Novae Group

Finding a new narrative

There’s always a temptation in brand refresh projects to jettison everything that has gone before and start from scratch; even moreso when a brand’s immediate past is less than glorious. However, we opted for a different approach and set out to find a solution which, far from ignoring Novae’s history, looked to leverage it as a point of strength.

While insurance is essentially a future-focused industry, with brokers and underwriters working together to understand the likely occurrence and severity of a broad range of risk scenarios, a significant factor in assessing future risk is referencing past experience. As Winston Churchill famously said, “the farther backward you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see". Novae’s expertise, we concluded, lay in marrying the two – an assessment of future risk, informed by past experience – to deliver a present solution.

Or, as we expressed it: hindsight * insight * foresight.

Visualised in a neat ‘see-saw’ graphic, this thought underpinned the whole brand refresh. It was honest, distinctive and versatile, and appeared as both a headline thought on the refreshed website and a sign-off on corporate literature.

Another feature of the refresh was our collaboration with world-renowned paper sculptor Jeff Nishinaka. Together we created a series of large format paper sculptures which represented the classes of business Novae insured. The finished sculptures were photographed for use in online and offline communications, and then beautifully framed as part of an interior design solution which accompanied the corporate identity.

Building out the brand

The initial brand refresh project was a great success, and our relationship with Novae continued. We moved from identity development to a range of marketing and brand building activities; as well as corporate communications and oversight of the website, we developed a corporate responsibility programme focused on numeracy among children of primary school age (‘Investing in the next generation’), and produced a number of corporate videos.

We also undertook an industry-wide research project which culminated in a thought piece entitled ‘Looking Forward: insights from insurance leaders on the future of the industry’, which we launched at a breakfast reception held in the Old Library in Lloyd’s.

From new brand to big growth

Off the back of the rebrand - and under the leadership of visionary CEO Matthew Fosch - Novae’s share price, reputation and business confidence increased significantly. As they did, so the brand narrative evolved. It became less important to acknowledge past trials and more important to focus on what lay ahead.

The hindsight * insight * foresight thought was replaced by the strapline ‘Looking Forward’ – and an arrow device was introduced to house imagery and give a framework and consistency to corporate communications. As part of the refresh a perspective-led photographic style was chosen and the Novae website completely redesigned.

‘Looking Forward’ became an excellent platform for thought leadership and market insight; a platform we’ve put to good use in the marketing of a number of classes of business, most notably the Cyber unit. It also conveyed an underlying optimism which has informed CSR strategy.

In collaboration with Novae’s staff body, we helped establish partnerships with two leading charities – the National Literacy Trust and ShelterBox – and co-created a diverse programme of CSR activities designed to maximise impact and increase engagement amongst employees.

The journey for the Novae brand was completed in early 2018, when US insurance giant AXIS Capital acquired Novae and began folding it into the wider business and brand. It was a fitting end to an ongoing relationship and evolving brand which ultimately brought great success to a good business.