What’s Your Brand Anatomy?
December 12, 2011 by Peter van Aartrijk · Leave a Comment
“If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be ‘meetings.’”
—Dave Barry
That’s an excerpt from Dave’s birthday message to fans a few years back, in which he announced the “Sixteen things it took me 50 years to learn”. There are some other real gems in there.
I agree with Mr. Barry on meetings, so why in the world would Aartrijk pile on with yet another meeting—our Brand Camp? Don’t insurance and financial services pros meet enough? Of course, and that’s why we’re aiming to alter and improve the very essence of what we call a “meeting,” or for that matter, a conference, seminar, workshop, speech, etc.
If Aartrijk can contribute to changing the rules of the game, perhaps we can show how the future of face-to-face meetings could be in our industry. Because, let’s admit it, as human beings we need to meet—and we like to meet, especially if it’s fun. Read more
Tribute to a Mentor & Friend
July 12, 2011 by Peter van Aartrijk · 21 Comments
Death leaves a heartache no one can heal;
Love leaves a memory no one can steal.
—From an Irish Headstone
Maureen Wall Bentley, Aartrijk’s executive vice president of Brand Strategy, passed away a few days ago at the age of 47.
Words can’t possibly describe how we all are feeling for her friends and family. Our sympathies go to her husband, Mark; her mom, Betty; and the many close relatives of Meaux’s extended family who she loved so much. And it is a loss to the family here at Aartrijk—our employees, our consultants, our clients, our friends.
Speaking of words, that was Maureen’s original true love. When I first met her 20 years ago, she was editor of IA magazine, which to this day is still an Aartrijk client.
She was meant to be an editor, and she was outstanding. Editors take a written word—individually and in groups that create sentences and paragraphs—and work some magic on them. Whatever her pen touched just got better. It wasn’t only a matter of correcting mistakes. Meaux saw what was missing in the words, ultimately shaping them, improving them, providing context and meaning, and enhancing and enriching them. Read more
Brand Camp Agenda Features: Do It Now, Value of Brand, Marketing Challenge
October 22, 2010 by Charles Wasilewski · Leave a Comment
Aartrijk Brand Camp 2010 kicks off Monday October 25 at The Driskill Hotel, Austin, Texas.
We invite you to follow Brand Camp updates on LinkedIn, Aartrijk’s Facebook page, Twitter (@Aartrijk) using hashtag #ABC2010, and Aartrijk’s blog.
Monday October 25, 2010
First up are the “Do It Now” sessions at 3:30 pm Central Daylight Time (CDT). Bring your problems, dreams, aspirations (large or small). Brand Campers, Counselors, and outside speakers will help you, on the spot. It’s a chance to create or fix key items for your brand. Then comes the welcome reception. Read more
Guest Blogger Nibby Priest, GoVaughn.com Insurance: “High-Touch Relationships”
August 6, 2010 by admin · 4 Comments
For Aartrijk’s new series of guest bloggers from in and around the insurance industry, we welcome Nibby Priest of GoVaughn.com Insurance Agency, a full-service independent agency headquartered in Henderson, Kentucky, and serving Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois.
About Nibby: Nibby began his insurance career in August 1983 as a part-time employee in his father’s business, then joined the agency full-time in 1986 after graduating from Eastern Kentucky University. Nibby is known nationally for his insurance agency automation consulting work with the AGENA Corporation and National Users of AGENA Systems. He has also worked extensively with Henderson Community College as an instructor in various computer-related classes.
1. What has happened in the past year with your agency/firm now in the area of branding? What changes or initiatives have you been working on? What is the top challenge right now for companies like yours?
We are trying to brand more with our online name GoVaughn.com Insurance, instead of our old, long name Vaughn Insurance Agency Co.
We have dropped our Yellow Pages, TV, radio and newspaper advertisements. Our biggest challenge is making sense out of it all, even though we know that the time we are spending in social media and new media (online advertising) is really the right way to go.
Guest Blogger Pat Alexander, InsuranceEcoSystem.com Founder: ‘Brand and Message Are Inseparable’
July 26, 2010 by admin · Leave a Comment
Pat Alexander, founder of InsuranceEcosystem.com
The Aartrijk team is pleased to welcome — for the first time — guest bloggers from in and around the insurance industry, starting this month.
To kick off this occasional series, we welcome Pat Alexander, founder of industry blog InsuranceEcosystem.com and a Brand Camp 2009 alumna.
About Pat: In 2009, she launched InsuranceEcosystem.com as a resource for the insurance industry and a way to spark more conversation about her areas of expertise in independent agencies, coaching and technology. She describes Insurance Ecosystem as a blog that “provide[s] you with communicators that don’t normally blog but have great views and information to share. Each of these individuals … [has] so much to contribute in their area of expertise.”
1. What has happened in the past year with your firm now in the area of branding? What changes or initiatives have you been working on?
After Aartrijk Brand Camp 2009, I developed a plan to redesign my primary Web site, PatAlexander.com, and give it a fresh look and to develop a blog where individuals of interest to insurance agents could blog regularly or at their whim. Developing this blog included developing a brand for it as well as an audience.
