I often wonder what goes on in the heads of the people who run big financial institutions besides rapacious calculations.
At the time I commented on the stupidity of taking three famous and respected old brands, sticking them together in a series of mergers and giving the result a silly name that sounds like a mineral water or health supplement.
That is what some overpaid wanker did with Norwich Union, Commercial Union and General Accident to create a major disaster called Aviva.
Set aside the fact that statistically mergers and acquisitions do not work – the total generally ending up less than the sum of the parts. Then try to ignore the human cost of these misbegotten affairs – and that they are done for reasons of sheer vanity “my limp dick is bigger than yours”.
Then, consider this.
A brand has value. If you were to send out two identical mailings, one with an unknown name, and another with a venerable name like Norwich Union on the envelope, response would be twice as great for the latter. I have heard of it being three times greater.
If they knew a little about the realities of marketing and didn’t fall for the blandishments of the re-branding bullshitters, some of these top bananas would do a damn sight better than they do. As it is, Aviva’s share price has halved in recent months and the whole lot is up for grabs.
But no doubt the people in charge will find new, even better-paid jobs or sail off with big fat pensions – part of magic circle of those whose chief talent is, like shit, to rise to the top.
Exclnt review of Aviva – Drayton Bird.How the biggest UK insurance/finance merger has gone boobs up!
… “But no doubt the people in charge will find new, even better-paid jobs or sail off with big fat pensions”
It the same all over the world. Unfortunately, you either get into this corporate inner sanctum at a young age or you never due. They certainly don't want to be shown up by outsiders
Regards
Warren
They should have called it the Norwich Union of Commercial Accidents…
I'll get me cost.
Drayton,
You must be wrong.
They ran (and ran.. and ran) ads with Bruce Willis, Ringo Starr and a supermodel (who is, presumably, famous… but not to me).
Everyone knows that that's a failsafe route to getting British people to buy insurance. Therefore, Aviva must be successful.
“Simples” as that increasingly tedious Russian rodent likes to say.
As I said, they're in the toilet.
Incidentally, Aleksandr has helped sales go up spectacularly – and done serious damage to competitors
Drayton – It's hot air that 'rises to the top'. Shit sinks.
But leaving science for just now, another important DM ingredient that rarely makes it into the 'realities of marketing' is courage. The great marketers have courage. What we are seeing with these mergers and other 'marketing decisions' is just copycat market consolidation, all from people who have no real marketing knowledge or courage. So they simply buy market share instead.
I would love to be proven wrong in that analysis, by the way. So feel free to argue. Being proved wrong would give me encouragement ..
I know and he was very charming at first. But now it's disappeared up its own arse, I'd be surprised if it's still working.
The initial ads repeatedly mentioned the advertiser and car insurance. Now they're just tacked on the end of a dull story.
Sounds like a banana peal…?
Similar thing happening over here in Germany with Hamburg-Mannheimer becoming Ergo. After 35 years their “Herr Kaiser” gets scrapped – just like that. He was the best known insurance man / marketing face in Germany.
Corporate idiocy bumbles its way across frontiers