Hibernian brand not safe in its owner's hands

MEDIA & MARKETING:"YOU'RE SAFE in the hands of Hibernian" is probably one of the best-known slogans for a financial institution in Irish advertising.

But despite its iconic status, the Hibernian name will soon be a thing of the past with the news this week that its owner, the UK insurance company Aviva, plans to ditch the brand that celebrates its centenary this year. The Hibernian Fire and General Insurance Company was established in Dublin in 1908 by a group of Irish business people looking to set up an Irish insurance company.

Aviva's brands in the UK and Poland - Norwich Union and Commercial Union Poland - respectively, will also be phased out over the next two years and, like Hibernian, will trade under the Aviva brand.

With some 1.2 million customers across motor, life, travel and home insurance, Hibernian is one of Ireland's best-known insurers. Recently, it announced its intention, subject to regulatory approval, to enter the health insurance market, with its acquisition of a 70 per cent stake in Vivas Health.

It's not unusual for companies to rebrand after mergers and takeovers. This year, the Shell and Statoil brands were rebranded as Topaz following their purchase by Topaz Energy. Another brand that bit the dust in recent years was the supermarket chain Quinnsworth when it was taken over by Tesco. Likewise, the brands Irish Permanent and TSB both disappeared following their merger and were replaced with the name Permanent TSB. Eircell became Vodafone and Esat Digifone became BT.

But the decision to drop the Hibernian brand is a particular surprise, given its heritage and a multimillion investment in brand-building advertising over the years. In 1993, Forbes magazine nominated Hibernian as one of the best 100 small companies in the world outside the US - a significant achievement for an Irish brand.

Throughout its history, Hibernian has undergone many changes of ownership, but its name always remained the same. Only a few years ago, Irish management insisted the brand was here to stay.

So why the change now?

Paul Kelly, Hibernian group marketing director, says: "It's about the building of a global brand. The timing is perfect now. Aviva is now known across the world and operates in 27 countries. A lot of marketing activity crosses international borders. With one brand, it will make it much easier to introduce new products into the Irish market from other markets and, in Ireland, we will also be able to leverage off the global marketing activity for Aviva."

With the Vivas investment still waiting regulatory approval, Kelly said it was too soon to say if Vivas will also end up as Aviva.

The rebranding programme will take two years. Kelly would not say how much it will cost, but said the budget would be significant. The first step will be in September when the company's investment managers' division, Hibernian Investment Managers, will become Aviva Investors.

Kelly acknowledged that the rebrand was not without risks. "We are very mindful of the esteem in which the Hibernian brand is held. There is a huge amount of emotional attachment to it not just by customers but also by employees. But we are determined to migrate all the values of Hibernian to Aviva. Making sure we don't lose any of those values makes the stakes much higher. There are risks and opportunities with any rebrand. There are stories of where it has been a success and others where it has gone wrong."

While the name Hibernian is synonymous with Ireland, where did the name Aviva come from?

Says Kelly: "Choosing a brand name that can be pronounced in multiple languages and doesn't cause offence in multiple countries is very important. The name also has to be modern and dynamic. Aviva ticks all those boxes. But it's a blank canvas in Ireland right now."

Moratorium for treaty extended

New guidelines for broadcasters have been issued by the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland in advanced of the Lisbon Treaty vote. The moratorium period has been extended and will now operate for the entire day before the referendum takes place and throughout the day of the poll itself, until the polling stations close. There will be a less restrictive approach to news and current affairs coverage during the moratorium period.

Referendum-specific broadcasts by interest groups will not be allowed, but the prohibition will not apply to broadcasts provided by the Referendum Commission.