Progressive X prize

I recently came across a genius move by Progressive Insurance. Progressive have announced they will give $10m to anyone who invents a car that can get 100 miles to the gallon. This is similar to the original X prize, which was for $1m to the first non-government agency to get a space-ship into space. You can read about it by clicking here.

Why is this genius? Well, with a Prius currently only at around 45mpg, there is a long way to go till they have to pay out. In the meantime, Progressive lives up to its name and can claim halo of environmental concern, (for a business that  ultimately relies on oil). 

Most importantly though, this is all free media. Every-time someone does a story on fuel technology, the impact of cars or socially aware marketing, Progressive is going to get featured. Oh, and it is also a cool thing that consumers and the employees of Progressive can be proud of.

Think about the reverse of this. Exxon recently spent some $20m or so buying prime spots during the Olympics. Exactly what did they get out of that? If they are lucky, some positive brand perceptions scores but only in the very short-term. More likely they achieved nada. What if Exxon had been the company to offer this prize? From an oil company, that would have been progressive!