AXA Sun Life Direct to review £10m task

Mark Kleinman,, Marketing, Thursday, 24 October 2002, 7:00am,

LONDON - AXA Sun Life Direct, the direct-to-consumer arm of French insurance giant AXA, is reviewing its £10m direct marketing account just a year after appointing Proximity London to handle the task.

The company has issued a tender document inviting agencies to put themselves forward for the assignment, and hopes to make a decision well before the end of the year.

AXA Sun Life Direct is part of the AXA Sun Life division of AXA UK, and is run separately from the general insurance division AXA Insurance. It sells a range of products including individual savings accounts and home insurance.

Proximity picked up the business in September 2001 after a pitch against WWAV Rapp Collins and Leeds-based agency Brahm.

It had previously been split between several agencies, including DraftWorldwide and TLG Marketing.

Last week, AXA Insurance launched TV ads through TBWA\London, focusing on its full portfolio of products, which also include pensions and AXA PPP Healthcare. The campaign is part of a push to establish AXA as a unified international brand.

The group has traditionally used sponsorship as a major part of its brand strategy, the highlight being its four-year link with The FA Cup.

That deal ended last season after the Football Association restructured its commercial arrangements and Nationwide emerged as the FA’s sole financial services partner.

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This article was first published on Marketing