How AG Insurance boosted acquisition ROI by 20% with data-driven performance management

When Ariad consultant Samuel joined AG Insurance, his mission was to help achieve the acquisition targets for a product with a particularity within AG: it was the only direct-to-customer product. AG’s distribution model is normally based on banking partners and brokers. 

The challenge was therefore to bring stronger digital acquisition expertise into an organisation whose distribution model had historically been built around partners, and to develop the tools, processes and mindset needed to manage digital acquisition effectively. 
 

The diagnosis 

I started with an audit of the existing setup: the available data, research, tools, media campaigns and the way they were working with their agencies. 

One of the first things I identified was the lack of reporting tools to analyse campaigns. I worked on implementing dashboards that made it much easier to understand what was happening across the campaigns. 

This quickly allowed me to identify a number of quick wins and concrete opportunities for improvement, without disrupting the business as usual. 

From there, the priority was to remove what was inefficient, stabilise what was working and create a stronger foundation from which we could then test new approaches. 

How Samuel helped

Looking back, I would highlight three main changes: 

1⃣️   Creating a more relevant campaign structure. Campaigns were adapted more closely to each target audience and to each stage of the acquisition funnel, rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach. 

2⃣️   Moving towards an always-on presence. Instead of concentrating media investment in three major waves throughout the year, we introduced a more continuous presence. The idea was to maintain a lighter level of activity throughout the year and capture existing demand and low-hanging fruits whenever they appeared. 

3⃣️   Putting data at the heart of performance management. The new data visualisation and monitoring tools allowed us to identify problems quickly, but also to spot opportunities while campaigns were still running. They were no longer relying on the agency or external partners to act. 

All of this was supported by a more agile approach to campaign management: test, measure, optimise, and then keep or kill depending on the results. 

Making it happen 

I was initially brought in for a temporary replacement, so I felt it was important not to arrive and immediately try to change everything. 

The first priority was to maintain the business as usual, understand the internal and external context, and build a clear view of the existing setup. 

Once the performance tracking was in place, I could identify improvement opportunities that were relatively factual and straightforward to implement. This helped demonstrate the value of the approach quickly and, in turn, created the confidence to test more ambitious initiatives. 

Building trust was also about being able to understand and communicate with different teams. Acquisition is no longer something that can be managed within marketing alone. You need to be able to speak data, work with UX and web design teams, understand technological developments and stay on top of legal and regulatory changes. 

Being able to connect these different areas helped turn recommendations into concrete actions. 

The impact 

Over the course of the mission, the acquisition ROI improved by more than 20%. 

The first phase focused on identifying quick wins and eliminating inefficient spending. This allowed us to achieve a similar level of performance with a lower budget.

The savings generated through these optimisations could then be reinvested into growth. We used them to develop the always-on approach, test new campaign formats or media and reach new audiences identified through campaign analysis. 

As a result, qualified visits increased and, subsequently, the number of conversions increased as well, allowing us to exceed the expected acquisition targets. 

The consultant perspective 

For me, being a consultant means having a 360-degree view and being able to understand the different stakeholders you work with. 

In digital acquisition, a significant part of the budget is invested in media, which makes the advertising agency a key external partner. Having worked on the agency side myself earlier in my career, I understand their challenges, constraints and ways of working. This allows me to act as a bridge between the client and the agency. 

This is particularly valuable when an established organisation, with decades of history and established processes, works with a younger and more agile agency that may have a very different way of working and communicating. 

My role is to understand both sides and align them around the same objectives.