INTERVIEW
Jóhann Þórsson, Head of Marketing, Sjóvá
Jóhann Þórsson didn’t exactly follow the usual path to the world of marketing. With a background in computational biology, he spent years working with online travel and retail platforms before taking his current role at a 106-year-old Icelandic insurance company. We caught up with him to talk about his approach to focusing on long-term strategy, building a brand people can trust, and why his campaigns are all about keeping things humble, relatable, and true to the values of Icelandic families.
Jóhann Þórsson, Head of Marketing at Sjóvá
How do you make something as seemingly mundane—and often unappealing—as insurance, well, likeable?
Insurance in Iceland has a very bad reputation. The average NPS score for insurance companies is around -15 while in the US and Scandinavia it’s around +30. The highest Sjóvá has reached is +19 but we tend to hover around the 0 mark.
To be more likeable we realized that we needed to be more humble. It used to be the case that insurance companies talked down to their customers but now the tone overall, not just Sjóvá, is to talk to customers as equals. We also “humbled” the marketing. We show ads with real customers just doing normal things. Real families just doing everyday normal things, instead of actors and a clever script.
Our latest is really our first foray into more diverse marketing, where we show a lesbian couple and their kids. The point is just to show a normal Icelandic family, which they certainly are. I think the result is just beautiful, while still being down to Earth.
On the other hand we enlisted the help of the most likeable Icelander, Páll Óskar, to star in a campaign for us. He is a real customer, and has been insured at Sjóvá for over twenty years so we stayed within the brand strategy of showing real customers but just dialled it up to 1000 with all his glam.
Insurance in Iceland has a very bad reputation. The average NPS score for insurance companies is around -15 while in the US and Scandinavia it’s around +30. The highest Sjóvá has reached is +19 but we tend to hover around the 0 mark.
To be more likeable we realized that we needed to be more humble. It used to be the case that insurance companies talked down to their customers but now the tone overall, not just Sjóvá, is to talk to customers as equals. We also “humbled” the marketing. We show ads with real customers just doing normal things. Real families just doing everyday normal things, instead of actors and a clever script.
Our latest is really our first foray into more diverse marketing, where we show a lesbian couple and their kids. The point is just to show a normal Icelandic family, which they certainly are. I think the result is just beautiful, while still being down to Earth.
On the other hand we enlisted the help of the most likeable Icelander, Páll Óskar, to star in a campaign for us. He is a real customer, and has been insured at Sjóvá for over twenty years so we stayed within the brand strategy of showing real customers but just dialled it up to 1000 with all his glam.
"We show ads with real customers just doing normal things." Agency: Pipar/TBWA
Páll Óskar, a long-term Sjóvá customer, brings a splash of glamour to the world of insurance. Agency: Pipar/TBWA
Can you recall a particularly successful campaign? What was the insight that unlocked it? How did you arrive there? I guess I’m trying to ask you about your process.
When you have a product like insurance it can be hard to get customers to engage with the brand. (That is, unless they have an accident and we rather try to discourage that.) So a constant problem for us is to make the product or some aspect of it visible. An example of this is when we asked customers who have pet insurance to send us photos of their dogs which we would compile into an ad campaign. The sheer amount of replies was almost overwhelming, people couldn’t wait to send us photos of their pets.
The insight is from a smaller version of this. I once made an off the cuff post on Facebook where I asked people to comment with a photo of their dog. This was just after I started and Sjóvá was, like many companies, a little shy about Facebook and still had comments locked. I didn’t realize until someone from the service department said a woman had called in and wanted to show me a photo of her dog. I unlocked the comments on the post (and all subsequent posts) and this also unlocked in me the insight that people really want to show others photos of their pets.
So we decided to do a proper campaign, which resulted in one of the cutest campaigns in Icelandic marketing history. There was no call to action or anything. Just a photo and “Rover, 3 years old”.
