By Laura Urmoneit
(June 29 – 16:50 ET) – In a surprising announcement today, London Life says it will rebrand its sales organization as Freedom 55 Financial, a division of the parent company.
“Basically what we’re doing is rebranding our distribution channel at London Life. Now, all of our representatives, or financial security advisors, will be housed and advertised as Freedom 55 Financial,” says Raymond McFeetors, president and CEO of London Life.
People associate Freedom 55 with London Life, but McFeetors says he wants people to associate Freedom 55 with the distribution network that not only offers London Life products but the products of other manufacturers as well. These products include investments, estate planning, insurance and ultimately some banking and securities products.
“I think the market has evolved. People want financial advice but they want to sit down with just one financial advisor. People generally don’t prefer the multi-channel approach,” says McFeetors.
The goal of rebranding is mass recognition. Because Freedom 55 has such a strong brand image, the company is hoping people will entrust their personal financial affairs to one of the approximately 3,000 Freedom 55 financial security advisors.
According to McFeetors, the feedback has been extremely positive. Even competitors are sending their support. “I was informed that one competitor called saying we had just made their job a whole lot harder,” he says.
As for the impact on the company, he believes this move will increase sales, allow more product distribution, and increase the productivity of representatives. The London Life name will remain on contracts and policies. On advertising, letter head, office signs and client communications the name Freedom 55 Financial will be featured. The changes are expected to become apparent this fall.