Pinnacle Life Insurance

From Flatlining to Future-Ready: How Customer Insight Unlocked Scalable Growth.

“Our partnership has led to a remarkable 226% increase in policy sales, demonstrating the synergy between the changes we’ve made within our business and our marketing efforts.”

Gillian Vaughan, CEO, Pinnacle Life Insurance

Context & Challenge:

Life insurance is a tough category: emotionally heavy, trust-sensitive, and easy for time-poor Kiwis to ignore. Pinnacle Life — a digital-first challenger — had strong fundamentals but sales were flatlining. Their marketing relied on sentimental messaging (“lucky to have insurance”) that wasn’t landing.

The business needed a system reset: one that removed friction, rebuilt trust, and aligned with how customers actually wanted to buy cover.

The Breakthrough Insight:

Through 1-to-1 customer research, we uncovered the real Job to Be Done:

“I need to get life insurance sorted quickly and simply, without speaking to anyone, so I can stop worrying about it and get on with life.”

This insight showed that the unlock wasn’t inspiration — it was removing friction, emotionally and functionally. Pinnacle needed to make “getting it sorted” as simple and trustworthy as possible.

What We Delivered:

We rebuilt Pinnacle’s marketing system from the ground up — a connected, data-driven engine designed for clarity, trust, and conversion:

Growth & campaign strategy rooted in Jobs to Be Done
Customer research uncovering key friction points in UX, trust signals and messaging.
HubSpot implementation powering automated nurture, conversion tracking, and CRO.
High-converting ad campaigns on Google & Meta targeting first-timers and switchers
Search-informed content and landing page optimisation reducing decision effort
SEO audit + content strategy answering high-intent queries
Explainer & brand videos to build confidence at key decision points
Automated nurture journeys mapped to the real customer timelines
Real-time analytics dashboards for ongoing optimisation.

Results:

+226% growth in policy sales (YoY)
41% drop in acquisition costs
A connected, data-driven system delivering sustainable, measurable growth

Pinnacle Life is now positioned as a future-ready digital insurer: trusted, simple and scalable.

“This wasn’t about more marketing — campaigns come and go. It was about less friction — and building a connected system that helped Pinnacle Life do the job customers were really hiring them for.”

“Unfold Digital has become an extension of our team, deeply understanding our unique challenges and opportunities. Their data-driven approach and technical expertise have been instrumental in building a robust marketing system, allowing the Pinnacle management team to focus on business growth rather than reactive marketing decisions. With a comprehensive approach that includes customer research, data analysis, and strategic planning, Unfold acts as a sounding board for new ideas and directions. Our partnership has led to a remarkable 226% increase in policy sales, demonstrating the synergy between the changes we’ve made within our business and our marketing efforts.”