Nationwide Plans Brand Consolidation, Updated Logo
September 2, 2014 by Michael Buck
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. plans to make its moniker more ubiquitous over the next 18 months as it brings its other brands under the Nationwide name to project the scope of its offerings more clearly to customers, according to a company statement.
The company is also introducing a new logo to usher in the branding initiative, which is an updated version of its N and eagle emblem that was originally introduced in 1955. The new logo will be imminently introduced in the market and will replace the blue frame logo, which the company introduced in the late 1990s, according to a Nationwide spokesman Joe Case.
“We’re a company that has a much larger footprint than most people realize,” said Nationwide Chief Executive Officer Steve Rasmussen in a statement. “Nationwide is in all 50 states and features more products and solutions than our competitors, but customers in many areas aren’t aware of our strength, offerings and size because we feature so many brands that can appear to be unrelated.”Among the brands Nationwide currently operates under include Nationwide Insurance, Allied Insurance, Harleysville Insurance, Nationwide Financial, Scottsdale Insurance, Crestbrook Insurance and Veterinary Pet Insurance. The separate brands will be eliminated from a marketing perspective, but the legal structure will not change, Case said.
“Doing business under one brand is ultimately going to allow us to be more cost efficient,” Case said.
Much of the transition will be incremental, with the company replacing branding materials as current supplies are exhausted, Case said. The change will impact advertising assets, branding on and in company-owned real estate, digital platforms like Nationwide.com, sales collateral, agency signage and more, the company said.
“The Nationwide brand is the core and embodiment of who we are as a company, and research shows it is our best-known asset,” Rasmussen said in his statement. “We plan to leverage this asset to shine the spotlight on all of the products and solutions we offer.”
Ads with the new logo will appear as early as Sept. 4, when the company’s new NFL spots air. The ads feature Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning. Days later the new logo will appear on Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s No. 88 car at the Richmond International Raceway NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, the company said.
Nationwide Group companies in 2013 wrote direct premiums of $18.1 billion, up from $16.6 billion in 2009, according to BestLink, A.M. Best Co.’s online financial system. Nationwide Group in 2013 was the seventh-largest property/casualty writer in the United States by net premiums written, according to Best’s Review.
Nationwide has already seen the effects of its national ad campaigns. The company recently returned to the New Jersey auto market after a 33-year hiatus and had been seeing demand prior to the official launch, in part because of national branding efforts and its presence in surrounding states (Best’s News Service, June 12, 2014).
Nationwide Group companies currently have a Best’s Financial Strength Rating of A+ (Superior).
(By Michael Buck, senior associate editor, BestWeek: Michael.Buck@ambest.com)
