Allianz targets growth through community and Olympic spirit

Global insurance giant Allianz is on journey to become a ‘customer-obsessed organisation’ and is focusing on communities and their Olympic spirit in a major new ad campaign.

Allianz is focused on Australian communities for its ad campaign celebrating its support of the Olympic and Paralympic Games

Global insurance giant Allianz has launched the first step in its transformative strategy to become a “customer-obsessed organisation”.

To support its role as the worldwide insurance partner of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Allianz has kicked off a major ­marketing campaign, launching the TV component on Sunday night.

The campaign not only aims to showcase Allianz’s longstanding commitment to sports and athletes – it has sponsored the Paralympics Australia since 2011, the Australian Olympic Committee since 2019 and its global sponsorship since 2021 – but also serves to highlight the business’s new customer-­centric positioning, according to Allianz chief general manager of consumer Shez Ford.

Speaking exclusively to The Growth Agenda ahead of the ­campaign launch, Ms Ford said it was the perfect launching pad for the brand.

“We’ve got a really long connection with the Olympic movement in Australia, and now globally – it’s something very near and dear to our heart,” she said.

“We sponsor a number of athletes too, so it was a natural place for us to show Australia who we are as an organisation.

“In this modern era, people are going through so much and there’s a big opportunity for corporate Australia to play a part and support the community, and Allianz is best placed to do that.

“This campaign is an important first step for us to really show Australia who we are. We’re already a respected brand, let’s go and win the heart of Australia,” Ms Ford said.

With the Paris Olympics kicking off next month, audiences can expect to see an onslaught of ad campaigns featuring athletes preparing for competition.

With this in mind, Allianz decided to turn their camera back on Australians and showcase the ­moments of joy and unity that come from watching the magic moments. The approach aims to demonstrate the brand’s commitment to its customers while also ­attempting to help the brand stand out.

Allianz is currently the fourth-largest company in the general ­insurance market with a 9 per cent share.

It sits behind the more dominant IAG and Suncorp, which together account for more than half the market, and QBE.

While Ms Ford admits the brand has been a quiet achiever, she said Allianz had recognised the opportunity to lean into its challenger status and become more visible in the market. The Olympics sponsorship campaign is a key element of this.

The brand has inked a deal with outdoor media company QMS, in which it will share branded near real-time updates from the Australian Olympic and Paralympic teams and Allianz ambassadors, such as the wheelchair rugby team The Steelers, athlete Madison de Rozario and swimmer Mollie O’Callaghan, among others.

The time difference means Australians will be waking up to overnight updates from the Games, providing a unique opportunity for Allianz to deliver positive messages via outdoor and social media advertising.

“We are creating moments of joy for Australians in a world that’s complex and polarising,” said Ms Ford.

“Sport unites communities and sport unites Australia, and we’ve seen that with Cathy Freeman at the Sydney Olympics, with Ariarne Titmus, and when the ­Matildas got into the FIFA World Cup semis. These are moments that have united Australia and that’s why while we have athletes that we sponsor, we are using this campaign to really turn the camera to the community.”

Tapping into the community was crucial to Allianz’s customer-­centricity push, Ms Ford said, and the business would be monitoring how this campaign resonates with audiences through tracking reputational NPS and brand consideration scores.

“Building this customer-­obsessed organisation is really critical, because when you deeply understand your customers and their unmet and unarticulated needs, it’s when you are able to ­design experiences and services and support that can cut through and differentiate and deliver.

“And that’s what we are doing. We are investing a lot of time with the community, with our customers. And we did the same with this (campaign).

“We did lots of testing and lots of research to make sure that it speaks to Australia, it speaks for a diverse Australia and the ambition of Australia,” Ms Ford said.

The campaign, created by creative agency Howatson+Company with media agency Wavemaker and PR company Eleven, is the first for Ms Ford, who joined the ­insurance giant last August from Commonwealth Bank.

She was with the banking giant’s executive general manager, Advice & Insurance for Wealth & Private, for nearly five years.

Prior to this she worked for ANZ for close to nine years and ING for 11 years.

It’s also the first work for Allianz general manager of customer strategy, marketing & data Laura Halbert, who started in December, following Ms Ford over from ­Commonwealth Bank. Like Ms Ford, Ms Halbert also previously worked at ANZ and ING.

With a new team boasting extensive financial services and insurance experience, the pressure is on to move the dial and drive growth for the global brand’s local operation, which is one of the brand’s bigger operating entities. It’s also a pivotal time for the ­insurance category.

Australians have acutely felt the impacts of global warming with the increasing regularity of extreme weather events.

According to Allianz, one in two Australians would consider it for insurance, and this key metric is one that Ms Ford’s team is keen to see rise.

“How we, as an organisation, turn up for our four million customers is really important.

“How we serve our customers and the stories our customers tell, it’s all very critical. We are putting a lot of effort and energy into this,” she said.

DANIELLE LONG