As Direct Line is not on PCWs, we needed to make sure people knew they’d miss out if they didn’t come to us direct. With the recession upon us, and PCWs advertising everywhere, Direct Line had to change their approach to marketing. So, we looked at how other people were behaving in highly offer-driven markets and, inspired by retailers, we introduced the Retail Planning model.

In these tough economic times, people aren’t shy about seeking the best deals. In the finance sector, Martyn Lewis – The Money Saving Expert – has become one of the most powerful sources of the best deals on the market, and he can greatly influence the success of brand offers.

Direct Line’s problem was that their deals weren’t changing very often, so engagement fell, as customers ceased to see them as being new.

Our Retail Planning approach changed this – on two levels. We made sure there was always a fresh new offer, and secondly, we into introduced tactical offers, using seasonal themes. To achieve this fast turnaround, we made the whole construct – from TV to online, print to call centre – modular, for maximum flexibility.