A great mutual exercise

Liberty Specialty Markets is the commercial insurance and reinsurance division of Boston-based Liberty Mutual Group, a Fortune 100 company and one of the most recognisable brands in the USA. Liberty Specialty Markets employs over 1800 people in 65 offices and had a combined Gross Written Premium of $5,194 million in 2018.

In order to help Liberty Specialty Markets achieve its aim of becoming a high performing financial services company by leveraging the full strength of the group, the variously branded parts of the business are being consolidated into one.

And while the business is thriving and has grown substantially, global expansion and diversification have brought challenges. Local businesses and specialist services are held in high regard, but the collective strength of Liberty Specialty Markets is less well understood.

Chromatic’s challenge was therefore two-fold:

To help define and articulate a proposition for the unified brand which would define what the Liberty Speciality Markets brand stands for

To develop a global advertising campaign that communicates the proposition and helps the business to stand out

Distinctive structure, culture and purpose

Following extensive research and work with a cross-divisional steering group, we concluded that the outstanding and most valuable characteristic of Liberty’s business is its mutual ownership structure, through which all profits are reinvested into the business and its communities. The ownership structure informs the firm’s mutually supportive culture and shared sense of purpose. It underpins the way people behave and how decisions are made.

Hence, being a mutual provides clients with three tangible benefits, because it enables Liberty to:

– Provide continuity and a long-term view

– Make time for what matters most

– Deliver sustainable and reliable outcomes

For Mutual Advantage

Translating this insight into a distinctive value proposition, we recognised that Liberty can promise policy-holders and partners a true commitment to prosper together. Liberty has always, and will always, work ‘For Mutual Advantage’ - providing continuity and assurance in an unpredictable world.

Ever changing, never changing

Like many business-to-business firms, Insurance brands tend to be conservative and risk-averse when it comes to the language, art-direction and design of their marketing communications.

Liberty is different and is prepared to stand out to signal that difference.

Our global campaign rejects the tired clichés of offices, meetings, handshakes and a collage of smiling, diverse customers. We use the metaphor of a gallery to communicate the proposition that Liberty provides continuity in a changing world. Launched in October 2019, the campaign runs across media, experiences, events and trade-shows to re-enforce the value of continuity and pledge that Liberty Speciality Markets operates “For Mutual Advantage”. To support the campaign and embed the value proposition, it is vital that everyone around the business understands the proposition’s importance and their role in bringing it to life. The film ‘Our Story’, is part of this ongoing process of strategic engagement and alignment.

Since we started working with LSM in 2018 it has increased its global written premium from £3.5 billion to over £8 billion in 2022.