The campaign was successful on a number of metrics. It presented a slightly “softer” image of Sjóvá, made our customers happy and proud, and gave us a chance to present pet insurance in a new light.
Our Páll Óskar campaign was also wildly successful, as it was the most viewed ad for the Eurovision it premiered in (2023). We got a spot just before the Icelandic song went on so viewership was very high for our particular ad placement.
When you have a product like insurance it can be hard to get customers to engage with the brand. (That is, unless they have an accident and we rather try to discourage that.) So a constant problem for us is to make the product or some aspect of it visible. An example of this is when we asked customers who have pet insurance to send us photos of their dogs which we would compile into an ad campaign. The sheer amount of replies was almost overwhelming, people couldn’t wait to send us photos of their pets.
The insight is from a smaller version of this. I once made an off the cuff post on Facebook where I asked people to comment with a photo of their dog. This was just after I started and Sjóvá was, like many companies, a little shy about Facebook and still had comments locked. I didn’t realize until someone from the service department said a woman had called in and wanted to show me a photo of her dog. I unlocked the comments on the post (and all subsequent posts) and this also unlocked in me the insight that people really want to show others photos of their pets.
So we decided to do a proper campaign, which resulted in one of the cutest campaigns in Icelandic marketing history. There was no call to action or anything. Just a photo and “Rover, 3 years old”.
The campaign was successful on a number of metrics. It presented a slightly “softer” image of Sjóvá, made our customers happy and proud, and gave us a chance to present pet insurance in a new light.
Our Páll Óskar campaign was also wildly successful, as it was the most viewed ad for the Eurovision it premiered in (2023). We got a spot just before the Icelandic song went on so viewership was very high for our particular ad placement.
Asking customers to share portraits of their pets builds a deeper connection with them, says Jóhann..
You once mentioned that you didn’t want to make a big splash at Sjóvá, but instead, take a long-term view and build on what’s already worked for the brand. Is that still how you see things?
The word on marketing managers (or heads of marketing or CMOs) seems to be that we are extroverted egomaniacs who need to make our mark and start with a bang when taking on a new assignment.
There was just so much great marketing already underway when I took over at Sjóvá that my first thought was not to figure out how to make a splash but just to put more gas on the fire that was already going strong. I am also more of an introvert, that may play a part.
What’s your role at Sjóvá, and what has kept you in the insurance industry for five years despite working in other fields? What do you find attractive about it? You’re a marketing manager but do you also look after the brand (“the long of it”?)
My role is “Head of marketing and prevention”. So in addition to the marketing we handle the part where we remind people to install smoke detectors and put the phone on Driving Mode. Sjóvá is a fantastic workplace so while I get offers for “cups of coffee” from other companies every now and then I am very happy here. I have no particular affinity for the insurance industry as such, but working at Sjóvá has been great. There is a need to be creative and push forward a strategic vision, which I like, but also a lot of shorter term tactical thoughts, especially around placement and timing of ads.
But to answer the question, it is much more the workplace than the industry that I enjoy. Sjóvá is a fantastic place to work, as work satisfaction surveys have shown. I think our most recent score puts us in the top 5% of all companies in Iceland.
What guides you in your work?
I always try to keep the brand in mind. At Dohop I had more freedom to play around with the brand and keep it playful and inviting. Heimkaup was more direct retail so there was much more short-term marketing but also some great deep-dive technical algorithm work on Facebook.
At Sjóvá there is very little short term marketing, and no discounts or deals. So here I am guided by the overall thought that I want the brand to appear trustworthy and likeable so that when people are in the market for insurance they think of us.
The word on marketing managers (or heads of marketing or CMOs) seems to be that we are extroverted egomaniacs who need to make our mark and start with a bang when taking on a new assignment.
There was just so much great marketing already underway when I took over at Sjóvá that my first thought was not to figure out how to make a splash but just to put more gas on the fire that was already going strong. I am also more of an introvert, that may play a part.
