Chartis
Identity
Launch
Visual Systems
Setting a course
Following the problems surrounding AIG’s Financial Products division, U.S. government intervention, and the resulting negative sentiment toward the brand, Lippincott was asked to help recommend a strategy for the general insurance businesses of AIG.
Worldwide research with brokers, clients and internal audiences quickly established that the AIG brand was damaged beyond repair, that the interim solution of elevating the overseas commercial insurance brand AIU to a corporate brand position did not create sufficient distance, or provide a positive platform for growth, and that a new brand was needed.
Lippincott then embarked on a fast-paced re-branding of the worldwide general insurance businesses as Chartis.
Challenges
There was an almost unprecedented level of media and public hostility toward the AIG brand in the fall of 2008 and spring 2009, necessitating that management reconsider the brand strategy for the business.
Actions
Through executive interviews, stakeholder and archival research, uncovered a rich back story and DNA to the organization that would serve as the foundation for the new brand’s positioning and personality. AIG began in 1919 on The Bund in Shanghai and was defining what it meant to a be "global / local" company decades before those became buzzwords.
Defined the brand personality – based on the attributes of measured entreprenuership, openness and an international mindset – and created a name for the new company – Chartis, the Greek word for map – suggesting the ability to set a course for clients and help them pursue new possibilities with confidence.
Created a tagline, Your World, Insured, which was translated into multiple languages, to speak to the geographic reach and reinforce the business offering as the brand gains exposure.
Developed a new identity based on a guiding compass and referencing the letter C, as well as a comprehensive visual system supported by detailed brand standards and including global web site designs, brochures, communications architecture and employee engagement materials.
Streamlined and aligned the global brand architecture – Chartis operates in over 160 countries – using detailed assessment tools, and recommended brand strategies for key sub-brands such as TravelGuard and Lexington Insurance.
Created launch day applications including a launch video and introductory brochure, and environmental branding elements for corporate headquarters.