From well-known to actively chosen

Go.Compare had built a hugely successful price comparison brand, helping millions of people get the best deals on their household utilities, from home insurance to broadband. Much of their growth had been powered by a series of ad campaigns centered around an (in)famous opera singer, Gio Compario.

But in a uniquely transactional, fiercely competitive category, they saw a bigger opportunity. To leverage their hard-earned fame, and transform it into something even more powerful. Active choice.

To get people to choose Go.Compare over their multitude of competitors, we first needed to define what makes them different. While the rest of the market competes on surface gimmicks, toy meerkats and free pizza, Go.Compare puts its customers’ needs first. As the only BIBA accredited price comparison website, you can trust that you’re choosing from all the right options.

Good decisions start with good choices. So we framed the brand as the champions of choice.

The search is over

With the battle of the advertising budgets extending to search engines, what if we could get customers to skip the search and go direct? Go Compare became Go.Compare. A name and a URL in one. A counter-intuitive change, but one that’s paid off handsomely.

The small matter of a big character

Gio, the brand’s notorious mascot, perfectly personifies the strategy. So we put him at the heart of the identity, exaggerating his distinctive features in cartoon form to create a charming choice champion. A character that could live in every part of the Go.Compare experience, from button to billboard.

Then, in a category where stock imagery rules, we extended the distinctive illustrative style across a suite of situations, created in collaboration with Rami Niemi, to bring Go.Compare’s insurance products to life in an entirely new way.

The voice of choice

Emboldened by a new point of view, the tone of voice connects with customers through a relatable wit. All expressed in a bespoke typeface, designed to echo the warm and characterful style of the illustrations. The logotype follows suit, amplifying the ‘Go’. That made the choice of colour obvious. Green for go, alongside a supporting palette designed to deliver across the digital product.

From comms to checkout

Working with the Go.Compare brand team, we helped put the reimagined Gio on TV, in stadiums, on social and – just as importantly – in the product. A joined-up, scalable experience for a brand that has become much more than an operatic earworm.

Good decisions start with a great team

Thank you Paul, Karen, Chris, Lucy, Lee, Gurvinder, Liyya, Isabel, Sally, Corinne, Ruth, Becca, Louisa, and the rest of the Go.Compare team for making a series of excellent decisions.

Thank you Wynne Evans, our legendary muse.

Thank you Rami Niemi for adding a new dimension to Gio’s character, illustrating a world of great choices to explore with his new friends. Thank you Tim at Making Pictures for your support and expertise.

Thank you Charlie McKay and Jess Murphy for the beautiful Photography and Styling decisions.

Thank you Grilli Type for your collaboration on the typeface.

Thank you Drum for your incredible advertising campaigns.