Goodbye CGNU, hello Aviva. Norwich Union's parent company has changed its name from the alphabet soup to Aviva in an attempt to make insurance, pensions and term assurance sound as exciting as a South American carnival.
It seems the CGNU chief executive was minded to change the group's name following the company's last interims. A BBC television reporter complained, during an interview, that CGNU plc was a bit of a meaningless mouthful. Harvey took note and now we have Aviva.
But how did Aviva come about? According to CGNU, the name came through brainstorming, research and consultation with corporate identity creatives. This all cost £1m. Is this all a front, though?
It seems that there is a shop called Aviva in Norwich not five minutes walk away from the headquarters of Norwich Union. I think CGNU should investigate which route the creatives took to the offices.
