By David Velasco, EBP, APRI 
In late 2020, I joined JGS Insurance as Vice President of Community Association and had an idea. I wanted to make insurance fun while forging meaningful connections with my clientele and others in the industry. That’s when I approached JGS Assistant Vice President Steve Roderick with my plan for a vlog (video blog). With the marketing expertise of JGS Brand Marketing Manager Alicia Ambrose, we made it happen.
Community Association Car Chat is a 10-minute weekly vlog hosted by Steve and I that is edited by Alicia. The vlog specifically targets the community, multifamily, condo, and homeowner association world that I and my team work in. The format was designed to bring these communities together by revealing the people behind the professionals that serve them.
Each week, Steve and I interview either a property management professional, a community association business services provider, or an industry professional from networking groups like Community Association Institute (CAI) to take viewers behind the scenes of their professional lives. The name “Car Chat” comes from the purposefully casual setting of the vlog, which takes place in all of the participants’ respective vehicles.
The idea behind this is that a person’s car is their personal space and a place where interviewees feel most comfortable while viewers get to know them on a personal level.
The vlog, which I post on my LinkedIn page—as well as on the dedicated Community Association Car Chat LinkedIn page and YouTube channel—has succeeded at taking the edge off of talking about insurance. Car Chat has helped me start conversations around insurance with clients that weren’t receptive before they’d seen the vlog. We have had companies that JGS was chasing for years and couldn’t get anywhere, but when they saw the Car Chat, they became open to the conversation.
Beyond starting industry-related conversations, I hope the vlog inspires viewers to think outside the box when it comes to marketing in their own industries. Maybe you do want to let your marketing team come up with something crazy. You never know where it will lead. You might end up being identified as a resource in the industry because of it.
As the team gets more experienced with the platform, the vlog is becoming more and more advanced.
A new episode of Community Association Car Chat is posted every Monday morning, with a fun one-minute teaser released every Saturday prior to spark viewers’ interest. If you want to tune in, I invite you to connect with me on LinkedIn or follow the Community Association Car Chat page for your weekly dose of humorous insurance-related insights.
Interested in becoming a guest on Car Chat? Click here to get in touch!
