AIG had to pull out their 14 million a year deal which ran until the end of May this year, after the company was bailed out by the US Treasury to keep it alive.

It’s been a bad week for AIG who failed to complete the sale of their Asian division AIA to the man from the Pru, as the Treasury ‘overvalued’ the operation at 24.5 billion.

It might not be such a big deal for Aon either who have reportedly paid 80 million to be in the Red and announced at the time that they shared a  desire for excellence and winning, based on tradition, integrity, teamwork and success.

Manchester United are no longer the force they were a year ago when the sponsorhip deal was cut.  The club could be said to be in crisis for their high standards. The aging team and manager failed to win a trophy last season  and were ignominiously dumped out of the European Champions League in the quarter finals.

The sale of Manchester United Shirts has dropped dramatically domestically with supporters favouring the green and yellow colours of the orignial club Newton Heath as a demonstration against the way that American owners the Glazer’s have assest stripped the once rich club.

With a lack of success the lucrative Asian shirt market will likely suffer too.

Hey maybe Aon should buy AIA!

Trying to buy success in the UK football market has so far only been achieved by the Russians!

Related posts:

1. Taxpayers sponsor Newcastle United – Is this Right?
2. Caravan Insurer announces sponsoship deal
3. Events Insurance and the World Cup Finals

Before they all go barking mad down at Churchill, it should be pointed out that the figures relate to sales of the bulldog stuffed toy against those of Alexsandr Orlov the Compare The Meerkat main character.

Alexsandr Meerkat was only available through Harrods and supplies were restricted according to Benja Katya who runs the online Meerkat Toy Store in partnership with Amazon.

She told Insurance Blogger. “The dog is now a part of British Culture and sales of the toy will enjoy longevity despite who owns the brand.”
“Meerkat Toys are becoming more popular everyday and the interest is spreading globally. Much of this must be attributed to the success of the Compare The Meerkat TV and Internet Social Media Marketing Campaign. Ironically the Meerkat phenomena which started out as peculiarly British thing has spread as far as Namibia!”

The idea is seemple and not a new one either!
Remember the Nat West piggies?
With Social media here to stay as part of the Insurance Marketing mix, it looks like the Insurance logo soft toy spinoff market is a very lucrative source of extra income for cash strapped Insurance Marketing departments.

Insurance Blogger wonders what furry animal will be next to capture the hearts of the Britsh Car Insurance buying public?

Related posts:

1. Compare the Meerkat ? Buy a Meerkat Toy!
2. Dead Cat Bounce hits Meerkat
3. RBS Churchill Car Insurance offers named Young Drivers No claims bonus