Approaching the industry with renewed energy
The decision to change the look and feel of a brand is a tough decision to make. The public has a close association with brands and it has been proven that they assign certain emotions to a brand, says Drew Schnehage, CEO at AUM.
While there is the risk that rebranding might be detrimental for a company, it can also offer significant benefits. This is the fresh new approach that Aquarius Underwriting Managers (AUM) is taking to the market after it partnered with Hollard last year. FAnews caught up with AUM Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Drew Schnehage to discuss the rebranding process.
Getting out the drawing board
For a lot of companies, the rebranding process often involves going back to the drawing board to develop the new idea that it wants to approach the industry with. For AUM, it was all about going back to the company’s roots.
“We first went back to establish who we were and why we wanted to create this new brand platform. It was in this phase that we narrowed in on our target audience and really began to formulate a brand concept that will appeal to them. We went for simplicity in design and depth in our message to establish a successful identity. We went for the design that was going to last,” says Schnehage.
She adds that the rebranding that originated was fairly simple. It started out with bringing together the three important themes; Hollard (insurer), AUM (underwriter) and UNIQUE (a luxury insurance product suite powered by AUM). The Teal colour is a new colour in the Hollard brand. The Aqua blue and the water drop in the company’s new logo have a correlation with AUM. The product, UNIQUE is represented in the gold and platinum colours and speaks to the high net worth individuals. “The UNIQUE product has been around for ten years and we wanted to keep the strong name and brand it represented,” says Schnehage.
Business as usual
One thing AUM’s clients will be happy to know is that the company is not planning to completely change the way it does business. The rebranding and joining Hollard is on a path of no return. The company’s focus on high net worth individuals is clearly present in its new brand and strategy.
“We have a couple more steps to complete before the end of the first phase of our new journey. In the near future the industry will also see the launch of our new mobile app. This will take customer interaction and experience to a new level,” says Schnehage.
There is a slight change in the value proposition AUM will be providing brokers and its clientele. “The value proposition to our brokers and their clients will be ever changing due to the demands of this clientele. We have a niche offering to high net worth individuals and we will continue to provide the solution and value expected from a high net worth product provider. Being part of Hollard adds more value to AUM’s purpose. In recent months we have spent our time and efforts on implementing and introducing cost effective claims processes which are streamlined to make it easier for the client, the broker and us,” continues Schnehage.
Embracing change
Brokers play an important role in the AUM business model. Therefore, as key business partners of the company, brokers need to be open to the rebranding and accept it with a positive frame of mind.
“The broker community’s response has indeed been positive to our rebrand. They agree with our thinking in offering a fresh, new image to our high net worth clients. The link between our new brand, our website and the new mobile app is a move towards a unique solution,” concludes Schnehage.
