Cigna Campaigns To Redefine Industry And Its Mission

Cigna campaign With health care and health coverage expected to be top of mind for consumers as the election year continues, Cigna Health Care is looking to change people's minds about the company as being more than just a health insurer to--as one executive put it--a "health services company."

Philadelphia-based Cigna today embarks on a new advertising and marketing effort, with the tagline: "It's time to feel better." The campaign includes television, print and online elements, and is the culmination of a three-year undertaking to change the company's mission, says Derek Weiss, the company's vice president of strategy and marketing.

"We want to define what it means to be a health services company," Weiss tells Marketing Daily. "[Our mission] is to make the pathway easier for people to achieve health, well-being and security."

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The effort rolls out nationally with print ads in newspapers such as the Wall Street Journal and other publications acknowledging that the current health care system needs fixing, and that Cigna is "doing everything in our power to make it better for you." A television ad depicts different people--from doctors and nurses to HR professionals to general consumers declaring: "It's time." As the spot continues, people expand the phrase: "It's time to make things simpler," and "It's time to understand my benefits."

"We are committed to ensuring the people have access to quality coverage across the country," Weiss says. To that end, "it's really important that we be honest with them, and acknowledge that change is necessary."

Both the print and the television ads direct consumers to the Web site, itstimetofeelbetter.com, which includes tips on what the company is doing to change the health care system (such as funding a study of worldwide health systems) to tips to make the most of your doctor's appointment and managing stress.

"Our goal is to empower people with information and educational material that is relevant to them," Weiss says of the Web site. "We are bigger than a health insurance product or an insurance service."

While the campaign is not specifically timed to coincide with the election season, he acknowledged that health care will be a predominant issue for people this fall as the election heats up. The campaign is intended in part to get ahead of that curve and demonstrate how Cigna is approaching things differently, says Howard Sherman, president of agency Doremus, which created the campaign.

"It is challenging, because most insurance companies are painted with the brush of the entire industry," Sherman says. "We found through research that there are two levels [to the subject]. On one level, there's frustration with health care as it currently exists. On the other level, people want to hear from companies that have a real solution."

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