What’s your role at Sjóvá, and what has kept you in the insurance industry for five years despite working in other fields? What do you find attractive about it? You’re a marketing manager but do you also look after the brand (“the long of it”?)
My role is “Head of marketing and prevention”. So in addition to the marketing we handle the part where we remind people to install smoke detectors and put the phone on Driving Mode. Sjóvá is a fantastic workplace so while I get offers for “cups of coffee” from other companies every now and then I am very happy here. I have no particular affinity for the insurance industry as such, but working at Sjóvá has been great. There is a need to be creative and push forward a strategic vision, which I like, but also a lot of shorter term tactical thoughts, especially around placement and timing of ads.
But to answer the question, it is much more the workplace than the industry that I enjoy. Sjóvá is a fantastic place to work, as work satisfaction surveys have shown. I think our most recent score puts us in the top 5% of all companies in Iceland.
What guides you in your work?
I always try to keep the brand in mind. At Dohop I had more freedom to play around with the brand and keep it playful and inviting. Heimkaup was more direct retail so there was much more short-term marketing but also some great deep-dive technical algorithm work on Facebook.
At Sjóvá there is very little short term marketing, and no discounts or deals. So here I am guided by the overall thought that I want the brand to appear trustworthy and likeable so that when people are in the market for insurance they think of us.
Quote
In terms of what guides me in my work I always try to keep the brand in mind.
The Sjóvá brand has come a long way since its origin in 1918. Source: sjova.is
Is branding even a conversation topic in Icelandic boardrooms? How do you convince your CEO that taking a long-term view vs short-term marketing tactics is worthwhile?
I don’t imagine it is. I am lucky enough that the CEO and the board have shown great trust in the marketing department. We do not need to “sell” ideas to them before we embark on a campaign, big or small, but we certainly keep them informed on everything beforehand.
When I took over the role as head of marketing I presented them with a vision that entailed both short term and long term tactics that would serve the overall strategy. The last few years have been rather good for Sjóvá so there hasn’t been a reason for them to get into the nitty gritty of everything we do, though my direct superior is certainly involved in the strategy and actions of the department.
I don’t imagine it is. I am lucky enough that the CEO and the board have shown great trust in the marketing department. We do not need to “sell” ideas to them before we embark on a campaign, big or small, but we certainly keep them informed on everything beforehand.
When I took over the role as head of marketing I presented them with a vision that entailed both short term and long term tactics that would serve the overall strategy. The last few years have been rather good for Sjóvá so there hasn’t been a reason for them to get into the nitty gritty of everything we do, though my direct superior is certainly involved in the strategy and actions of the department.
The campaign "Tryggjum hinsegin tilveru," now in its third year, is a play on words. It's not only means insuring LGBTQ+ individuals but also ensuring the continued existence of LGBTQ+ people. Agency: Pipar/TBWA
Is there a question you feel I should’ve asked you?
Maybe “What is your secret superweapon?”
My secret superweapon is the fact that since I don’t have a typical marketing background (I have an MSc in Computational Biology) I always feel like I don’t really know what I’m doing. This fuels my search for knowledge and a constant urge to tinker and test. I read a lot of marketing books to try to fill in the gap and I always assume that I don’t know as much as everyone else.
Partly this is impostor syndrome but mostly this has helped immensely with realizing what it is that really works. I am not bound by the marketing taught in business school, which is often stilted and outdated, but can use what is working in the real world.
Maybe “What is your secret superweapon?”
My secret superweapon is the fact that since I don’t have a typical marketing background (I have an MSc in Computational Biology) I always feel like I don’t really know what I’m doing. This fuels my search for knowledge and a constant urge to tinker and test. I read a lot of marketing books to try to fill in the gap and I always assume that I don’t know as much as everyone else.
Partly this is impostor syndrome but mostly this has helped immensely with realizing what it is that really works. I am not bound by the marketing taught in business school, which is often stilted and outdated, but can use what is working in the real world.
Be sure to follow Jóhann on LinkedIn.