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While insurance isn't the most exciting of products, it's something we all need. There's a wealth of firms out there ready and willing to cover us, but apart from price, little differentiates them.

UIA Insurance, however, is different. Launched in 1892, it provides tailored insurance products for trade unions and organisations within the not-for-profit sector. What makes it stand out is the fact that it's a mutual, with an ethical investment policy. Anyone who buys one of its products gets a share in the company and can rest assured that since all its funds are managed on a socially responsible basis, none of their money will be invested in anything like armaments or tobacco products.

This is one of UIA's key differentiators and makes it very attractive to its target audience. But until marketing director Ian Cracknell joined seven years ago, UIA had taken a somewhat laissez-faire approach to marketing.

This meant it wasn't hitting as many prospects as it should have been, neither did it know enough about the customers it did have. His job has been to develop more of a marketing focus.

"When I joined, UIA didn't do any proactive marketing activity," says Cracknell. "It had one core client - public services union Unison - and was reliant on people finding out about its insurance products by word of mouth."

The firm was, however, doing some direct mail and advertising in trade union magazines. Cracknell set out to change all this, and last year was a particularly big one for UIA. Not only did it rebrand, but it also set out to rethink and reposition its marketing activity.

"We decided we wanted to create brand awareness within the market we were targeting and also find new ways of communicating with our target audience," says Cracknell.

The first step was getting to know its customers. A lot of time went into developing an effective database of UIA's 1.3 million customers.

Research then went into working out customer profiles, including those who do and don't claim, and response to advertising. This information is being used to ascertain who represents the most potential value to UIA and therefore who should be contacted and how.

Having already tested advertising and direct mail - UIA sends out around three million items a year - last year it widened its scope. Following research into the newspapers trade union members were likely to read and their preferred TV channels, UIA moved into DRTV and national press ads, launching its first test DRTV ad in October. It ran for the entire month on channels including UK Gold and LivingTV.

"These are channels with the profile of our target audience - mass market, C1, C2, D and E blue collar workers in industries represented by trade unions, from the health sector to local government and education," says Cracknell.

The ad supported UIA's brand proposition 'insurance with principles', promoting its particular approach to business. It had the desired result, with UIA's second largest sales week of the year coinciding with the last week of the campaign. As such, DRTV will be rolled out fully this year.

National press ads are also a new communication channel, part of implementing the new-found knowledge that not everyone can be reached through word of mouth or trade union communications.

Branching out into other media isn't the only change Cracknell has implemented.

UIA began targeting the charity sector for the first time last year too.

"We ran a B2B campaign, inviting them to do business with us," explains Cracknell. "We took an integrated approach with direct mail, telemarketing and visits from our account team."

The Ramblers Association was the first to sign up last October, and discussions are taking place with others.

There's no doubt this seachange is paying off. When Cracknell joined the firm, UIA's turnover was around £16 million. This has more than doubled to £35 million today.

"Our aim is to be the leading provider of insurance for the not-for-profit sector," he says. "We want to capitalise on the brand's strength, developing better relationships with our customers."

And by the look of things so far, UIA is on its way to a happy 2004.

VITAL STATISTICS

Name: UIA Insurance

Turnover: £35 million

Direct marketing spend: More than £3 million

Agency: Archibald Ingall Stretton

ON THE SPOT

Ian Cracknell marketing director, UIA Insurance

Do you open all your direct mail?

No. It has to be engaging and relevant to me. If it is, I open it. If not, it goes in the bin.

What do you tell people you do at parties?

I consciously try to avoid discussing work at parties, but I say I look after the marketing for a financial services company and that's usually enough to move the conversation on.

If you could send anyone a piece of DM, what would it be, and to whom would you send it?

I'd send the UIA board a mailer highlighting the benefits of investing in marketing, highlighting what it's achieved for us so far and urging them to continue to invest in it.

What one piece of advice would you give when embarking on a DM campaign?

Plan effectively, know your objectives and think of the customer at all times.