From the Woods, Rick Morgan Talks About Networking
June 29, 2010 by admin · Leave a Comment
Aartrijk’s Rick Morgan loves to travel and spend time outdoors. While traveling the Pacific Northwest with his family and friends, he sat down and talked briefly about the importance of networking.
What I Learned at Brand Camp
October 7, 2009 by admin · 2 Comments
Last week was a great week. I spent three days in Chicago with some of the best people I’ve ever met.
Where was I??? At Brand Camp. What’s that you ask? It was a conference put on by Aartrijk to explore the world of social media and its impact on insurance branding.
Sure, I learned a lot about how social media can be utilized effectively, how to “Tweet” and how important blogging can be. But what really struck me was the energy of the group. The people who attended were really excited about the prospects, willing to learn and energized about their agencies. It’s probably the first time I didn’t get a sense of “quiet desperation” about the future of the independent agent and the power of the direct writers.
- I learned that independent agents have some huge opportunities because their business is based on building and maintaining relationships–a perfect match for social networking.
- I learned that there are some amazing young agents and their staff that have great new ideas to reach “Generation Y,” and that they should be listened to.
- I learned that the agents that adopt this new way of marketing and sales will be the ones to succeed.
- I learned that listening is as important as talking, whether it’s face-to-face or on the Web.
- I learned that being open to new ideas and new ways of doing business is critical to long-term growth.
Yes, we did discuss how to find “fans” on Facebook and “followers” on Twitter. We talked about effective Web site design. We talked about search engine optimization. But they were secondary to the new attitude that was circulating in the room. I wish we could capture that and sell it over the Internet!
– Laurie Donohue, vice president, I-Marketing Management (a partner firm of Aartrijk)
Visit I-Marketing Management: http://www.imarketingmanagement.com.
Follow Aartrijk on Twitter: @Aartrijk. Follow Brand Camp conversation on Twitter using hashtag #ABC09.
You Want Help with Social Media!
October 3, 2009 by Peter van Aartrijk · Leave a Comment
Aartrijk Brand Camp—held in Chicago Sept. 28-30, 2009 and continuing on the virtual calendar of online conversation—was all about the risk and opportunity of social media in our Wonderful World of Insurance.
We had pre-surveyed attendees at Aartrijk Brand Camp. These were agents, brokers, carriers, association executives, media reps, and business partners such as technology firms.
In sum, you have genuine concerns and questions around the impact and application of social media. You are being cautious about stepping into fray.
Here are some top issues you are having with all the excitement behind Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook, etc.:
Social media appears to be a time vampire. How do you manage the time you and your people spend with it?
How do you show a return on the effort? One survey respondent said: “While time spent on informing/communicating with fans helps build relationships, does that turn into referrals?” And sales?
We don’t know where or how to start with social media. We need a plan and a budget and somebody in charge—who is that going to be?
The internal battles are brutal. How do we get our management on board? And our legal beagles are putting the kybosh on us branding folks—the IT department isn’t helpful either. One of you said, “The current rule is to run all printed copy past the marketing and legal departments. Social [media] requires a more relaxed, conversational tone to be authentic and trustworthy…[But] it is viewed as more of a risk than an opportunity.”
We’re not sure when we should start! One of you said: “Maybe it’s better not to put a toe in the water until this new frontier matures.”
Who in insurance has gone before us? What are the best practices around building brand awareness with social media? “We need success stories.”
Who is this for? Is social media best for business-to-business? Business-to-consumer? Both? Neither?
Finally, do insurance and financial services play a role at all in social media? Do consumers care about us? We’re not worthy! We’re just not cool enough!
Ah, yes, great questions. Stay tuned for some solutions offered up by Brand Camp attendees.
– Peter van Aartrijk
Follow Aartrijk on Twitter: @Aartrijk. Follow Brand Camp conversation on Twitter using hashtag #ABC09.
Camp Friends
July 21, 2009 by Maureen Wall Bentley · Leave a Comment
Apparently we’re not the only industry organization that thinks social media and Web positioning are really important topics for agents, carriers and associations. Beyond those fine folks who already have registered for Aartrijk Brand Camp, we have lined up some terrific sponsors:
- Trusted Choice, the Big I’s national consumer branding program
- Assurex Global, an international network of really sharp brokers
- American Collectors, a specialty writer of collector car and collectibles insurance
- Insurance Journal, National Underwriter and American Agent & Broker, three leaders of the trade press
- And our partners Orange Element, Rick Morgan Consulting, Channel Harvest, I-Marketing Management and Insurance Is Fun (because it can be!).
Sign up at aartrijk.com/brandcamp. See you there.
– Maureen Wall Bentley
Brand Camp. Yeah, Baby!
July 14, 2009 by Maureen Wall Bentley · Leave a Comment
It seems like only last week that the idea for Aartrijk Brand Camp first bubbled up: “Let’s do our own event focused on web and social media—and let’s invite our friends.”
But in no time at all we’ve gone from idea to reality, and we’re now within three months of the big event. The speakers and panelists are lined up, the videos are in production, the sponsors are coming aboard and the registrations are rolling in.
Our opening night party is in a 10-pin bowling alley, and Pete describes the venue—the über-hip Hotel Sax Chicago—as “high tech meets Austin Powers.” So I don’t think this will be like any other insurance meeting I’ve ever been to.
Hope to see you there.
-Maureen Wall Bentley