It CAN Hurt to Ask
June 13, 2011 by Maureen Wall Bentley · 2 Comments
Recently I underwent surgery in a large hospital in Baltimore. On the sixth of my eight days there, I received a visit from a supervisor, clipboard in-hand, who wanted to know about my experience with the nursing staff.
Now, I had been blessed with a nursing squad that was really fantastic—empathetic, knowledgeable, tenacious about patient care—and I told her so. But I did have some issues with the nursing assistants or “techs,” as well as an intercom system that was beyond useless—and I told her about those as well.
“Show me,” she said, and handed me the intercom so she could see how it was—or was not—working. “They hate when I do this,” she mused about her team, who clearly were used to her little spot inspections.
As I expected, the intercom was unintelligible and the tech who got the page was unresponsive (until she realized her boss was on the line).
“I’ll get someone to fix the intercom this afternoon, and I’ll talk to the staff,” she promised. Read more
The spokes-nightmare
May 17, 2011 by Maureen Wall Bentley · Leave a Comment
This morning Arnold Schwarzenegger confessed to fathering a child with a household employee 10 years ago. While I’m shocked, I’m not at all surprised, as Ahh-nold has had his scrapes with lascivious and arrogant behavior before. 
After sending out good mental vibes to Maria and the kids, who deserve way better than this, I got to thinking about the corporate fallout from this. While Schwarzenegger is not currently a spokesman for anyone (that I know of), he has been busy reviving his film career, including the announcement of an animated children’s program called The Governator. Which means that somewhere there is a PR office (other than his own) madly constructing spin and corporate lawyers reviewing the morals clause of his contract to determine if, indeed, Schwarzenegger has “committed any act that offends the community or any segment thereof and/or public morals and decency.”
Now, you and I may consider this a fairly cut-and-dried case for terminating a relationship with a celebrity spokesperson, but if the situation is not about right or wrong but merely right for us or wrong for us? What if the spokesperson’s private life simply veers from the brand it is representing? What if, for example, we saw photos of Sam Waterston gambling in Vegas—instead of conservatively investing his money with TD Ameritrade? Or if Raymond Burr had declared his homosexuality while he was representing the traditionally conservative Big I, instead of being outed after his death? Today it wouldn’t be be a big deal (nor should it), but in the 1980s? Good luck with that. Read more
A Rose By Any Other Name
April 19, 2011 by Maureen Wall Bentley · Leave a Comment
It sounded like a joke: “You know that CARFAX won’t fax you a report any more?”
But it wasn’t a joke. Though CARFAX indeed has “fax” in its name, the company today distributes its used-vehicle reports only through online access. But that gap between identity and reality doesn’t seem to have hurt the company, which, with more than 8 billion records in its database, is one of the top Web sites for vehicle research.
But that disparity got me thinking about other brand identities that no longer deliver on their name, logo or tagline, and whether or not it matters. Read more
Lessons from the Rebrand Frontier
March 8, 2011 by Maureen Wall Bentley · Leave a Comment
In an industry in which so much has been reported as “down” in the last couple years—sales, revenues, retention—the one number that continues to rise is that of mergers and acquisitions. In 2010, agency M&A alone grew more than 20% over 2009.
Why? Baby Boomer principals are looking to fund their retirements, benefits brokers are eager for P&C partners to relieve them of the uncertainty of healthcare legislation and, quite simply, bigger fish are just eating smaller fish. Agents, brokers, companies, vendors…no one in our space is immune. And among those left standing, there is a profound need to embrace their new family members and prove their relevance in a highly competitive marketplace. Add to that the number of organizations that simply need to shake off tired brand identities and touch points, and you’ve got a host of entities debuting new looks.
So, it should be no surprise that over the last two years Aartrijk has been involved in the rebranding of several industry organizations—providing brand research, naming, tagline and logo development, trademarking, rollout and sometimes all of the above. And while every rebrand is inherently different, I’ve noticed a few common misperceptions and lessons learned. For those even considering rebranding, some words to the wise…. Read more
Fraternally yours
January 11, 2011 by Maureen Wall Bentley · Leave a Comment
When I was a kid, my father was a member of the Knights of Columbus, as were many of the men in 
my heavily Catholic neighborhood in the Bronx. It wasn’t something I thought a lot about, though I was somewhat intrigued by the clandestine nature of the initiation rite (Was there a secret handshake?!), and the fancy uniforms and headgear worn at funerals and formal events were pretty fantastic. I didn’t connect my father and his friends with college scholarships, clothing drives, helping veterans and all the other good works of the Knights. I regret to say it was pretty much all about the feathered hats for me.
Fast forward a few decades and I find that I was not alone in my lack of knowledge about the Knights—or about fraternal organizations in general.
While nine million Americans are members of a fraternal benefit society—and those individuals devoted an astounding 91 million hours of volunteer time to their causes in 2009 alone—a lot of folks still don’t fully comprehend the value of these community-focused organizations. Read more
Marketing Mayhem
November 23, 2010 by Maureen Wall Bentley · Leave a Comment
My husband laughs out loud every time Allstate’s new “Mayhem” commercials air. It’s a bit of a toss-up whether he likes “Flag” or “Jogger” best, but the whole campaign gets his attention—and a chuckle. We have been known to replay the new spots when they appear the first time. Mark also has a bit of a thing for Progressive’s Flo, and he has weighed in on Geico’s “Cavemen” vs. “Gecko” vs. “Rod Serling” (we both hate the weird dollar bills with eyes).
