While many firms take to the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) Conference to promote their own brands, this year the organisation turned the spotlight inwards.
Last month in Manchester, BIBA launched a landmark advertising campaign to promote the role of insurance brokers across the UK business community.
In a sector where most marketing efforts are aimed at promoting individual firms and their capabilities, BIBA’s latest move signals a co-ordinated attempt to reposition the broker channel itself in the eyes of UK SMEs.
More than a marketing play, the campaign represents a new strategic chapter for BIBA, the trade body that represents the interests of general insurance brokers and intermediaries.
The move underlined the organisation’s broader role as a steward of the sector – supporting its members not just through regulation and advocacy, but through national visibility.
Unveiled by BIBA CEO Graeme Trudgill on stage at the BIBA Conference last month, the new campaign introduced “Ben the Broker,” a central character designed to personify the core broker proposition: choice, advice and support.
Trudgill described it as a “first in his lifetime campaign,” and a clear step-change in how the association intended to reach entrepreneurs, start-ups and the wider business community
“This is a new era for promoting insurance brokers,” Trudgill said. “We want to reach the business owners of the future who have grown up buying their personal insurance online.”
Mass media, singular message
The campaign is running across a broad range of channels – Sky TV, national radio, newspapers, Google, Spotify, podcasts and social media – with the aim of reaching over 30 million adults. Target demographics include SME decision makers and startup founders aged 21 to 45, many of whom are unfamiliar with the broker model.
The strategy marked a departure from the traditional broker branding playbook, where efforts are typically fragmented and firm-specific. By contrast, BIBA’s approach mirrored tactics seen in sectors such as fintech – establishing a single character-led narrative that speaks to everyday business challenges.
Created by advertising agency Lavery Rowe with input from BIBA’s board and advisory boards, the campaign includes two other scenarios in which Ben the Broker advises different SME personas: Jen, a start-up founder running an office-based business, and Sam, a newly launched electrical contractor.
Defining brokers in a changing market
At a time when many start-up founders look first to price comparison sites or embedded digital offerings, the campaign reflects BIBA’s recognition that the broker value proposition needs fresh articulation.
“This is not about promoting individual firms… it’s about reaffirming the relevance of professional insurance advice,” said one conference attendee. “And that’s exactly the kind of advocacy a trade body should lead.”
The initiative follows growing concern that broker visibility among younger entrepreneurs is declining, even as complexity in commercial risk is rising.
In a distribution landscape increasingly shaped by digital-first MGAs, embedded offerings and direct platforms, BIBA’s move to reinforce the broker proposition through mass-market storytelling is as much defensive as it is promotional.
“It’s smart,” said one senior market exec not involved with the campaign. “It’s not about stealing share, it’s about defending relevance.”
Why it matters
While trade associations often focus on lobbying and compliance, BIBA’s campaign positions branding as a form of industry advocacy. It’s a strategy more commonly seen in industries such as agriculture, energy, or logistics, where trade bodies invest in public-facing campaigns to shape perception of an entire profession.
Brokers often lead with relationships and service – but these strengths are rarely articulated through scalable brand narratives. BIBA’s campaign introduces a creative platform that member firms could potentially build on, and it may prompt others to consider co-branded or unified approaches to market education.
As insurers double down on digital tools and price optimisation, the industry’s human layer – represented here by Ben – gets a rare moment in the spotlight.
Brand spotlight is the new series brought to you by Insurindex where we explore recent brand developments across the (re)insurance sector.