Marketing Strategies

CASE STUDY

REDEFINING THE AXA BRAND

Ques 1: AXA’s Brand positioning was “Be Life Confident”. What

were the challenges in delivering it in operational terms?

Through the Tagline “Be Life Confident”, AXA brand tried to convey
the promise to customers to protect them at every stage of their lives.
The customers perceived that this brand is self-centred and for the
brand to achieve its goals of becoming customer centric, the tagline has
to be changed according to operational terms. It could not match with
the AXA’s goal of becoming the most preferred company. The CEOs
of the local subsidiaries demanded some new initiatives that could
support their differentiation strategies.

Ques 2: What was Ambition 2012?

Ans :- Ambition 2012 was a mission introduced by Henri de Castries

(the Chairman of the AXA’s Management Board) with the ambition of
doubling revenues and tripling underlying earnings from May 2005 to
2012 and getting everyone on board - making AXA the preferred
company in financial protection. Stress was given to the point that they
wanted to be recognized by their customers as a close and qualified
company for the excellence of their products, services and distribution.
With respect to brand positioning, the prime focus was on delivering
the signature of the brand – “BE Life Confident”.
Ques 3: How did AXA’s top management arrive at identifying
“Attentive, Available, and Reliable” as the values that AXA should
promise to its customers? Which stakeholders did they research in the
process?

Ans :- The employees are the representative of the company to the

customers. Thus, knowing the expectations of the employees was very
important. AXA conducted a survey in 2007 with its employees, where
employees could select the most relevant one from 12 differentiating
core attitudes. The distinguishing feature of the survey was that, it
included all such parameters that had previously been included in
Consumer Surveys.
From this survey it was found that 85,000 employees kept Attentive,
Available, Reliable at the top of the list. It was understood by AXA by
the time that for both consumers and employees, these three set of core
attitudes are of utmost important.

Ques 4: What is Land of Promise and Land of Proof? Why was

emphasis placed on Land of Proof as an important part of strategy
“Redefining Standards”?

Ans :- The land of Promise is being displayed by the customer service

of the AXA employees, in which only false promises of being attentive,
available and reliable is being made to customers without delivering the
same. Whereas the Land of proof will ensure that the promised services
and prospects are being delivered to the customers.
The reason behind giving importance to the land of proof is that it is an
important part of the strategy of redefining standards and can make a
big difference. After going through reviews of 50 local competitors it
was clear that AXA needs to differentiate itself from it’s competitors by
providing land of proof.
Ques 5: In your view how important is role of employee of a service
organisation in delivery of brand promise? Why do you think so?

Ans :- Employees play a crucial role in building an atmosphere of

trust, confidence, and loyalty among the customers. The service
employees, who represent the organization in the customers' eyes, can
have an impact on image and reputation of the company. When the
service employees provide the accurate service the customer's desires
can be met, the company gains a positive reputation hence attaining the
higher market share and the charge more than its competitors for
service. The service employees, who are knowledgeable,
understanding, and concerned about the customers' needs, also
influence the five dimensions of service quality: reliability,
responsiveness, empathy, assurance, and tangible. It is essential to
understand and meet what the customer wants and needs with service
employees' abilities to deliver.