NATIONWIDE INSURANCE
Reaching Restaurant Owners Where They Scroll
Nationwide Insurance
Industry: B2B
Nationwide is one of the largest insurance and financial services companies in the world. They offer insurance, retirement and investing products that protect what’s most important to you, your family and your business.
Challenge
Nationwide and Gallagher teamed up with Belle Communication to communicate the value of small business insurance to stakeholders in the restaurant + food space. Nationwide needed to cultivate targeted brand awareness and interest, build authentic consumer connections and (of course!) drive leads.
APPROACH
Belle identified micro-influencers as the best tool to educate and empower a target audience of restaurant owners with easy-to-digest insurance insights. Nationwide and Gallagher knew the B2B sales journey was competitive, complex and heavily influenced by word-of-mouth. Having worked collaboratively with Belle on campaigns for other lines of coverage, Nationwide saw influencer marketing as an impactful yet untapped tactic for reaching its B2B prospects.
Program
Chefs and entrepreneurs are busy—they're not spending much time on LinkedIn. To connect, we met them where they were: on the move, scrolling on Instagram, engaging with their favorite online personalities. By partnering with four carefully vetted micro-influencers, including fellow chefs and restaurant owners, we tapped into new ways to engage a hard-to-reach audience through personable, high-impact Instagram Reels.
The influencers broke down complex insurance topics by highlighting their own experiences through storytelling—from navigating daily kitchen hazards to feeling like 'Chief Everything Officers' juggling so many tasks and questions. Their content emphasized a key piece of advice: entrepreneurs shouldn't try to do everything alone, but seek out support and take the lift of protection off their shoulders by relying on Nationwide and Gallagher. Personal anecdotes about how insurance has been a crucial safety net from business inception through growth transformed a typically dry subject into relatable, engaging content that resonated with their fellow restaurant industry professionals.
OUTCOMES
Through a mix of Instagram Reels, Stories and Static Posts, influencer content earned high metrics for interest, consideration and leads. The content effectively reached right-fit audiences, and the messaging was educational and genuine, drawing above-average engagement rates and creating lasting relationships. Comment sections overflowed with praise for shared recommendations and stories around business protection and entrepreneurship.