Aegon bosses hoping Leith Agency can Bru up some brand recognition

Published on Saturday 13 September 2008 13:59

PENSIONS giant Aegon has hired Leith Agency to introduce some quirky Irn-Bru-style advertising to its latest attempt at raising awareness of the brand.

Netherlands-based Aegon, which owns Scottish Equitable, has struggled over the years to get public recognition of what it does, with one survey famously revealing that people thought it made white goods such as washing machines.

Since 2006, Aegon UK, based in Edinburgh, has pushed the Aegon name ahead of Scottish Equitable which it acquired in 1994. But apart from promotion on taxis and some advertising at locations such as airports, the brand is deemed to be in need of a further lift.

Leith has been asked to "bring the brand to life" and make it stand out among its rivals. Aegon bosses are said to have liked the way the Edinburgh agency gave some personality to Irn-Bru, the Scottish-manufactured soft drink, through advertising campaigns such as Phenomenal and the cheeky rewriting of Rudyard Kipling's famous poem 'If'.

There is also speculation that marketing director Steve Clode, who was behind the Nationwide Building Society's Proud to be Different adverts, is planning a major sports sponsorship. The company has recently concluded a deal as shirt sponsor of Ajax Amsterdam Football Club.

Clode, whose appointment was revealed by Scotland on Sunday last September, also struck a deal for Nationwide to sponsor the England football team.

Aegon's continuing struggle with branding recently earned it the dubious description as the biggest company you have never heard of.

The deal with Leith is the first time Aegon has worked with one lead creative agency on a strategic basis. Clode said: "The appointment of Leith is a significant move for us as we seek to bring the Aegon brand to life in the UK market."

Leith had shown an ability to challenge the company's thinking "in where we take the brand next". He said: "Our aim is to help our customers identify with Aegon, and to make the brand stand out in a market where many customers find it difficult to differentiate between the key players."

Applying the Irn-Bru treatment may help win over younger consumers. The tongue-in-cheek commercials for the fizzy orange drink have attracted awards as well as a cult following, particularly among teenagers. Their popularity is such that last year a cinema presentation of classic Irn-Bru ads proved to be more popular than Quentin Tarantino's latest movie.

Richard Marsham, managing partner of the Leith Agency, said: "We're delighted to win the Aegon account. And it's great to see such a large piece of business coming to the Scottish marketplace."