MONTREAL, Aug. 5 2008 – The Standard Life Assurance Company of Canada, part of Standard Life plc’s group of companies, today announced that it has won two awards in the 2008 Insurance and Financial Communicators Association (IFCA) annual competition. Each year, the IFCA recognizes excellence in marketing and communications work from insurance and financial organizations throughout the United States and Canada. Standard Life was granted an Award of Excellence in the category Community Service Materials and Campaigns for its annual fund raising campaign “Step Up for the Children with Standard Life”. It also received an Honorable Mention in the category Company Web Site (public/external) for its Portrait and Ideal Portfolios micro site, which was developed to demonstrate to advisors and investors alike that Standard Life fund-of-funds provide simple investment solutions.
“Our in-house design, Internet and marketing teams have been supporting our company’s effort in a creative and yet efficient way to communicate with clients, advisors and our other stakeholders,” said Vincenzo Ciampi, Vice-President, External Communications and Public Affairs of Standard Life. “We are proud that their work is being recognized again this year by the IFCA. This external recognition from our peers strengthens the acknowledgement of our Canadian design team, which was selected last fall as the world-class facility that would from then on design and produce communications material for Standard Life plc’s global operations.”
In 2007, Standard Life had also received an Award of Excellence in the category Benefits and Pension for its communication and education program “Plan for life” intended for group plan members, as well as an Honorable Mention in the category Company Web Site (public/external) for its revamped corporate web site.
Celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2008, the IFCA is a leading, non-profit association providing professional development opportunities, continuing education and industry recognition for marketing, communications and creative professionals from the insurance, financial and consulting sectors. Members represent a variety of firms from the United States, Canada as well as international organizations.
About Standard Life
In 2008, Standard Life, the first life insurance company to transact business in Canada, marks its 175th year of operations. With 10,000 employees globally, Standard Life plc is a major international financial services group headquartered in Scotland. It provides asset-managing services for retirement, investment and protection to some seven million customers globally. It has offices in the United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, Germany, Austria, India and China, including Hong Kong.
The Standard Life Assurance Company of Canada is Standard Life plc’s largest operation outside the U.K., with 2,000 employees based in Montreal and across Canada, serving more than 1.3 million Canadians, including group insurance and pension plan participants. (www.standardlife.ca)
Standard Life plc has approximately 1.5 million shareholders worldwide, including approximately 14,000 institutional and individual shareholders in Canada. It has been trading on the London Stock Exchange since The Standard Life Assurance Company demutualized in 2006. Standard Life plc is listed on the FTSE 100, Europe’s largest index, and on the FTSE4Good Index, which identifies companies adhering to globally recognized corporate responsibility standards. (www.standardlife.com) .