06.07.2011
ARAG's New Brand Strategy
The ARAG organization and the ARAG brand – one of the best-known brands in the German insurance market – have been a strong team for over 75 years. Over the course of the past decade, the Düsseldorf insurance group has undergone an extensive change process and is now redefining its brand position accordingly. “That represents an important milestone for a traditional brand like ARAG. Our aim is to develop what has been a straight product brand into an attractive consumer brand,” explains Dr. Paul-Otto Faßbender, CEO of the ARAG Group.
ARAG has evolved during the past ten years into a modern insurance group with a number of different business segments and corporate divisions. And that has impacted on the ARAG brand as well. “Our corporate reality is clearly different today. We have taken advantage of the options available to the Group and developed them further. ARAG is no longer a national niche supplier focused on the legal insurance business alone,” says majority shareholder Dr. Paul-Otto Faßbender.
ARAG has positioned itself today as a versatile quality insurer with a focus on legal insurance and a mix of insurance segments that corresponds to the Group’s historical background and expertise. Legal insurance will remain the Group’s largest single segment and account for roughly 50 percent of premium income in the future as well. The other half comes from composite, health, and life insurance as integral components of the Group. Thus ARAG has outgrown its role as a national niche supplier. Both the organization itself and the ARAG brand have undergone a visible shift in meaning. Within this context, the Group is now pursuing a long-term strategy devoted to transforming the ARAG brand from a narrowly defined product brand into an attractive consumer brand. The new brand position emphasizes precisely what holds ARAG together as a family enterprise: its independence. “That is our most important asset, and it is entirely in line with the wishes of consumers, who are also striving for independence and personal development. We surveyed consumers on this issue in the most recent issue of “Markenbarometer Assekuranz.” The respondents confirmed that insurance companies have a credible potential to provide support when it comes to independence – and we want to build more effectively on that in the future,” Dr. Faßbender points out.
Consumers will be introduced to the new, broader brand position of the ARAG Group through the new advertising campaign. Beginning on 11 July 2011, three TV commercials featuring the campaign claim “Your plans. Your Life. Your Insurance.” will show that ARAG can help ensure the independence of its customers at significant turning points in life.
With its new brand strategy, the ARAG Group emphasizes its known strengths and its traditional character. The heart of the strategy is the process of internal brand-building which was launched five years ago with the introduction of the ARAG Essentials, the Group’s basic business principles. This thorough approach is typical of a family enterprise and sets ARAG clearly apart from other insurance companies. Consequently, the brand model is genuine and authentic. “Our new brand strategy will make the evolution of the ARAG Group visible and palpable for the first time. With these plans, we are laying the foundation for the development of ARAG into an international brand-name company. Achieving that goal will take some time, but we are now taking the first steps in that direction,” explains Dr. Paul-Otto Faßbender.