It turns out to be something of a crafty diversionary tactic when Steven Althaus greets awaiting journalists by growling “Are you here to grill me?” Far from proving a difficult subject, the head of group marketing for German insurance brand Allianz is more than happy to wax lyrical about his job, running global marketing for Allianz, and it is difficult to get a word in edgeways.
Althaus is certainly a busy man, responsible as he is for everything from licensing to media buying, worldwide. And yet the suave German carries an unruffled air, a manner reflected in his immaculate hairstyle. For the uninitiated, Althaus tells the Allianz story: the company was founded in 1890 and is one of the leading global service providers in insurance, banking and asset management.
Reflecting on the group’s scale, Althaus draws a quick analogy: “Allianz, to me, is like a balanced person, a natural authority figure you can rely on - not a chest-thumping gorilla.”
Colleagues say Althaus is more approachable than he looks. He is far from comfortable talking about himself, though, and is careful to avoid delicate issues such as the subprime crisis in the US. Nor does Althaus comment on the faltering growth of the global insurance industry. Allianz reported a total premium income of 8.8 billion euros from its operations in Asia-Pacific for 2007, an increase of 29 per cent on the previous year.
Top of Althaus’ to-do list is for Allianz to become more customer-focused. “Our approach is very straightforward,” he says. “We assess the needs of our customers around the world, then act accordingly. In financial services, the brand is more than ever an asset that needs to be managed.”
The Munich-based company owns over 120 different brands in 70 countries. Which means that Allianz is some way from being a household name. “In countries where people don’t know the brand, it isn’t enough simply to create awareness,” says Althaus. “Awareness has to be meaningful. You’ve got to put your money where your mouth is.”
A lot of that money has gone into sport sponsorship. He explains: “A 30-year lease with the Allianz Arena in Germany (a 70,000-seater stadium that is home to Bayern Munich football club) and eight years with Formula One is a long commitment. So is our partnership with the Paralympics. This reflects the essence of Allianz.”
But isn’t the dangerous white-knuckle ride that is F1 at odds with a brand that, presumably, wants to be associated with safety and reliability? Absolutely not, argues Althaus. “F1 helps us position ourselves as experts in risk management and damage prevention,” he says.
F1 helps Allianz reach 80 million people in one go every race weekend. So does its ‘Moments’ campaign, launched in April last year, says Althaus. The global campaign targets the financial services community with the strapline: ‘Trusted to deliver in moments of truth.’
Pan-regional business-focused TV and print, such as CNBC and Forbes, are Althaus’ media of choice across 17 strategic markets.
Althaus, who’s no stranger to the agency scene, having worked at Y&R and Springer & Jacoby, is clear on what he expects of his agencies. “We want a true partnership, and I really do mean that,” he says. “I am aware that agencies are either treated as partners or as service providers who will do what I tell them to. For the past two years, we’ve worked with two global networks, WPP and Omnicom, to find someone at the centre - a rainmaker - who can work across disciplines and help support my 70 marketing colleagues all over the world.”
Allianz has a multi-local structure and, as such, looks for localisation from its agencies. While ‘Moments’ is, in essence, a global campaign, local adaptations run in China, India, South Korea and Australia. “Marketing used to be a solid, monolithic approach to research and target groups. But now we’re moving to interest-based market management. Potentially, a 29-year-old woman in Singapore has the exact same interests as a man in Copenhagen, and you can trace this.”
His cautious streak then rears its head as he ends with a disclaimer: “I’m not saying I’ve definitely got it right. Competing on a global level, we’re all still learning. Everybody’s giving advice on how we can better understand consumers, so it’s important that we keep our humility.”
Steven Althaus’ CV
2002 Head of marketing communications, Allianz Group
2001 Managing director, Loyalty Partner, Munich
1998 Managing director, Springer & Jacoby, London/Hamburg
1995 Business development, Young & Rubicam, Frankfurt
