FOCUS: BRAND RELEVANCE LOSS | AUDIENCE: STEWARDS OF PLATEAUED BRANDS
BY: SHOBHA PONNAPPA | BRAND BREAKTHROUGH STRATEGIST | 45 YEARS | 125+ CLIENTS
I helped a travel insurance brand realise their biggest competitor wasn’t a rival … but the borderless generation.
The brand had spent decades building trust with traditional travellers … business flyers, retirees on cruises, and vacationers taking planned two-week holidays. Their policies were comprehensive, their agent network was global, and their paperwork was airtight. Yet despite their legacy, growth had slowed dramatically in recent years. The younger demographic, particularly digital nomads and remote-first professionals, simply weren’t biting.
At first glance, this seemed like a positioning issue. But a deeper look revealed that their entire claims system was still bound to the idea of permanent addresses, fixed travel dates, and localised hospital networks. For a world in motion, they were offering an insurance product stuck in place.
Most of the startup insurers gaining traction with nomads weren’t offering better pricing … they were offering better belief systems. They treated flexibility not as a policy rider, but as the foundation. Customers could pause plans, change countries without notifications, and file claims entirely online with location-agnostic identifiers. These brands didn’t just insure travel … they insured movement.
Meanwhile, my client’s user journey had a painful contradiction: they targeted travellers, but required stability at every turn. Sign-up needed proof of residence. Claims needed scanned paper bills. Support was available only during fixed business hours in three countries. This was friction, disguised as structure.
I proposed a bold breakthrough idea: rebuild the brand’s entire offering around the concept of “Fluid Identity.” Instead of anchoring the customer to a country or address, the new system would anchor them to a secure digital identity … verified once, updated anytime, usable globally.
This meant reengineering how claims were validated, how policies flexed across time zones, and how customer service was delivered. The idea wasn’t to chase digital nomads … it was to become their infrastructure. By standing for freedom with safety, the brand could reclaim cultural relevance … not just functional appeal.
To bring the idea of “Fluid Identity” to life, I worked with their internal team to reframe their product experience as a lightweight companion to movement, not a bureaucratic burden. First, I mapped out the top digital-nomad hubs … Bali, Tbilisi, Lisbon, Medellín. These cities weren’t chosen at random; each represents a major cluster of modern nomads with distinct needs. I designed region-flexible pricing without requiring relocation proof.
Second, I introduced a “Global Reassurance Layer” … a set of always-on digital services including in-app doctor chats, instant claim triage, and location-agnostic emergency numbers. Wherever you were, you felt protected without having to prove where you were.
Here are 10 strategic ideas developed (and several executed) to support the new brand direction:
“Nomads on Record” Podcast Series: A content-driven audio campaign featuring real digital nomads discussing challenges with healthcare, safety, and insurance on the move.
Interactive Landing Page: “How Borderless Are You?”: A lead gen quiz that evaluated lifestyle flexibility and recommended matching plans.
Animated Explainers on Global Claims Process: Visually rich videos demystifying the new fluid claims system and digital ID enrolment.
Social Micro-Campaigns Around Nomad Hotspots: Location-based Instagram reels with real nomads showing how they used the app from different cities.
Digital Wallet Integration Tutorials: How-to content helping users link policies with digital wallets or travel platforms like Nomad List.
Bite-Sized “Did You Know?” Posts on Global Medical Rules: Educational LinkedIn carousels explaining region-specific coverages.
Founder Letter: “What Freedom Means to Us”: A signed open letter from leadership repositioning the brand’s values for the new era.
Real-Time Policy Tracker Widget: A dashboard embedded in the app and website showing real-time user location coverage status.
Collaboration Series with Remote Work Platforms: Blog series co-written with platforms like SafetyWing, We Work Remotely, or Remote OK.
Onboarding Emails in Story Format: Instead of standard policies, new users received a story-based walkthrough showing how their policy travelled with them.
28% increase in policy signups from users in non-residence countries.
3x growth in digital claim submissions via the new interface.
47% rise in average time spent on site, especially on explainer content.
19% lift in social engagement around the nomad-specific campaign series.
CONFIDENTIALITY CAVEAT: This case study represents a confidential engagement. For privacy, specific brand identifiers, campaign names, and project phases have been withheld. It has been shared with permission while preserving client discretion.
If you’re an investor seeking momentum for your portfolio brands, here is one of my case studies that could interest you: “Why a Meal Kit Brand Forgot Loyalty Doesn’t Come Pre-Cooked.“
And if you’re a solo expert looking to sharpen traction, this case study I worked on may resonate: “How a Hormone Coach Posting Daily Got Lost in the Wellness Fog.“
"One BIG IDEA can turn brand stagnation into unstoppable movement. Spots are limited each week ... book your breakthrough session now."
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