According to Hippo.co.za, in today's fast-moving consumer environment, industries change, customers evolve and new products and services come and go. Hippo.co.za says that it is important that brands and their messaging stay relevant to continue capturing the attention of their customers.

"Brands that are constantly reinventing themselves and progress in line with new trends are the ones who continue to be successful," says Vera Nagtegaal, the executive head of Hippo.co.za.

"For 2019's campaign, we felt that there was more juice to be squeezed out of the relationship each person has with their inner voice," says Grant Jacobsen, founder and creative partner at FoxP2, the agency responsible for the creative concept behind the character’s rebrand and refresh. 

"We wanted to push the storytelling and the humour, and felt we could do this by creating a tighter bond between each person and their Hippo," adds Jacobson. The campaign aims to show what happens when people commit to something without giving it their full consideration — ignoring their 'inner Hippo'. 

"The character now invokes a certain emotion, getting consumers to think about what they commit to, in order to avoid the feeling of regret. From 2018's campaign to 2019's, the Hippo has evolved so that it's clear that each person has a relationship with their Hippo. They can argue and debate with it, but ultimately, they should consider its advice," adds Jacobson.

"The decision to evolve the Hippo's relationship with the consumer was based on heuristics in judgment and decision making. Heuristics are simple strategies we use to help us make decisions, but our strategies sometimes defy logic and reason," he says.

"For example, we might take out life insurance with our brother-in-law who is a broker who we trust. But we then neglect to investigate other factors we should take into consideration, such as, is the policy a good one? Is it competitively priced? Are the terms and conditions fair?" Jacobson says.

The refresh of the Hippo branding will be carried out through multiple media channels, at every consumer touchpoint, including humorous and fun video vignettes, says Deon Kruger, managing director of Human.Kind, who conceptualised the digital aspects of the campaign.

"When you have a client like Hippo.co.za that is bold and open to new ideas and concepts, it makes digital ideation and execution that much easier," says Kruger. "This creative freedom allows us to promote the brand and product through the use of the latest technology and creative formats. It enables us to push the boundaries and to bring a fresh perspective to the online channel."

"We're proud of our Hippo and of the way in which he not only reflects the services we offer but the inner voice of the consumer as well. We believe that with every new campaign conceptualised by our incredible creative team, he makes further progress into the hearts and minds of the South African consumer," concludes Nagtegaal.

For more information, visit www.hippo.co.za. You can also follow Hippo.co.za on Facebook or on Twitter.