The Gecko has been a mainstay of GEICO advertising since 1999, but in all this time he hasn’t had much of a role beyond TV. Yes, he has evolved from an animated character into CGI spectacular, but for the most part he is simply a spokesperson.
In 2008, GEICO established a social presence online. An internal staff – with no clear objectives – began creating a voice for the Gecko with the goal of acquiring fans.
We’ve all seen where this leads. Clients who treat social as merely a channel often fail to recognize the value of big ideas that can be socialized across channels. Social becomes a tactic rather than a behavior.
As with other GEICO assignments, shifting the client’s focus has taken patience, time and trust. Fortunately, a new mandate to reinvent the Gecko provided us with the starting point. And for the first time the client was interested in how we might tie a new round of Gecko commercials to his online presence. The Gecko’s Journey was the result.
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