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GEICO has partnered with Phi Kappa Phi, a leading national honors society, to increase its car insurance subscriptions. I received this email in December, right around the holidays. This is very clever timing and targeting for several reasons. First, the earliest that someone can become a member of Phi Kappa Phi is during Junior year. This means that most active members are getting ready to graduate college. With graduation comes a new job and, very likely, a new car. And sometimes, this new car may come early, like around the holidays. In this way, GEICO is putting itself at the right place, at the right time.

Moreover, GEICO’s main sell is that they are the most affordable car insurance. Given that students are just getting out of college, they are not very financially stable. They are either up to their ears in debt or at the very least, if their parents paid for their undergraduate education, they are about to fill an entry-level position, which does not pay a lot of money. As a result, GEICO employs several key phrases to target the price sensitive target market: “special member discount”, “save even more”, “a spacial discount” and “see how much more you could save!”

Additionally, since Phi Kappa Phi only accepts the most academically outstanding students, GEICO is hoping that it is targeting very reasonable and mature students. In this way, GEICO will collect premiums while having a reduced risk that it will actually have to pay out settlements in case of car crashes.

GEICO is also appealing to members loyal to the organization by saying that the company donates to Phi Kappa Phi each time that members ask for a quote. Along the same lines, this email advertising is instilling trust in the recipients as it is not just some random advertisement sent to the user’s inbox but one sponsored by an organization that the user has chosen to be a part of.

Would this cute little holiday card sway you? Or are you tired of companies piggybacking on holidays to push their products?