Liberty Life tells it like it is

This back-to-basics approach is not simply for the benefit of consumers, however. It is designed to permeate through the entire Liberty Life staff and intermediary culture, with the aim of changing attitudes and ensuring that a "customer-centric" approach takes hold.
 
One of the key drivers of this process is Liberty Life Chief Executive Myles Ruck, who says that there is a serious message behind this rather "different" campaign that is much more significant than the ads themselves, because it goes to the heart of the way the life assurer has to start doing business.

Ruck explains that the reason he describes the new campaign as "different", is that Liberty Life is making a promise that has yet to be fulfilled, rather than making the usual claims about why their product is better and why consumers should buy it.
 
"We're making a promise that we are going to try to raise our customer service standards, and a promise only really counts for something when you tell somebody about it. But by making our promise so publicly, we are making a commitment that's going to be impossible for us to renege on.

"We have, however, only just begun this journey, hence the line 'We're working on it', which is all part of making our commitment public."

Ruck acknowledges that the line is provocative and attention-getting but explains: "The aim is to ensure we're 'jolted' into re-considering our service and improving it, so that it meets world-class standards."

The fact that Liberty Life is publicly acknowledging that there is room for improvement is somewhat unusual, especially given that recent consumer and intermediary research has seen its current service perform well against its competitors - but for Ruck that is simply not good enough.

"Despite the fact that our service rates highly, we believe much remains to be done in this area."
 
Proof that this is not another case of all talk and no action, is the recent appointment of Alan Woolfson as MD, Group Customer Service and internal ombudsman, who has already improved the company's customer query/complaint systems. Initial challenges for staff include returning all customer calls within 24 hours, responding to mail within three days and emails within 24 hours.

"We are also undertaking a project to improve the quality of our written communication to policyholders, and our Call Centre agents have undergone intensive product knowledge and telephone manner training," reports Ruck.

"We've chosen to advertise Liberty Life the brand, rather than to focus on specific products that can be copied very quickly. This will hopefully allow us to differentiate ourselves on the basis of the world-class customer service for which we are striving," explains Ruck.

Advertising agency J Walter Thompson, Johannesburg (JWT) says it relished the opportunity that this back-to-basics attitude presented them. Deputy Creative Director Cliff Thompson says: "For possibly the first time, here is a life assurer dealing with the day-to-day practicalities of running a world-class operation."

This, he says, inspired the agency to step outside traditional advertising boundaries, and move away from the typical sepia-toned, moody, emotive, highly orchestrated ads - which all look the same - and towards non-convergence advertising that really stands out from the clutter.

"We therefore wanted to move to a more upbeat and positive approach for Liberty Life; one that was lighter and fresher, and in a sense a little cheeky and humorous. Hopefully as a result, the perception will be that Liberty is more personal and in touch with its customers. I think many people may even be surprised at the end of the ad to see who the advertiser is, because it is so different from what one might expect."

The company's new television and radio executions are thus simple, straight-forward, and make a relevant point in an entertaining way that makes the customer service promise relevant and attention-getting.

The two television commercials will be screened at different times during July, September and November on SABC 1, 2 and 3, M-Net, DSTV and etv, during programmes such as Carte Blanche and Top Billing.

The radio advertising will take place during July, August, October and November, in both English and Afrikaans, on regional and national radio stations.

This second phase follows a teaser outdoor campaign which introduced the line "A new attitude. We're working on it. Liberty Life", which will be replaced at the beginning of July with a series of new high-impact billboards that will appear at 13 sites around the country.