Old Mutual Builds Brand Awareness In US
ALMOST A QUARTER OF AMERICAN ‘BABY BOOMERS’ RECOGNISE THE NAME
Old Mutual plc, the international savings and wealth management company, has significantly extended the reach of its brand into the US market where the group has operations in life insurance and asset management.
Old Mutual US has reported impressive increases in consumer awareness after just 11 weeks of advertising.
Research conducted by The Bantam Group of the baby boomer market (age 40 to 65), showed that aided awareness of Old Mutual’s investment and insurance capabilities increased significantly (from 4.8% in the benchmark to 7.5%) following the group’s first national advertising campaign in the US.
In other words, the campaign has resulted in recognition of the brand rising to 24.2% in the group’s target audience.
Having brought together its US operations nearly a year ago, one of the biggest steps for Old Mutual was the introduction of a strong, singular brand identity to help position the business as a leading provider of insurance and asset management in the US.
The campaign commenced with an initial rollout to intermediaries and financial advisers. Advertising and other activities have since been extended to target consumers in the American retail market.
John Clifford, President of the Old Mutual Financial Network commented: “In keeping with our motto The thinking is new. The name is Old Mutual our intention is to quickly become a force to be reckoned with in the US financial services market.”
Old Mutual’s campaign seeks to demonstrate smart, innovative solutions that set the group apart from competitors. It includes the following components, which combined to ensure high levels of awareness at relatively low cost:
· Advertising
o Television commercials airing on CNN Headline News, Fox News and Bloomberg.
· Sponsorship
o Golf: Tavistock Cup client entertainment, on-site branding and a TV spot on the Golf Channel.
o Golf: Trevor Immelman sponsorship.
o Major League Baseball Game of the Week Sponsorship on TBS, featuring the "Old Mutual Hit Predictor," an on screen graphic displaying where a selected player has hit the ball throughout the season, to provide insight to where he might hit the ball in his current at bat.
o Thoroughbred Racing Sponsorship providing Old Mutual onsite presence at the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, Belmont Stakes and the Breeder's Cup, as well as customised TV commercials during race coverage on ESPN and ESPN2
· On-line
o Over 123,000 consumers have visited www.SayOldMutual.com since the campaign launched in late November.
o More than 21,000 Intermediaries have gone to the splash page for more information about Old Mutual since the page launched in July.
o Search efforts through Google, Yahoo! and MSN continue to drive traffic to the site.
· Branding
o For example, the huge 27.4 by 3.4 metre Old Mutual insignia recently hoisted above its office in Fleet Street, Baltimore.
