A brand new beginning
The strength of the Scottish Widows brand owes a lot to the then-radical decision taken in 1986 to create a living logo – the Scottish Widow.
The world of financial services was changing and becoming more competitive, so we decided to create a step-change in our marketing.
Every aspect of our business was reviewed, including how our company and our values were maintained and promoted. The result was the 1986 ‘Looking Good’ campaign, which broke new ground in financial services advertising.
The impact was immediate, with Scottish Widows becoming a household name.
The development of an icon
In the mid 1980s there were over 120 companies competing in the long-term savings market, 10 of which had the word Scottish in their name. Clear and strong branding was essential to make us stand out from the pack.
Building ‘brand awareness’ within a limited budget meant finding a creative idea that would seem bigger than it actually was. That idea needed to make people take notice and build positive attitudes towards the brand. But it also needed to promote the message that Scottish Widows is "good with your money".
So, in 1986, we put in place a strategy which was, at the time, probably the boldest marketing move the financial market had ever seen. The Scottish Widow was created as an icon that confronted all the negative values associated with the word ‘widow’ and presented the positive values - strength, reliability, integrity, innovation and heritage.
