Keeping it in the family
“The hardest part about going from the store behind us to where we are today, is keeping the family culture.” That was Tim Varney, the second generation of three behind the Varney Group – one of the leading and fastest-growing insurance agents in North America.
And it’s the age-old conundrum, isn’t it? Growth is great, but it can come at a cost – culture.
Making people feel part of something
But no matter how much they grew, the Varneys were intent on defying the norm. That family-feel was here to stay. Which is what the We Are Varney internal campaign was all about.
They wanted to make sure everyone across their 20 locations felt valued – that their career could really go places – and to connect them to the business, its story and founding values.
Adventurers. Fighters. Thrivers.
That’s who Varney are and the stories we wanted to tune everyone into. The entrepreneurial adventure that spans three generations. The fighter’s mentality – how they go to battle for every client. And the thrivers at Varney whose careers had already taken off – those people who could inspire everyone else in the business.
And the best people to tell those stories were the people that made it all happen.
Rounding up the Varney storytellers
Using a remote crew, we filmed the three Varneys talking about the adventure that took them from selling auto parts in Maine in the 60s to now arranging insurance for multi-million dollar real estate in New York.
We also filmed others inside Varney who gave us their fighter and thriver success stories.
Mixing up a homemade graphic recipe
For the campaign look and feel, we created a deconstructed take on their brand, giving it all a home-made feel – paying homage to their self-made, family-forged roots.
We created videos for their values, another to launch the campaign, and it was all delivered at a big reveal at two live events across their home state of Maine.
Hitting the campaign sweet spot
All three generations of the Varneys were there to host both events, and the feedback from staff was a resounding thumbs up…
“The event went far beyond our expectations.”
“I feel we’ve got a better understanding of who we are, bringing us closer as a group.”
“I loved it! Being a semi-new hire, it was wonderful to meet other workers from different locations.”