The Power of Radio Endorsements.

Our thanks to Grant Holthusen from Entercom Minneapolis for bringing us this weeks advertiser success story. Grant tells us about how he, and very creative endorsements on WCCO, helped The Canopy Group grow their insurance business in Minneapolis. Here’s exactly how he did it.

RADIO INK: Tell us about the first sales call you went on at The Canopy Group.
Grant Holthusen: The first time I met with Cara McMann (Canopy’s Director of Marketing) was in the spring of 2014. I asked her a lot of questions. I really tried to understand what they were trying to accomplish. The first meeting was more of a “get to know you meeting” and then once she saw the potential value in radio, she invited me back to meet with Paul Borchert, Canopy’s Managing Partner.

RADIO INK: How hard were they to convince to use radio?
Grant Holthusen: Canopy Group was apprehensive at first to invest 6 figures in advertising. The first time they advertised they were tagged at the end of an insurance company ad and this yielded poor results. This kind of an advertisement didn’t properly reveal The Canopy Group story, process, value proposition or have a strong call to action. I suggested using the power of endorsement radio to tell their story and reminded them that Radio is in fact the #1 reach medium in the U.S., touching over 270 million Americans weekly.

When I met with them the second time to present my plan, I conveyed what an ad would sound like by having a spec ad as an example; this showed how telling their story through the voice of a trusted WCCO radio personality would enhance their message and yield greater ROI.

As we all know, people buy from people they know, like and trust. Paul and Cara saw the potential of what endorsement radio could accomplish decided to give it a try; that’s how our partnership began. The ads we wrote clearly communicated the true competitive advantage that we have in this market.

RADIO INK: Tell us about the creative, how often it changes and how it’s working for them.
Grant Holthusen: The creative process with The Canopy Group is the most fun and most rewarding part of the relationship. This is where the magic of radio happens through clever, creative collaboration. As Paul Borchert, Canopy Group’s Managing Partner, said “We believe our success has been impacted by our ability to create the message, change the form of the message frequently and by then allowing the WCCO on air talent to endorses us; this gives WCCO the creative license to make it their own and to provide their own expertise in the delivering the message.”

RADIO INK: How did you convince them to agree to an annual contract?
Grant Holthusen: I don’t think it was as much convincing as it was an agreement to form an ongoing partnership. Paul and Cara understood that it’s going to take time and not happen overnight. I set the proper expectations from the beginning and in turn they agreed to sign an annual contract, allowing the focus to be on the creative aspect of the partnership. The Canopy Group needs mediums like WCCO to get their message in an authentic, engaging way. Canopy has built their entire business around vetting 250-300 new prospects each month as it’s important for them to stay in front of future projects and be ready to appropriately serve them when timing is right. The Canopy Group believes strongly in deliverables and are directly able to see the results of our efforts.

RADIO INK: How do you know using radio is succeeding for them?
Grant Holthusen: I love this question! The Canopy Group is head quartered in Le Suer and Bell Blaine, MN. These are very small towns in Minnesota, about one hour south of the Twin Cities on Route 169. Prior to our engagement, a majority of their customers came from the rural vicinity surrounding both towns. As we set out on our second year together, Paul, who keeps a pin board of Canopy’s customer reach, revealed that their reach expanded across the Twin Cities. For the third year as partners, the pins and subsequent customer reach expanded even farther, it was exciting to see the growth and the direct impact from our partnership together. As a result of our joint efforts, Cara and Paul recently informed me that they are currently approaching 275 leads per month on average and this past spring they were named “Minnesota’s Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers Association Agency of The Year.”

Paul Borchert adds, “WCCO is really the corner stone of our five phase marketing campaign. The WCCO partnership has given The Canopy Group the credibility it needs to reach out to customers that were outside of our natural market. This is evidence by the geographical success that we’ve had in spreading the risk of our insurance based products. The numbers are as follows. We wrote more business in the months of July, August and September of 2016 than we did in the years of 2008, 2009, and 2010. So one month is equally one year in terms of increased production. Today we have over two hundred people a month calling us about our products.”

Paul and Cara are masters at their craft, internal processes, implementation and the creative minds behind the message. WCCO and I are grateful to be a partner and avenue for The Canopy Group to effectively articulate their message to our engaged audience. We are able to help them save money, secure better coverage and give their customers more options. Teamwork at its best!

RADIO INK: How are you following up with the client now that they are on an annual?
Grant Holthusen: As I mentioned in a previous question, the fact that The Canopy Group is on an annual contract doesn’t mean, I “set em and forget em!” Quite the contrary actually, I strive to be a solutions based marketing consultant to my clients. Cara and I communicate regularly and discuss schedule changes, ad ideas and strategies. I send both Paul and Cara the ad times and ads set to play for each day, as well as a copy of Entercom’s analytics report at the beginning of each month. This information is vital for them so that they can track which ads get the most ROI and allows us to make changes accordingly. We have a very fluid partnership. When Cara or Paul text, email or call, I get back to them in short order. Communication is paramount to them and as they will tell you, I am not shy! I am all about service, execution, results and being there for my clients and I truly love what I do. It’s an honor to be able to work with The Canopy Group and I look forward to maintaining and continuing to build the relationship.