CASE STUDY
Zurich
Bringing a financial services brand back to life
Challenge
Zurich Financial Services was becoming just another commoditized insurance company in a sea of undifferentiated providers. Like the rest of the industry, Zurich was too internally focused, with Underwriters, Risk Engineers and Claims Adjusters calling the shots, and a brand positioning that lacked relevance in customers’ lives. Customers who told us they saw insurance providers as non-responsive, slow and untrustworthy – “little more than an organized crime syndicate”. We knew we needed a dramatic change in order to stand out.
Solutions
The idea was simple: We’ll help you deal with the most important things first, like securing a rental car or a place to stay. Then we’ll help you through the process of restoring your world to order. We’ll put you at the center by delivering REAL help. And in 2008, at the height of the financial crisis, Zurich launched one of the most extensive global campaigns, introducing Zurich HelpPoint externally and internally. Our unequivocal promise to customers was that Zurich delivers when it matters.
This could have been seen as yet another empty promise were it not for the vision of transforming 60,000 employees into authentic evangelists of the brand, armed with the permission to identify and execute proactive, spontaneous touchpoints, unheard of in the world of insurance.
Results
In a few short years, the sheer size and ambition of the transformation have been astounding, ranging from internal engagement programs, brand ambassadors, employee awareness-raising tactics, customer satisfaction and loyalty metrics, and the launch of hundreds of new product propositions globally. Revenue, margins and brand tracking scores are all up; and ten years later, Zurich ranks 7th in global insurance brands, and 206th in brands globally by Brand Finance.