Comments on: Can Gio Compario take on Compare the Meerkat?

By: james

james — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 07:35:02 +0000

I noticed the other day that giocompario.com has been given a makeover! It was absolutely rubbish before. I don’t think it’s as good as comparethemeerkat.com though … simples!

By: Roddy Williams

Roddy Williams — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 22:05:49 +0000

I was under the impression that the purpose of this forum was to air differences of opinion. I’m sorry if I got that wrong, but anyhoo….

Plenty of people? Really? Proper grown-up people? I haven’t come across any, so maybe it’s a matter of geography.

The Roddy Williams Dude

By: Beth Cowell

Beth Cowell — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 19:38:48 +0000

to the roddy williams dude. its called a difference in opinion. i know plenty of people (including moi) who are continually amused by that advert.

By: Social Media Marketing – PR vs SEO – Where Does it Fit? | SEOptimise

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 21:30:16 +0000

[...] to create a such an effective PR/marketing campaign as Compare the Meerkat (to be honest even most PR agencies would too). But at the same time, most PR agencies would struggle to do such a good job at integrating this [...]

By: Dave Ashworth

Dave Ashworth — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 08:53:57 +0000

I’m not so sure that Gio Compario has the longevity that Aleksandr Orlov has, whilst they have Facebook and the like for building up some sort of character affection, it’s the TV ads that have the biggest impact and the way Go Compare have pitched their idea is an in your face (soon to be annoying/catchy) theme tune – I don’t think there’s anywhere to go with it from there. The meerkat idea will tire eventually, but it would appear to have a bit more TV life in it than go compare.

By: Roddy Williams

Roddy Williams — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 12:37:59 +0000

I always find that an advert that one hates with a passion the very first time it is aired, as is the case with Gio Compario, can not be a good thing. The concept is cheap, the idea that viewers will be continually amused by repetition of this cacophonous onslaught is naive and frankly patronising. If I were in charge of Go Compare I would sue the advertising company and fire whoever was responsible for hiring them.

By: samuel

samuel — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 14:32:19 +0000

nah-meerkat’s based around a central idea. this guy’s just completely out of the blue.

By: rose

rose — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 20:31:34 +0000

its amazing what a splash such a small creature can make. I found this great article on the meerkat over here: onthebutton.wordpress.com/2009/08/28/compare-the-meerkat/

By: Andrew Nattan

Andrew Nattan — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 09:03:10 +0000

Ah, but let’s not forget that the Meerkat is an unreconstituted racist!

By: James Gurd

James Gurd — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 15:17:29 +0000

Imitation is flattery. Let’s face it, anything anyone now does with a character will be compared to Compare the Market. The concept was not originated by them but their execution and integration with social media was innovative.
Go Compare operates in an incredibly competitive market place where mindshare is essential – they have to do something to get attention. I found Aleksandr and the meerkat adverts so annoying I had to change channels – however, they were hugely popular and well executed. I had the same opinion of eSure’s use of Michael Winner (he was a friend of the owner!) – Mr Winner’s voice is enough to make me seek therapy. However, eSure’s marketing was very successful and drove a lot of enquiries both on and offline.
Will Gio Compario be successful? If the correlation between my apathy and marketing success holds, yes!
Will it harm Go Compare’s brand? I’m not so sure. It will be interesting to monitor the social space and see what conversations develop. I say good luck to Go Compare – it is a bold step albeit with a strong “me too” element.
thanks
james

By: Hublinho

Hublinho — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 11:52:54 +0000

There’s a common misconception about the PPC element of Compare the Meerkat’s launch – it was a response campaign to drive Car Insurance quotes and users typing in ‘meerkat’ would’ve been unlikely to be after car insurance.

How many people who searched for ‘meerkat’ took out a policy or even a quote with Go Compare? And how many clicked on the ad, cost Go Compare money, and then continued to search for the site they were actually after? PPC is considered as an acquisition channel even when there are branding implications, and campaigns like this require a complex balance of appearing where you ‘should’ appear, and appearing where it is effective to appear.

By: Joff

Joff — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 11:36:46 +0000

You mean they actually gave a name to this annoying character? As Darren has said, I’m sure this is going to do more harm than good to GoCompare’s brand.

By: Darren Moloney

Darren Moloney — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 08:36:56 +0000

This ad is even more pertinent as the Geico Gecko actually references “people trust advertising icons” – great!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acCfnwTpdxU&feature=related

By: Ben McKay

Ben McKay — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 08:34:55 +0000

Blatant rip-off of the Meerkat campaign structure, but if it works, it works ;)

By: Darren Moloney

Darren Moloney — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 08:32:09 +0000

I actually think GoCompare’s efforts actually damage their brand, its put me off as its in my opinion a really poor effort, Gio Compario ad comes on, I mentally switch off, he’s annoying.

Ref the Meerkat, I have to admit I think the marketing team will have their hands full coming up with creative ideas otherwise their audience will tire of Alexsandr.

Still I think the Meerkat marketing team nabbed the overall idea from Geico Insurance who have ran these types of ads for years:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxR2FN6tEKg