So, I guess I shouldn’t have been all that surprised when he asked me the other night: “Why are the most creative TV commercials for insurance?” 
Having worked in the insurance marketing space for many years now, I admit that I’ve seen more than my fair share of very, very bad advertising. But he was right: Much of the good ad creative now on television is related to our industry.
Why? Probably because every point of market share within the U.S. property-casualty sector represents about $4.6 billion in premium. Of that, more than one-third is personal auto, and the biggest opportunity for personal auto writers are buyers new to the industry—consumers under the age of 30 who have not yet formed a strong brand loyalty.
So, there is a very big incentive to create clever, witty ads that appeal to a younger generation (my 40-something husband notwithstanding) who want personal lines. And, if the preliminary numbers from A.M. Best Co. are any indication, those spots are working. Read more
Patriot in our midst
September 21, 2010 by Maureen Wall Bentley · 2 Comments
Kevin Jenné heads for Korea.
Maybe it’s because I grew up during the angst of the Vietnam War—the protests, the POWs, the endless arguments about what it means to be a patriot, to love and to serve your country—that I am always somewhat surprised to hear of someone volunteering for military service during wartime. Whatever the motivation—to get out of a dead-end town, to earn a college education or special training, or simply to make the world a safer place—I’m overcome by that commitment and humbled by the sacrifices made on behalf of all of us.
Yet we see young men and women every day doing just that. What we don’t see as often is a 40-something father of six (and grandfather of one!) returning to active duty after many years of civilian life and weekend reserves.
But that is exactly what Kevin Jenné, Aartrijk’s director of research & strategic insights, is doing. Having recently finished a two-week reserve assignment in Korea, Kevin is now packing up his Seattle-based family for a one- to-two-year assignment as the Strategic Alliance Officer at U.S. Naval Forces Korea in Seoul.
In sharing with our team that he was leaving Aartrijk to accept this assignment, Kevin said, “I do feel compelled to accept this assignment, as there are very few officers who have the background and skill sets needed as the U.S. is dramatically restructuring the alliance with South Korea. It sounds trite when they say, ‘Your country needs you,’ but that is exactly what they are saying.”
We will miss Kevin’s brains and sly wit during his hiatus from Aartrijk, but we couldn’t be more proud of his patriotism. Godspeed, Kevin, and God bless America.
It’s a zoo around here
August 16, 2010 by Maureen Wall Bentley · 1 Comment
The virtual structure of Aartrijk—with some 20 consultants across 10 states, working from home offices or small corporate ones—has one particularly great advantage: We can work alongside our pets.
Our CEO, Peter van Aartrijk, regularly brings his gigantic labs, Molly and Betty, to the HQ office, where they welcome visitors with a lot of licking and pleas for petting, and then they settle in at Peter’s feet. Guinness, one of my two prison cats (they were part of a Pets for Prisoners program, which explains a lot), is almost always on the sunny spot of my office floor, while the other one, Harp, forces me to mute calls because of her caterwauling.
And while all that may sound like a distraction from the work we do for our clients, it actually is quite the opposite: Our animals calm us and amuse us, which enables us to focus and enjoy our work. And that’s not just us: In a nationwide survey by the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association, 73% of responding companies found having pets in the office created a more productive work environment among—and 27% had a decreased absenteeism rate.
But if you don’t have your furry favorite by your side at work, we’re happy to share ours. Just visit the Aartrijk Zoo.
Alphabet Soup
July 14, 2010 by Maureen Wall Bentley · 3 Comments
One of the first eye-openers I had when moving to the Washington, DC, area some 20 years ago was that virtually every organization in the vicinity has an acronym. Whether a military entity, high-tech company, government agency or association, they all are awash in unfathomable letters. Sure, we know the FBI and IRS, and we all have USB ports in our laptops, but have you ever hear of NASPGHAN (North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition) or MANPADS (man-portable air-defense system)? Even a Beltway veteran like John McCain can be overwhelmed by this lettered nonsense (see video clip).
7 Steps to A Stronger Agency Brand
April 15, 2010 by Maureen Wall Bentley · Leave a Comment
The Hales & Company/National Underwriter Mergers & Acquisitions Seminar series got off to a great start in NYC this week. Some 60 agents and brokers packed the all-day event, in which Laurie Donohue and I presented the segment on 7 Steps to a Stronger Brand. The topic seemed to strike a chord with the attendees—especially when they heard that a strong brand can add 100 basis points to an agency’s valuation multiple.
Scott Addis, who gave his lively “Purple Cow” presentation about organic growth strategies, highlighted another interesting point: His research shows that some 48% of agents don’t feel their firm’s brand is differentiated from the competition (and I’ll add that some of the remaining 52% are…um, optimistic…in their belief that their brand is distinctive). Sounds like a great opportunity for stronger brands to edge out the competition.