‘Unmasking’ IPT with Snippy
Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) – the tax we pay on our insurance policies – costs hard-working families and businesses as much as £8 billion each year. Our brief from The Association of British Insurers (ABI) was to highlight this ‘hidden tax’ with a campaign that would grab attention, encouraging the Government to cut IPT in the Spring budget.
Our activity tapped into a family favourite, Saturday night TV show ‘The Masked Singer’, to bring to life the concealed nature of the tax and convey how unfair it is to penalise people for doing the responsible thing – buy insurance cover.
Working with the show’s costume designers we created a new mascot, Snippy – a friendly, giant pair of scissors with a replica Red Box in-hand – whose mission was to get the Chancellor to cut IPT.
A starring role
Featuring in its very own lobbying video, Snippy performed elaborate moves to emulate a real pair of scissors brandishing key messages such as “Help hard working households! Cut insurance tax!”.
The content was pushed out via social and to media with supporting with research that unveiled the cost of IPT to families. It showed an extra 12% to most insurance policies with an average of £67 added to car insurance premiums.
Engaging stakeholders
Snippy made a surprise appearance at The ABI’s annual conference which took place just days before the Spring budget and our campaign launch. We used this opportunity to inform members and the broader industry about the activity and to encourage people to pose for selfies to post at launch to show their support.
Results
Coverage appeared across a range of key titles including the Independent, Express, Thisismoney, Mirror, The Sun and Insurance Age.
Whilst the IPT wasn’t cut in the Budget this time, our campaign warded off a potential tax hike and who knows… Snippy may be back!
