NIB Health Insurance Case Study

The health insurance industry often struggles to engage younger consumers, who see it as a safety net rather than a health partner. In 2022, nib Health Insurance rebranded with the platform Empowering Prevention, aiming to become a trusted partner. The transformation built trust through a Human, Helpful, Optimistic personality and a fresh, slightly quirky visual identity.

Smith & Western was tasked with developing a distinctive sonic identity to support the new brand. Our brief was to bring their new brand personality (Human, Helpful, Optimistic) to life, initially for a major advertising campaign and then to ensure a consistent, recognisable sonic experience across all future brand touchpoints.

Guided by nib’s brand traits of Human, Helpful and Optimistic, we defined the Sonic Principle Curiously Charming. This principle informed a Sonic Palette of genres, instrumentation, tone, timbre, and tempo, inspired by composers such as Alexandre Desplat and Jon Brion, creating a rich and adaptable sound framework.

From our Sonic Principles, we created a Master Brand Track and Sonic Logo and cast a brand voice that formed the foundation of nib’s sonic identity. The track captured the Curiously Charming essence with motifs adaptable across campaigns, while the Sonic Logo distilled it into a distinctive, memorable signature. Together, they formed a sonic blueprint that unified the brand and reinforced trust.

Since its rollout, nib's sonic identity has been consistently and strategically applied across a multitude of brand assets and campaigns, ensuring a unified auditory presence. It prominently featured in the 2023 TV campaign, 'As Exciting as health insurance gets,' and continued its central role in the 2024 campaign, 'Potentially Amazing'.