Intact Insurance Case Study: Turning complex services into high-impact online video ads

Creating engaging video ads for finance and insurance brands is no small feat. These industries face the challenge of distilling complex products into short, attention-grabbing content that also inspires trust, clarity, and ease. At the same time, they must balance professionalism with relatability, a task made even harder when targeting younger audiences who expect authenticity and a conversational tone.

Our past research projects in this sector show that video campaigns leveraging brand personification can improve brand recall by up to 50%. However, stronger brand recall doesn’t automatically translate into message recall or a clear understanding of the offering.

In the case study we’re sharing, Intact Financial Corporation set out to discover which well-known advertising principles truly apply to the insurance category — with the goal of creating strong best practices and reliable rules of thumb for future campaigns.

EyeSee tested more than 10 YouTube pre-roll ads in a single strategic study to answer questions such as:

• Which type of message best grabs viewers’ attention: emotional or offer-focused?

• Opening with the brand often favors recall, but does it also increase skips?

• Opening with action can boost retention — but does it risk weakening brand recall?

• What role do human characters play in online videos, especially voiceovers?

• Which works better: real filmed scenes with actors or computer-generated imagery?

• What’s the ideal ad length to maximize performance, given that online videos are often perceived as intrusive?

Interested in learning more? Download the full case study by filling out the short form on the right.

‍