, Luke Tay, said he is excited to receive the award. “It’s well deserved. ‪‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

In this industry, we know we need to take a guerilla approach to make an impact. With an army of fresh recruits to deliver our message, we hit the target. Now we're planning our next strike! Watch this space!" ‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

Check out the video, which gives a ‘behind-the-scenes’ look at the campaign.