The first message is that Aviva is the new name for Norwich Union - with Ringo Starr and Bruce Willis explaining how having the right name made their careers. The second is that to Aviva their customers are more than just numbers; they are individuals with names.
I read a letter to a newspaper speculating on the cost of making the adverts and whether the money couldn't have been put to better use in the current economic climate. It's a good point, because I'm sure Bruce and Ringo don't come cheap (Macaulay Culkin was probably peanuts by comparison). But for a global brand like Aviva it is usually cheaper to have one name to promote globally, rather than have different collateral (adverts, printed material, online marketing etc.) for every country you trade in. One size fits all. And it's often the same with the name - Aviva. Doesn't mean anything in any language, so it works anywhere. So a name changing process can be a cost cutting exercise - it's all relative.
When I was still working in London I developed a new identity for an international law firm - Salans - who were facing a similar challenge. When I started working with them they had 9 offices in 8 countries and were called Salans Hertzfeld & Heilbronn. But this varied across some of their offices where local partners had added their name, so in 2002 they went through a rebranding exercise to simplify the name to Salans. This consistency gave them much greater impact, and made it much easier to manage: one name, one layout for their stationery, one style for their signage, one set of design guidelines etc. The only challenge to this consistency was the need to manage multiple languages.
They still have the same identity, it's just working across a lot more offices: 21 according to their website. It's really satisfying to see that the design has grown with the company, allowing them to roll it out to new offices in new countries. You can see the work I did for Salans at our website: www.alderandalder.co.uk. Click on Design > Identity.
