View the full Brand Finance UK 250 2026 report here.
Group Brand Director,
Aviva
How does the Aviva brand build trust among its stakeholders?
Trust is earned through consistency over time and across every experience we create. At Aviva, that starts with the role we play in people’s lives. We’re not a single-product brand: we’re there across key life moments. We’re one of the few financial brands in the UK that can serve customers across their entire lives – from early financial decisions, to insuring their first car, or guiding them into retirement. That breadth creates a different kind of relationship. It’s not transactional, it’s long-term.
But it’s also about simplicity and clarity. One of the biggest barriers in financial services is that people find it complex, overwhelming, and often difficult to act on. We’ve had several years’ success with our platform ‘Making it Click’. It hasn’t been just a campaign - it’s a way of expressing how we make the complex feel simple and how we connect the different parts of people’s financial lives.
We’ve also worked hard to ensure that the brand identity feels warmer and more human. This aligns with our ‘For Every Story’ brand strategy, which widens the lens to reflect the broad role Aviva plays across the different moments in people’s lives. That emotional connection is a critical component of trust.
And finally, we hold ourselves accountable. We track trust, affinity, meaningful difference, and consideration closely – and we’re seeing strong progress. That’s the outcome of aligning what we say, what we do, and how we show up.
What are Aviva's biggest advantages in ensuring brand success?
Our biggest advantage is the power of ‘One Aviva’. That breadth of being able to serve customers throughout their lives - across insurance, wealth, retirement, and health - gives us a unique opportunity to build a brand that operates beyond traditional category boundaries. What matters is not selling disconnected products, but how you connect them and prove to customers the advantage of having Aviva as your whole life partner.
Another advantage is clarity of platform. Making it Click has given us a consistent, scalable idea that brought One Aviva to life for customers and colleagues. The distinctive visual world of puzzles dramatised how good it feels when your finances ‘clicked’ into place with Aviva. It’s simple, distinctive and was rooted in a real human insight that people want to feel in control of their financial decisions.
Lastly, in a category that often defaults to functional messaging, we’ve leaned into emotion: telling relatable, human stories that reflect real life. And increasingly, our advantage lies in how we bring the brand to life in the real world.
Sponsorship was identified as a key driver of greater meaning and differentiation for the Aviva brand - creating new and impactful ways for customers, clients and colleagues to experience Aviva year round. Through Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Aviva Studios in Manchester, and the forthcoming Aviva Arena in Bristol, we have built the UK and Ireland’s most diverse sponsorship portfolio, spanning sport, music, arts, culture and entertainment. This portfolio is designed to reflect the breadth and diversity of our near 22 million customers, while also demonstrating Aviva’s commitment to ‘back the UK’ through investment in infrastructure that delivers jobs, economic impact and lasting community benefit.
Looking ahead, how will Aviva continue to strengthen its brand and grow its value?
We’re focused on building on the momentum we’ve created, while evolving for what comes next.
The first priority is continuing to scale One Aviva. That means ensuring a consistent, connected experience across all parts of the business. One Aviva is no longer an internal rallying cry but is now a real customer proposition that proves our composite model is a true market differentiator.
The second is evolving our brand platform. Making it Click has been highly effective, but we’re already working on how it develops. The next chapter is grounded in deeper insight into people’s lives beyond finances. It’s about providing support to customers in a world of increasing pressure where Aviva can provide greater relevance and benefits as a whole life partner.
The third is expanding our sponsorship ecosystem. With Aviva Arena, we’re scaling that ambition - embedding Aviva at the major Brabazon development in Bristol, birthplace of Concorde. The new venue will have the third-largest capacity in the UK at 20,000 people and is expected to attract 1.4 million visitors each year – truly putting Aviva at the heart of shared experiences that bring communities together.
And finally, we will continue to invest in creative campaigns and storytelling. That’s been central to our success so far, and it remains critical as we look to grow further. Ultimately, our ambition is to build a brand that people don’t just know, but genuinely value as we help them progress their whole lives with confidence. If we do that consistently, brand value growth will follow.
