In the world of car insurance, people oftentimes end up paying for coverage they don’t use, which costs them a lot of money. So when Liberty Mutual Insurance launched their new positioning of customized insurance with the line “Only pay for what you need,” they asked us to extend the message to direct mail.

Instead of just telling people our message, “Only pay for what you need,” we wanted to demonstrate it by creating the most cost-efficient piece of direct-mail advertisement possible. By using an envelope barely bigger than a stamp, we were able to save on the paper, ink and postage normally used to produce a piece of direct mail. The mailer’s near-microscopic headline unfolded to read, “We only paid for what we need, and you can too with customized car insurance.”

The mailers were strategically sent to the US city whose citizens currently pay the most to own a car: Seattle, Washington. And while the envelope, card and message might have been small, the takeaway packed a big punch for drivers in Seattle who are frustrated with record-high car expenses. After reading the messaging, the mailers directed consumers to LibertyMutual.com to get their own customized insurance quote.

In April of 2019, we sent out these tiny pieces of direct mail in the one market in the US that it is most expensive to own a car - Seattle, Washington. At just over an inch long, the actual envelopes were just slightly larger than the 3¢ postage stamps they were attached to. Hundreds of these pieces were manually addressed and sent to residences that could use a better deal on their car insurance.

The biggest win from this project was a behavioral shift internally. With the bulk of Liberty Mutual’s media being tightly focused on driving brand and ad recall, less traditional opportunities like Tiny Mail were a first, and allowed the brand a more flexible space to show their personality. This was especially important given that Liberty Mutual struggled with lasting perceptions of being an older and more premium insurance provider.

In a category where you’re up against GEICO’s beloved Caveman campaign, or JK Simmons talking about synchronized swimming dogs then, the unexpected format and tongue and cheek approach of Tiny Mail gave Liberty Mutual a chance to make people laugh and associate themselves with affordability.