Souvenirs, souvenirs or "Gifts oil the wheels of friendship ...“
Gifts are one of the most "consumer-friendly" ways of creating a bond with clients. They are promotional items – tokens of appreciation that send out a message to the recipient: "You matter to us!" Swiss Re does not limit such gifts exclusively to clients (ie cedents) but also extends them as a way of maintaining good relations to other partners and even competitors. Although the full gamut of Swiss Re souvenirs did not become available until the 1960s, there is documentary evidence of a promotional clock being given as a gift as early as 1925. Hans Sulzer, Chairman of Unfallversicherung-A.G. Winterthur wrote in his thank-you letter: "The clock now occupies a place on my desk and will always serve as a reminder of the many enjoyable experiences – both business and personal – I had whilst working with Swiss Re and its management."
Gifts not only create bonds, but also instil a sense of duty. They represent the highest form of barter (Charles Tschopp). Ultimately, when a gift changes hands, it is not just something material, but the gesture encapsulates immaterial values such as gratitude, loyalty and commitment.
Symbolic gifts...
Anyone bestowing a gift thinks hard about what that gift should be. Who should get what? In jubilee years, Swiss Re attached great importance to symbolism. In 1938, the company commissioned silver jubilee coins to celebrate its 75th anniversary. These medallions were given as gifts to managers of insurance companies across the world, symbolising the expansion of the company's global business activities:
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"May Switzerland with its majestic mountains continue to serve as a firm foundation for Swiss Re's business activities and may nations in both hemispheres (…) continue to welcome these activities in the coming decades.“ (Dr. L. Reiser, Dep. Chairman of Magdeburger Rück- versicherungs-A.G.) |
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While since the 1960ies the target group was extended and the gifts became cheaper and smaller, the company in 1989 still continued to play on stereotypical Swiss values: among the most popular client gifts were desktop clocks, embodying the Swiss love of precision, and hiking sets, symbolising the Swiss hiking tradition as well as the "new path" Swiss Re was taking at the time. In a letter one client described the hiking set as follows: "The compass shows you which way to go, the altitude meter how high you are. The set also contains a special measuring device designed to convert distances on the map into scale distances, thereby ensuring that no one bites off more than they can chew. And if the hapless hiker should still find himself in the back of beyond, a neat little pair of binoculars is supplied to make sure he can at least keep his eye on the final destination."
... even small gifts are a mark of friendship
The following pronouncement emerged in the course of redefining Swiss Re's Corporate Identity in 1995: "The high-quality range of gifts has become so diverse that it no longer possesses any real identity. There is something for everyone: a motley, multi-coloured mish-mash of items with no clear link to either Swiss Re or Switzerland, except a fairly clumsily applied logo. It is easy to see how the range of gifts has grown over the years – the company has expanded into many different countries all with their own traditions and customs. However, we should strive for quality, not quantity."
The new approach is based on simplicity. By cutting down on quantity, Swiss Re has been able to maintain a high level of quality. The target groups have been clearly defined and the aim is no longer to use gifts to communicate Swiss Re's values but rather as a way of positioning the company as a brand name in the wider public through such items as umbrellas, ties and matches.
This article originates from Swiss Re Company Archives, Zurich
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