When your company has an acquisition to integrate, it's always important to explain to your own troops, or even over-explain, what it is you're doing and what it means for them. This is especially important when you're highly dependent on a well motivated sales force who will be affected by the deal.
And if your counterparty is the most sullied corporate name in the current financial crisis? Let's just say you've got all kinds of talking to do.
So it makes good sense that Farmers Group Inc., having announced earlier this month that it will
buy the 21st Century Insurance Group from American International Group Inc. (NYSE:AIG) for $2 billion, quickly followed up with an internal communications campaign that among other things involved sending 50 execs to 32 metro areas to speak directly to 15,000 agents. PR Week has the
details about the campaign by Farmers, a sub of Zurich Financial Services Group.
Hey, we know that these auto insurance operations had nothing at all to do with AIG's major role in the financial meltdown. The agents surely know too. But why not get everyone on the same page when customers and the world at large ask what it all means? -
Kenneth Klee
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Juergen Lasowski
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Unfortunately, AIG layed off all the 21st Century Business folks including their CEO who made the company profitable and solvent. All you have left now is the old defunct unprofitable AIG Car Insurance Business. Why else would AIU want to get rid of them. Too bad for Farmers, it will take at least a couple years for them to realize that the people now running 21st have no clue.