NEW YORK, April 30 2007 – Marsh Inc., the world’s leading risk and insurance services firm, today announced the launch of the most ambitious branding campaign in the firm’s 136-year history by encouraging businesses to focus on another side of risk – the “upside.” The campaign, created by the New York office of Ogilvy, seeks to disrupt the traditional view of risk as a liability to be avoided by asking the reader to also consider finding opportunities in risk.
The integrated branding effort includes print, out-of-home, direct mail, event marketing and online components. The central element of the campaign is the print component, which focuses on specific areas like climate change regulations, supply chain disruptions and expansion into China, then outlines the risk-reward paradigm. Immediately intriguing, the ads question the “risk is negative” belief and literally turn the concept of risk on its head.
Out of home ads employ a similarly unique approach by taking traditionally positive words and exchanging them with the word “risk.” These ads feature phrases such as “Risk Upon a Star” and “To Risk Perchance to Dream.”
The messages are designed to encourage risk managers and other senior-level business leaders to break with historic norms and look at risk differently. Rather than being solely something to guard against, Marsh believes managing risk smartly can give proactive companies a competitive advantage in their marketplace.
“This campaign expresses our belief there should be a new, more complete approach to managing risk going forward, and also signals to our clients and the market that Marsh is back on its front foot,” said Brian Storms, chairman and chief executive officer of Marsh. “There’s no company in the world better positioned than we are to help clients understand the new realities of risks, mitigate them, and turn them into opportunities for upside.”
The Marsh campaign is running in print publications both in the U.S. and globally, including The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Financial Times and key local and trade media. There is also an aggressive out of home campaign in several major cities throughout North America that includes airports, bus shelters, billboards and subway elements.
“We’re thrilled to have created a branding campaign that visibly differentiates us within our industry and clearly conveys the value of our firm’s unmatched intellectual capital,” said Nancy Elder, Marsh’s chief marketing officer. “Today’s public and private sector leaders face risks that have few historical precedents and limited playbooks to operate from. Our message is clear: Marsh can help you minimize the uncertainty and find the upside opportunity that’s inherent in most new challenges.”
The company views its new branding campaign as an investment designed to help stimulate both awareness and growth. “We fully expect to create a new level of consciousness among risk managers and business leaders that should deliver new revenue opportunities for clients,” said Ms. Elder.
In addition to the print and outdoor ads that begin this week, the campaign has already utilized some internal elements to generate excitement among Marsh employees. For example, to build momentum prior to the public launch, previews of the new ads were mailed to home addresses and primary global locations last week.
To view the new ads, visit www.findtheupside.com.
About Marsh
Marsh has 26,000 employees and annual revenues approaching $5 billion. The firm provides advice and transactional capabilities to clients in over 100 countries. Marsh is a unit of Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC), a global professional services firm with approximately 55,000 employees and approximately $12 billion of annual revenues. MMC also is the parent company of Guy Carpenter, Kroll, Mercer, and Putnam Investments. MMC’s stock (ticker symbol: MMC) is listed on the New York, Chicago, and London stock exchanges. MMC’s Web Site is www.mmc.com. Marsh’s Web Site is www.marsh.com.
