Client
ERS Insurance
Formerly Equity Red Star, ERS is the UK’s largest specialist motor insurer, working directly with motor brokers to insure their customers. ERS specialises in complex risk that other insurers can’t write. What makes ERS unique is an ability to understand the value or equity that a customer puts in their vehicle and we used this to claim a new insurance category – ‘Equity Insurance’.
When the acquirer of Equity Red Star (ERS) approached ASHA & Co, it was with the objective of restoring ERS to its pre-eminent position as the leading motor syndicate in Lloyd's. This rich and varied world of motoring, and the people within it, had become almost invisible in the corporate and staid brand Equity Red Star had become. The new positioning needed to show how much ERS understood their market, the brokers they worked with and the end customers.
We realised the word ‘Equity’ had lost its meaning for ERS, the word had become just a component in the name. We identified equity as being a significant element of ERS’s strategy - which is an ability to understand the value or ‘equity’ that a customer puts in their vehicle. This gave us a perfect positioning for ERS’s bespoke underwriting. To demonstrate ‘equity insurance’ further, ‘passion and livelihood’ was developed as a concept for talking about how ERS understands customers. This was brought to life through interesting stories that demonstrate ERS’s specialist approach and understanding put into practice.
ASHA & Co delivered us the kind of insight that can really separate ERS from the pack… ASHA & Co has the ability to find insights like this time and again, and this, combined with their implementation capability through the range of media sets them apart.
Ian Parker – CEO of ERS.
Basic elements
Illustration style
We created a new brand identity with a visual language which celebrated the history of motoring and embraced the emblems and decals of the automotive industry. For each area of specialism, a hero photographic ‘portrait’ was created, styled to reflect the attention to detail that ERS shares with its customers.
These images were used on promotional literature, online and at large scale within branded environments. A partner mark was developed to clearly show the role of ERS and the role of the broker working together. The brand identity was detailed in a set of guidelines.
After the rebrand, ERS delivered their first profit in five years. A profit of £1.2 million, which was a massive increase from the £23.6 million loss they made prior to the project.
Intelligent Insurer Magazine
Following the brand launch:
Our work with ERS has continued and we have created campaigns for their supercar, motor breakdown and agri offers as well as developing and expanding the brand architecture to incorporate partnered events such as the Gumball Rally, broker awards as well as new areas of specialism.
