New York Life’s New Integrated Brand Campaign Celebrates the Good in People’s Lives

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--New York Life, America's largest mutual life insurer, today announced the launch of a comprehensive brand campaign focused on how it can help consumers perpetuate the good in their own lives.

“We’re in a highly regulated business that has historically been mired in its own jargon”

“We want our friends, families and present and future customers to see us for the company our employees and agents know we are — a company that does the right things for the right reasons,” says Liz McCarthy, senior vice president and head of Corporate Communications, New York Life. “Our products and services, and the customized advice our agents provide, help people do that for their loved ones every day.”

Ad Campaign Makes the Connection

To make the connection, New York Life’s new national ad campaign, developed by Euro RSCG New York, introduces a theme, “Keep Good Going,” that will anchor all of the creative executions.

To deepen the “Keep Good Going” connection, media agency TargetCast tcm recognized the importance of selecting media opportunities that align with “good moments” when families typically gather, such as Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. The campaign will be featured on network, cable and local television stations in select markets during major sports events such as NFL and SEC college football games, and during primetime shows. The first two TV ads, called “Parallels” and “Snapshots,” use 100 percent “found” video and photographic images to illustrate moments of good throughout life. By featuring special family moments from the past juxtaposed with similar present-day moments, “Parallels” shows that the most important things in life don’t change, even as the decades do, www.newyorklife.com/keepgoodgoing/parallels. Through a collection of powerful photographs, “Snapshots” focuses on the many different types of people who make up a family, www.newyorklife.com/keepgoodgoing/snapshots.

Complementing the national TV spots will be print, digital and outdoor ads featuring “life lessons” that illustrate in a simple, authentic way the good things people do every day with and for one another. These are actions that build memories, relationships and commitments. For example, one ad features a toddler riding on the front of her mother’s bike and it carries the lesson “#84: Be one of life’s designated drivers.” Another shows a man walking with a bouquet of flowers with the lesson “#17: If you love someone, act on it.” All of the creative executions can be viewed at www.newyorklife.com/keepgoodgoing. New York Life is also introducing “mini movies” online, again using “found” footage, to convey these lessons in a compelling video format.

“The preliminary feedback we’ve gotten on the campaign has been overwhelmingly positive,” says Kari Axberg, head of advertising and branding at New York Life. “People not only understand and relate to what we’re trying to say — they also immediately begin to share their own life lessons.”

“What’s different about this campaign is the way it resonates with consumers; authentic scenes from everyday life are a reminder of the good that came before us and the good around us every day,” says Lee Garfinkel, Co-Chairman Euro RSCG New York and chief creative officer global brands Euro RSCG Worldwide. “Every scene in the campaign is based on actual stories from real people. Some of those stories even came from our colleagues.”

Print ads will appear in magazines including Time, Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report, People, Parents, Redbook, Money, and Kiplinger’s. The campaign will also feature a major outdoor component including multi-city “station dominations” in train stations and digital billboards in New York, Boston, San Francisco, Philadelphia, and Chicago. The outdoor campaign will also feature digital billboards in other major cities including Seattle, Sacramento and Cleveland.

Online Strategy Gets New Life

A robust digital campaign will leverage online video, digital display sponsorships and social media. The campaign strategy lends itself perfectly to the desire of today’s consumer to broadly share experiences, feelings and plans. Up first will be the company’s invitation to consumers to submit their own “life lessons” and user-generated content online.

Coinciding with the launch of the new brand campaign, New York Life has completely redesigned its primary public website, NewYorkLife.com. The new site puts consumers front and center with easier navigation, strong visual and video components, and content organized by what consumers want to achieve — such as family financial protection or saving for retirement — instead of by product category. New site design and functionality make it easier for current customers and prospects to connect with the company’s career agents via personalized pages and the ability to post comments or requests directly to agents’ Facebook pages.

“We’re in a highly regulated business that has historically been mired in its own jargon,” said Ms. McCarthy. “To achieve our primary goal of connecting with consumers, we need to have a conversation with them. They have to understand us and trust us.”

Everyone Plays a Role

Advertising is typically the most visible component of any brand, but New York Life is making a concerted effort to engage everyone in the company in the reintroduction of its brand.

“The company’s career agents are at the heart of our relationship with our customers. They form that personal connection,” said Ms. Axberg. “Our aim is to ensure that we make that same kind of authentic connection across all the other touch points where our policyholders encounter the company — how our service representatives talk to customers, how our correspondence is written, how our products are designed. The opportunities to bring the brand to life are unlimited.”

Committed to helping people perpetuate the good in their lives, New York Life Insurance Company, a Fortune 100 company founded in 1845, is the largest mutual life insurance company in the United States* and one of the largest life insurers in the world. New York Life has the highest financial strength ratings currently awarded to any life insurer by all four of the major credit rating agencies.** Headquartered in New York City, New York Life’s family of companies offers life insurance, retirement income, investments and long-term care insurance. Please visit New York Life’s Web site at www.newyorklife.com for more information.

*Based on revenue as reported by “Fortune 500 ranked within Industries, Insurance: Life, Health (Mutual),” Fortune magazine, May 21, 2012. See http://www.money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2012/faq/ for methodology.

**Source: Third-party ratings reports as of 6/22/12.