The financial services group is positioning itself for significant growth across emerging markets in Africa, Asia and other selected growth markets.
Together, the partners bring global expertise in client insight, strategic design and creativity, delivered through strong local capabilities and market understanding across the markets in which Sanlam operates and aligned with the Group's commitment to transformation.
Over its more than a century-long history, the Sanlam Group has grown into a broad financial services business spanning life, savings, general insurance and investments.
The next phase is about making that breadth easier to access and experience, reducing the complexity of navigating products, businesses and client channels.
The brand reinvigoration supports the Group's purpose of empowering customers and communities to live with confidence by promoting financial inclusion, transformation and sustainable growth.
It is designed to create a more consistent experience for the individuals, businesses and intermediaries Sanlam serves.
"Clients don't think in products, channels or organisational structures. They think about their needs and the outcomes they want to achieve," says Charl Bassil as group chief brand and marketing officer.
"Our responsibility is to build a brand experience that reflects that reality."We are bringing together some of the best expertise in the world because we believe these disciplines work best when they are connected," says Bassil.
"Better insight leads to better decisions. Better design creates better experiences. Better creativity helps us build stronger connections with the people we serve.”
Together, the appointed partners bring global expertise in client insight, strategic design and creativity, delivered through strong local capabilities and market understanding across the markets in which Sanlam operates and aligned with the Group's commitment to transformation.
Through its global network of agency brands, Omnicom brings together creative, media, data and technology capabilities to help organisations build stronger brands and grow across diverse markets.
Luca Callarelli, group CEO, Omnicom Advertising South Africa, says, “Sanlam is a brand we have admired from a distance for many years, not only for its remarkable legacy as a business, but for its ambition and capacity for brilliant thinking and creative work.
“To be entrusted with helping shape the next chapter of such an iconic South African brand is both an enormous privilege and an incredibly exciting opportunity for all of us at Omnicom Advertising.
“The chemistry between our teams was tangible from our very first meeting, and it became clear very early on that we share a fundamental belief in the immense value of genuine partnerships.
“That alignment makes this opportunity all the more exciting, and we genuinely cannot wait to begin this journey together, creating work that is worthy of both Sanlam's extraordinary heritage and its ambitions for the future.”
Brian Reid, managing director, Kantar South Africa says, "The opportunity to work alongside Sanlam as it writes the next chapter of its remarkable South African story is not something we take for granted.
“As Sanlam builds a simpler, more connected brand experience across the breadth of its offer, Kantar is incredibly proud to bring our intelligence for brand growth, turning a deep understanding of people and brand performance into confident decisions that will help shape the Sanlam of the future.”
Chris Moody, global ECD at Landor, a WPP company, says, “Sanlam is an iconic South African-born institution, and we’re incredibly proud of this partnership.
“We look forward to building on its legacy and bringing fresh energy to the brand, helping it connect more meaningfully with its clients and colleagues as it moves into an exciting next chapter.”The agency appointments follow the arrival of Bassil as group chief brand and marketing officer earlier this year.
A South African marketer with extensive international experience, Bassil has held senior brand leadership roles at some of the world's most recognised organisations, including serving as the BBC's inaugural chief brand officer, global chief marketing officer of Absolut Vodka and general manager of Carling Black Label at SABMiller in South Africa.
"Sanlam has built a remarkable business over many years, but customer expectations are changing rapidly," says Bassil.
"As we continue to grow in South Africa and across emerging markets, and as we expand our capabilities, it is critical that the experience of engaging with Sanlam becomes simpler, more connected and relevant."
Bassil is clear that the aim is relevance, not cosmetic change. "This is not about changing how the brand looks.
“It is about ensuring the brand remains relevant for the next generation of clients and continues to reflect the scale, ambition and opportunity of the business we are becoming."
