Swinton Taxi Division: Swinton mystery tipper campaign

This paper shows how powerful iconic imagery was used to inject new life into the fragmented and competitive world of taxi insurance. After a period of rapid growth up to 2002, Swinton’s taxi division had plateaued as a result of increasing competition in the market. The challenge was to increase the volume of policies sold by 10 per cent in 2008. The strategy was built around a central cartoon character inspired by Dick Tracy with a hint of Jessica Rabbit – the Swinton Mystery Tipper – who visited towns and cities in the UK giving cab drivers a £1,000 cheque. Combining sales promotion, DM and PR, the campaign created a sharp and sustainable rise in business for the brand by exploiting the effect of word-of-mouth on the cab ranks and in taxi offices across the country. The campaign generated a payback of £4.31 per every £1 spent