Flipping the switch on millennial marketing

How do you talk to millennials and Gen Z about funeral policies? These are the generations that are so entitled, they think they're going to live forever. In between their side hustles and sipping on their Stanleys, there's just no room to think about  dying or planning a funeral.

The challenge

If you're in the funeral policy market, at some point you're going to need to nail these consumers down and get them to buy your products. Old school 'plan for tomorrow, today' rhetoric simply won't cut it.

With these target audiences you need to think out the box and move them from superficial convos to sign up (without the death doom and gloom).

The idea

The FoneWorx team flipped the script on death talk. Inspired by the colourful and irreverent Día de los Muertos or Day of The Dead, it created a campaign with the tag line, Life's a party. Plan the exit (a little dark humour meets policy awareness!)

The FoneWorx solution

A cheeky, somewhat sarcastic AI LLM chatbot was used as the central hook, inviting users to write their own fun, over-the-top obituary. "Because if you don't write it, your cousin Chad will" the chatbot teased, encouraging participation.

Users could then request a quote and get a VIP Afterlife Pass badge (i.e. a collectible digital sticker); share their obituaries (and unlock a custom animated sugar-skull avatar of their skeletons); and even sign up for a policy with various rewards offered at the different points.

Instagram and TikTok were the channels used along with a campaign microsite, QR codes and email blasts.

The big picture

Not only did this approach engage millennials and Gen Z on their level, but also gently nudged them toward funeral policy planning.

The humour made the subject approachable, the rewards made participation irresistible, and the cultural vibe made the campaign visually and emotionally engaging.

It generated leads via quote requests and policy sign-ups, and leveraged gamification and rewards for maximum engagement and conversions.

This campaign proved once again that FoneWorx is more than a tech partner; it's an ideas engine for complete customer engagement.

Disclaimer:

This was not an actual campaign run for a FoneWorx client but rather an exercise in getting our team to execute a campaign for a seemingly impossible brief. Because FoneWorx is a full-service tech engagement partner, helping our clients meet their marketing goals no matter how extreme, challenging or downright bizarre!