One Under the Sun
Sun Life's strategic vision was to build a financial services powerhouse.
Keys to this strategy included: becoming a public company; signaling a shift beyond insurance to financial services; and uniting an organization divided by lines of business, languages and local loyalties.
Sun Life was renamed Sun Life Financial to emphasize its broader role. The new globe/sun symbol emphasized both the global nature of the business and the corporation's range of products and services.
Also driving the brand decisions was the need to position the company against the competition and to unite the organization.
Many brands are aspirational in nature: for example, Avis' We try harder positioning was both a promise to customers and an exhortation to employees. But it is easy to promise and hard to deliver. Companies that over-promise pay a heavy price in loss of credibility. Companies that underpromise pay a price in competitive dullness.
It takes years to transform a massive enterprise. But Sun Life Financial didn't have years. From day one, it needed a brand that would make people take notice, set it apart and encourage outstanding performance - without explicitly promising performance.
In our review of competitors, we saw that none of those with "Sun" in their name made extensive use of the Sun's imagery. So, we adopted the look, language and energy of the Sun. Customers, employees, shareholders and partners warmed to it immediately. It began to bring everyone together under the sun. The brand positioning, Life's Better Under the Sun slogan and brand style we developed are still strong today.
The Team
Brand Strategy and Copy: Harry H. Cornelius, Lee Jacobson (Sideren Inc.)
Design Partner: Ove Design & Communications– P. Baker, D. Brookson, J. Vanlerberghe
