Baby Boomers know AAA as roadside service. Older Gen Xers, too. But Millennials—the demographic with the largest economic influence (and growing)—only know AAA as something their parents have. They may recognize the brand as a name and a logo, but virtually nothing else. In fact, the association of the company with their parents' and grandparents' generations means in many cases that they view the company as out of touch with the present.
Market Research
We discovered from surveys and customer interviews that the one thing AAA's brand was built on—roadside service—had been commoditized and had been cannibalized by more agile competition. This was due in large part to changing demographics in the customer audience: age and race. The company's new strategy to push life insurance in particular, and also car insurance, was out of touch with Millennials, which is both the largest demographic and the one with the greatest purchasing power due to its size. This audience, however, does not need life insurance, nor do they really recognize the AAA brand.
Current Experience
When it came to the internal site experience—managing the site—the marketing team struggled to maintain and update the content. SEO efforts had fallen flat, despite signals that it had and was working—in specific areas.
Our research recognized some key anti-behaviors the site user experience was employing in trying to motivate visitors down the funnel. While the client approached us with the expectation that the site needed a visual uplift, we were able to show that the pain points were deeper.
Given these findings, we were able to suggest clear actionable improvements to reach the desired audiences where they are at, with products they need and want, and presenting the content in both a contextually appropriate and personalized manner.