As a “challenger brand,” insurance firm Esurance has relied on a combo of brand awareness and performance marketing to grow, says Alan Gellman, Chief Marketing Officer at Esurance, in an interview with Beet.TV.

“We leverage traditional media with digital. We have a combined strategy of building awareness and focusing on where is the future and how do you get there,” he says, adding that Esurance has relied on both big tentpole opportunities like the Superbowl as well as performance-focused digital ads. Gellman joined Esurance a year ago.

“We are a large spender but we are tiny compared to our competitors. So you have to build a brand and get people to pay attention through entertainment,” he says. As an example, he points to the marketer’s use of “Beatrice, The Facebook Lady” in a range of its video content. Esurance works with agency partners like Leo Burnett and Starcom. The company has also had success producing long-form videos about biking to drive its motorcycle insurance.

Gellman was interviewed by Beet.TV at the 4As’ (American Association of Advertising Agencies) Transformation 2015 event in Austin, Texas. Our coverage is sponsored by Videology. Please find more coverage from the conference here.