Why settle for an established does-what-it-says-on-the-can type name, when you can give your B2C operation the first name of a bawdy taleteller, long dead and, let’s face it, little read?

That’s what the master name-smiths at Marcustuddy eventually got round to thinking after buying the motor bit of Lloyd’s insurer Chaucer sometime last year.

To go with the crazy name, Geoffrey (probably plain Geoff to his friends, if he has any), gets a zany new logo.

More obviously suited to, say, a cartoon giraffe than a medieval poet (or indeed a direct motor operation), said logo (word mark if you want to be pedantic) combines artlessly hand-scrawled lettering with unapologetic near illegibility.

And, just possibly, a strainingly wide smile, indicated by “bounce marks” either side of the jauntily turned-up crossbar of the initial G. Hard to tell, really.

‘What were they thinking?!’, you are probably wondering. They were thinking this, apparently: “We chose the name Geoffrey to give the company a fresh identity whilst also honouring our historical roots and retaining our reputation for high standards of service.”

If they wanted history, perhaps they should have gone with something a tad more traditional, some suitably gothic calligraphy perhaps. If they wanted a logo to connote high standards of service they shouldn’t have chosen this one, which fairly screams comedy.

MS group underwiring officer Geoffrey Humphrey says “Geoffrey Insurance Services will sit alongside Markerstudy’s Zenith Direct brand, ensuring we have a strong presence on aggregators and in direct sales.”

But will Zenith Direct really want to sit next to Geoff? Personally, Bankstone News would be tempted to make its excuses and find another seat.

Unknown

Tags:

No responses yet

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *