LOOMIS AGENCY | AIG | PUBLIC RELATIONS | ADVERTISING | MARKETING | AWARD WINNING | AD AGENCY

In this week’s Advertising Age Magazine there was a piece on AIG’s mounting public relations problems.  Actually, characterizing AIG’s public relations issues as mere “problems” is reminiscent of space shuttle calls back to Houston.  “Ahhha, Houston, we have a problem.”  It’s more like a total public relations meltdown.  A media disaster in the making.

As advertising Age said, “Even PR pros are shaking their heads a the blundering giant insurer, which is fast becoming not only the poster boy for financial-industry greed, but also a company seen as too arrogant or stupid to keep out of its own way.”

That’s true, of course.  No amount of advertising or great public relations or media relations is going to cure AIG’s ills in the short run.  I’m an AIG insurance policy holder, and the way AIG is handling its public relations makes me nervous even though the insurance side of the business is completely separate.

But here’s the thing that troubles me about the response from AIG and advertising industry pundits alike.  It appears to be a complete capitulation.  AIG is in scalding hot water and its response has been simply not to respond at all.  For all the money (our money) AIG is doling out to people, why doesn’t AIG direct some of it to highly qualified and capable public relations and advertising people.  There is a marketing strategy and a way forward for AIG and the entire financial industry.  But it will require the help of some of the best and the brightest the advertising and public relations industries have to offer.  The odd thing is that nobody appears to want to touch the mess at all.  Why not?  It’s all up side. The blood is on the sidewalk already so it can’t get much worse.  Any advertising agency or PR firm that steps in and helps fix this PR mess will go down in marketing hall of fame history (do they have that?). And if it stays broken, not much worse can come of it – save the collapse of our entire economic system I suppose.  I hear ad agency leaders crying about the pressure on compensation, but I’ll bet AIG and others in the financial industry would pay well, indeed, to get this right with the public.  Some very interesting pay-for-performance scenarios could be lined out for a PR or ad agency so inclined.  The only downside, of course, is that Congress may decide to tax the life out of any upside on a contract it doesn’t like.  But contract law is another topic altogether, and I’m no expert on it.

There is a ton of newly minted marketing research that clearly indicates that the public wants to hear from the financial industry and from AIG, in particular.  Crafting a smart, thoughtful marketing strategy for turning public sentiment around ought to be priority one.  If Chrysler could do it after taking government money back in the 80s, and Tylenol could do it after people died using its product back in the 70s then this, too, can be solved.  Ask Marv Albert if this country believes in second chances. It’s been well documented.  We do.

I agree with what Roy Spence of venerable ad agency GSD&M once told me:

“I don’t think there is any problem that advertising can’t help solve.”

 It’s time for some smart advertising agency or public relations executive to talk his or her way into the board room and start counseling these guys about how to get out of their own way.

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The LOOMIS Agency is an award winning Dallas ad agency with financial industry marketing and advertising expertise.  The LOOMIS Agency is focused on helping challenger brand retail-facing clients.  Mike Sullivan is a Dallas advertising executive and president of The LOOMIS Agency.  For more information about The LOOMIS Agency please visit the company's website at www.theloomisagency.com.