• by Aaron Baar , January 18, 2012

Health care (and health insurance) has changed a lot over the past decade, with a bigger focus on prevention, healthy living and clarity when it comes to costs. With its last major makeover 10 years ago, Aetna is undertaking a major brand overhaul that includes a redesigned logo, and a new “brand promise.”

“A lot has been changing in health care, especially as employers, providers and especially consumers take control of their health care,” Belinda Lang, head of brand advertising and consumer marketing for Aetna, tells Marketing Daily. “We felt our brand identity and strategy were not up-to-date enough.”

In an online video, the company explained the repositioning as a “revelation” that “the more control you have over your healthcare, the more you can take charge of your health.” Over shots of people visiting their doctors, exercising and eating healthily, the video explains that the new brand promise is about “providing access to the care you need, with the convenience and dependability you desire.” The video discusses developing new tools (such as mobile and tablet apps) to monitor costs and developing new services for health care providers. The video concludes with a new logo and the line “The power of health is in your hands.”

Beyond the online video, the first unveiling of the new brand promise is a redesigned logo. Leveraging the brand’s well-known 160-year-old name, the all-lower-case logo brings back the ligature (i.e., connected) “a” and “e,” which had been used previously but was “retired” in 2001. The ligature type is intended to highlight a truly connected health care experience, according to the company. Siegel + Gale advised Aetna on the design.

The logo is also intended to work in many different media environments -- particularly mobile, where more and more people are accessing their health and wellness information, Lang says.

“[Mobile] is becoming the tool for people to do basic information research, whether it’s checking your symptoms or finding your doctor,” she says. “It has to work in the smallest spaces. We also felt that we wanted an identity that was much more approachable and friendly.”

In the next phase, the company will begin overhauling its consumer messaging, including developing mobile apps, deepening its information and resources for consumers as well as building stronger relationships with the health-care community.

“Refreshing the brand is about everything we do, making sure everyone is focused on helping consumers and other end customers have healthier lives,” Lang says. “As we took an inventory of what Aetna offers, it’s clear we’re more than an insurance company -- we need to reframe what we talk about.”

To that end, Aetna is also launching a regular consumer survey, the Empowered Health Index, that will assess and measure the needs, feelings and behaviors of health-care consumers. Results from these surveys will be used to create new programs, tools and resources for Aetna customers.

“One of the things we’ve seen is that while people know they need to be in charge of their health care, that can take time,” Lang says. We’re hoping to inspire and motivate them.”