Overview
Unum is one of the country's largest insurance providers, selling long term care, disability, life and other specialized insurance products and services. A Fortune 500 company headquartered in Chattanooga, TN, Unum completed a re-branding exercise in 2007. The company's web site needed to reflect the new brand. With a contemporary logo and the tagline "Better benefits at work," a subtle shift in positioning was under way, from being an insurance company to being a true employee benefits partner.
Unum contacted Image Works to assist in redesigning the site. First, we needed to identify the needs of the site's varied audiences. Meeting those needs drove the organization and development of content. Information had to be easy to find and easy to comprehend. A graphic design that softened and personalized the company would be an important element in conveying the brand's new image.
Solution
We brought together Unum staff familiar with their customers for several intensive brainstorming sessions. They identified user tasks along an insurance-buying continuum and then focused on the content and features that would support the customer's needs. A card sorting exercise helped define the site categories. Stakeholder interviews with top leaders of the company clarified the Unum vision.
The result of this research and discovery was a clear understanding of the site's users, the business goals, and a content development strategy.
We next captured the site's information design in page diagrams (a.k.a. wireframes). Then our graphic designers added additional layers of visual communication.
The most challenging design was the home page where internal stakeholders had to grapple with competing visions of the site's primary messages. We programmed a Flash animation for the home page that rotates primary marketing messages and an associated image.
Our technology team provided HTML/CSS assistance to Unum developers who fully implemented the site.
User Benefits
The site lets insurance buyers and sellers easily find information about their benefits. The content is topical, short and to the point, and engages readers with just the information they need. A Spanish-language section meets the needs of this fast-growing audience.
The component businesses that make up Unum are also now better understood.
Client Success
The Unum web site launched in November, 2008, and has delivered the brand promise with a public face that reflects Unum’s commitment to benefits education. It positions the company as forward-looking with a global perspective and a comprehensive portfolio of products and services.