This article is part of a series sponsored by Britam

“The new look will embody our corporate strength and growth potential, emphasizing our innovativeness, efficiency and reliable customer service.” – Britam Public Address

When a famous brand decides to change its name, questions tend to be raised. When a company like Britak announces plans for a re-launch, the stakeholders know that it will affect them in one way or the other. So why did one of Kenya’s leading insurance providers decide to rebrand? What caused this sudden shift in the company’s trade name?

Regional Expansion and Uniformity

The answer is simple; The Company was growing and it needed all its new clients and stakeholders to identify with the brand. Even with a name like British-American, adding the tag “Kenya” may cause clients to think that the company is locked to that particular region.

During the official re-branding ceremony, the firm noted that creating a collectively identical brand would be beneficial to their ongoing regional expansion initiative. The company stated that the ever-present need for brand uniformity prompted them to harmonize their acronym.

“We felt we needed a new identity,” said Britam Group Managing Director, Benson Wairegi. Speaking during the launch of their new mortgage product, Collateral Replacement Indemnity (CRI), he noted that, “If you have a ‘K’ at the end of your name, it implies that you are offering a Kenyan product.”

Wairegi also mentioned that the new Britam logo would represent a connection between the words, British and American, without restricting the brand to a particular region. He noted that the definitive arc on the logo acted as a sign of connectivity. Britam was not trying to reinvent itself. It was, in fact, trying to reinforce its brand with a fresh new look.

“For 50 years we have been laying a strong foundation called British American and most of our consumers know us by our acronym BRITAK,” stated a public address representing the collective opinions of all its Group members.

The move was not conceived as abruptly as some may have initially believed. In fact, regional growth had always been a part of the company’s bottom line.

Long before the re-brand, British-American could trace its humble roots back to Nassau, the capital city of The Bahamas. Britam’s origins began on the little island sometime in the 1920’s. Amidst a small market and a mass of water separating them from the mainland, British-American endured.

Even then, the company was about to make plans that stretched across the Atlantic Ocean into East Africa and beyond. By the time the current brand was even conceived, the firm had branches in 5 countries with plans to expand into South Sudan. More than 80 years later, the firm cited regional expansion as one of the key promises made during the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) approval of the Britak IPO  in 2011.

Market Potential

Regional expansion brings with it new opportunities. The wider a company’s reach, the more clients it can attract. Britam, like any other growing company. was ready and willing to take advantage of an even larger market.

“Our businesses across the East African countries are a confident show of our support of the integration of East African Community (EAC) into the Common Market,” said the Company’s Director, Nicholas Ashford-Hodges. Given a combined recorded GDP of over USD 74.5 billion (KES 6.3 trillion) and a market with more than 133.5 million potential consumers, the firm saw potential within the East African Community.

With the Common Market Protocol in place, Britam knew that EAC member countries would be able to move products, capital and business services freely throughout the region. No one in their right mind would pass up such a profitable opportunity.

The Journey So Far

Britam now plans to establish its foothold in Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi. The company already set up a subsidiary in Uganda and has, so far, received regulatory approvals to operate in South Sudan. So, aside from the new name and logo, what else is in store for Britam?

Well, the firm reports that Britam's management will remain the same. The chain of command will not be compromised. Moreover, British American Investment Company Kenya Limited will still be the firm’s legal name, as listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE). What's more, the new subsidiaries will operate under the firm's current structure.

The company also mentioned that it would provide its clientele with brilliant expansion opportunities while diversifying their services into viable product categories including stocks bonds and real estate. Britam is proud to announce that the new brand will be focused on client satisfaction.