How Vitality smashed sales targets with a fresh take on life insurance

On a mission to grow its overall profitability, health insurer Vitality needed to expand its share of the life insurance market.

However, the brand faced a highly commoditised marketplace where providers largely compete on price and a life insurance price point at the premium end of the scale.

Looking for a new direction, the team unearthed an insight from a seven-year study of over 465,000 members – peer-reviewed by the London School of Economics – which revealed Vitality can help engaged members live for up to five years longer.

The brand and agency partner VCCP seized on this data point as a way of positioning Vitality Life Insurance as a proactive tool for living a richer, longer life – a key differentiator from competitors who position their policies as a form of compensation for death.

Vitality’s brand mascot, Stanley the dachshund, became the embodiment of the new proposition. A TV advert showed Stanley living his best life, touring the Southend seafront in a top-down pink Cadillac, while members of the public were shown staying active by walking, running and cycling.

Stanley also delivered the message across social media and radio adverts, while Vitality advisers received tools to empower their conversations with consumers.

In the five months following the campaign launch, sales rose 31% compared to the same period in 2024. Consideration for Vitality Life Insurance grew by five percentage points, while searches for the brand increased 21%. The insurer also experienced a 19% reduction in cost per lead from lower-funnel social activity.

The number of customers associating the brand with living healthier, longer lives rose five percentage points, while customers describing the firm as ‘progressive/innovative’ grew four percentage points, helping Vitality win the 2025 Marketing Week Award for Excellence in Financial Services.