The brand idea and values have an impact on many areas of the Lloyd's business
Sometimes, businesses talk about the need for fundamental change, and then do little more than unveil a new logo. But the process now underway at Lloyd's is the real thing. Every aspect of the way we do business is, at the very least, under review.
Our ambition is to take advantage of our unique market structure to ensure that Lloyd's evolves to become the natural choice for the trading of specialist insurance and reinsurance in the world.
We are all responsible for bringing our brand idea to life by ensuring that it is reflected in everything we say and do during the working day. We all have a part to play. Here are a few ideas on what we can all do to get started and some things the brand team is getting involved in to make a difference.
Talking amongst ourselves
The first thing is to make sure we in the Lloyd's community all have a good understanding of what the brand is about and are speaking with one voice. So a lot of work is being done and will continue to be done, through presentations, workshops and other forms of communication, to ensure that everyone is properly briefed. This brand site is one of the most important channels.
Reflect the brand idea and preserve the brand values in everything we do
Constant originality is a tough challenge to live up to. It implies that we all have a responsibility to maintain the highest levels of quality, reliability, trust and security, whilst at the same time maintaining the creativity, innovation, risk appetite and agility that has made Lloyd's what it is. This applies to everyone, whether they are underwriting or managing claims. Innovation doesn't have to be a big leap. It can be about constantly finding new and better ways of doing things - something we all do all the time.
Increase our customer focus and deliver better service
Much work is already under way to ensure that our policyholders receive a better level of service, both through contract certainty and faster policy documentation. In addition, we are looking at innovative ways of improving the service we deliver to brokers, through easier access to the market and more productive use of their time. This could involve, for example, better availability of information on underwriters, broker queuing systems and better user facilities in the market.
Make the use of our brand easier, clearer and more consistent
Over time, brands tend to become more and more complex in their usage and can lose the clarity that defines their relationship with each part of the organisation. Lloyd's has lost some of that clarity, so we have been working hard to bring it back. To do this, we have constructed a simple map of how all associated entities relate to Lloyd's. It should make it easier for organisations to use and benefit from the Lloyd's brand and it should make it clearer to our customers how all the various bits of Lloyd's hang together. This map is found at the beginning of brand guidelines for key audiences.
Strengthen our communication tools
Having defined a clear brand idea, our core brand values and our desired brand personality, it's important that all this is reflected in the look and feel of our communications. So we've spent some time evolving a new look and feel and a new tone of voice. This has been implemented across the entire range of our communications including our website, intranet, publications, newsletters, stationery, business cards, PowerPoint presentations, events, merchandise and media relations. Clear brand guidelines are available for anyone who is involved in working with any of the media we use.
Increase the profile of our external promotion
Whilst much of the early work is focused on internal communication, it's important that we take Lloyd's messages to market in an increasingly confident and effective manner. Our external communications will evolve further over time, but we have already launched two significant 'thought leadership' programmes, through which Lloyd's will take a leading position on key industry issues - risk in the boardroom and managing the cycle. And we took a high profile, creative approach to the 2005 Nelson bicentennial celebrations - a sign of Lloyd's beginning to express its personality with confidence.
Bring the physical working environment up to scratch
Whilst the famous Lloyd's building is still an icon of innovative architecture, the inside of the building has begun to lose its shine and is not the most productive working environment. So we are doing some work to assess what is possible, within obvious budget limitations, to improve the internal workings of the building - the rooms, receptions and public areas. We're also looking at the standard of our international offices, with a view to making them more consistent and more representative of Lloyd's at its best.
