Re: You can't call it Conseco much longer... Press Conference at 10:30am Thursday
http://www.ibj.com/article?articleId=31532
Downtown arena's new name: Bankers Life Fieldhouse
Francesca Jarosz December 22, 2011
The venue long known as Conseco Fieldhouse will take on the moniker of CNO Financial’s most prominent brand: Bankers Life.
Officials from Carmel-based insurer CNO Financial announced the name change to Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Thursday morning. The company changed its name from Conseco Inc. last year but didn't immediately change the identity of the arena where the Indiana Pacers have played since 1999
CNO Financial has seven years remaining in a $40 million naming-rights sponsorship. Some local hotels recently listed the venue as CNO Financial Fieldhouse on their websites, fueling speculation about the new name.
But CNO Financial executives said they picked the name of their Chicago-based subsidiary, Bankers Life and Casualty Co., because it has the broadest national reach among the holding company’s three brands. Those brands also include insurance companies Colonial Penn and Washington National and fixed-income investment advisor 40/86 Advisors.
Bankers Life targets middle-income earners near or in retirement. It has 1.3 million policyholders across the U.S. and 5,600 agents in 250 U.S. locations.
It’s also CNO Financial's most important business, selling a mix of life insurance, annuities and health insurance as a supplement to Medicare. Bankers Life produced revenue in 2010 of $2.4 billion, or 58 percent of CNO's total sales.
Bankers Life is even more important for CNO's profits, contributing 79 percent of the company's 2010 earnings before interest and taxes.
“By aligning [the fieldhouse] with our core business and consumer-facing brands going forward, we’ll be promoting that name in ways that we didn’t before,” said CNO Financial CEO Ed Bonach. “Seven years is still a long time to have the Bankers Life Fieldhouse take hold.”
Sports-marketing experts told IBJ last year that it was unusual CNO Financial didn’t change the fieldhouse’s name in May 2010, when shareholders voted to change the holding company’s name. Some questioned then whether CNO Financial was trying to get out of the 20-year naming-rights deal.
But Bonach said switching the fieldhouse moniker is simply the “natural next rebranding move” after officials worked to phase out the Conseco name in its holding company and subsidiaries. The company also merged three insurance companies—two of which had Conseco in the name—under the Washington National brand.
Transitioning from one venue name to another can prove challenging. The home of the Miami Dolphins, for example, has been named Joe Robbie Stadium, Pro Player Park, Pro Player Stadium, Dolphin Stadium, Dolphins Stadium, Sun Life Stadium and Land Shark Stadium to reflect various changes within the franchise and among its sponsors.
Last year, Pacers Sports & Entertainment President Jim Morris told IBJ that CNO officials were proud of the Conseco Fieldhouse name.
CNO “has been a great partner, and are very committed to the Fieldhouse,” Morris said at the time. “They’ve told us the name will not change.”
CNO Financial will spend an undisclosed amount—Bonach said it’s less than $1 million—to change signage at the facility.
The company also will launch a marketing plan Thursday that includes print, radio and TV ads and direct mail pieces to spread awareness of the new name.
Scott Perry, who serves as chief operating officer of CNO and president of Bankers Life, wouldn’t disclose more details about the campaign but said it would “leverage the excitement and enthusiasm around the Super Bowl.”
The company also will offer a promotion to encourage fans to purchase tickets for the Pacers’ first 2012 home game against the Charlotte Bobcats on Jan. 7, offering prices of $1, $7 and $12, to reflect the game date of 1/7/12.
And CNO plans to tout its other brands throughout the fieldhouse, including through a mural depicting the family of companies.
The signage is being unveiled Thursday, and the rebranding of the fieldhouse will be complete in January.
http://www.ibj.com/article?articleId=31532
Downtown arena's new name: Bankers Life Fieldhouse
Francesca Jarosz December 22, 2011
The venue long known as Conseco Fieldhouse will take on the moniker of CNO Financial’s most prominent brand: Bankers Life.
Officials from Carmel-based insurer CNO Financial announced the name change to Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Thursday morning. The company changed its name from Conseco Inc. last year but didn't immediately change the identity of the arena where the Indiana Pacers have played since 1999
CNO Financial has seven years remaining in a $40 million naming-rights sponsorship. Some local hotels recently listed the venue as CNO Financial Fieldhouse on their websites, fueling speculation about the new name.
But CNO Financial executives said they picked the name of their Chicago-based subsidiary, Bankers Life and Casualty Co., because it has the broadest national reach among the holding company’s three brands. Those brands also include insurance companies Colonial Penn and Washington National and fixed-income investment advisor 40/86 Advisors.
Bankers Life targets middle-income earners near or in retirement. It has 1.3 million policyholders across the U.S. and 5,600 agents in 250 U.S. locations.
It’s also CNO Financial's most important business, selling a mix of life insurance, annuities and health insurance as a supplement to Medicare. Bankers Life produced revenue in 2010 of $2.4 billion, or 58 percent of CNO's total sales.
Bankers Life is even more important for CNO's profits, contributing 79 percent of the company's 2010 earnings before interest and taxes.
“By aligning [the fieldhouse] with our core business and consumer-facing brands going forward, we’ll be promoting that name in ways that we didn’t before,” said CNO Financial CEO Ed Bonach. “Seven years is still a long time to have the Bankers Life Fieldhouse take hold.”
Sports-marketing experts told IBJ last year that it was unusual CNO Financial didn’t change the fieldhouse’s name in May 2010, when shareholders voted to change the holding company’s name. Some questioned then whether CNO Financial was trying to get out of the 20-year naming-rights deal.
But Bonach said switching the fieldhouse moniker is simply the “natural next rebranding move” after officials worked to phase out the Conseco name in its holding company and subsidiaries. The company also merged three insurance companies—two of which had Conseco in the name—under the Washington National brand.
Transitioning from one venue name to another can prove challenging. The home of the Miami Dolphins, for example, has been named Joe Robbie Stadium, Pro Player Park, Pro Player Stadium, Dolphin Stadium, Dolphins Stadium, Sun Life Stadium and Land Shark Stadium to reflect various changes within the franchise and among its sponsors.
Last year, Pacers Sports & Entertainment President Jim Morris told IBJ that CNO officials were proud of the Conseco Fieldhouse name.
CNO “has been a great partner, and are very committed to the Fieldhouse,” Morris said at the time. “They’ve told us the name will not change.”
CNO Financial will spend an undisclosed amount—Bonach said it’s less than $1 million—to change signage at the facility.
The company also will launch a marketing plan Thursday that includes print, radio and TV ads and direct mail pieces to spread awareness of the new name.
Scott Perry, who serves as chief operating officer of CNO and president of Bankers Life, wouldn’t disclose more details about the campaign but said it would “leverage the excitement and enthusiasm around the Super Bowl.”
The company also will offer a promotion to encourage fans to purchase tickets for the Pacers’ first 2012 home game against the Charlotte Bobcats on Jan. 7, offering prices of $1, $7 and $12, to reflect the game date of 1/7/12.
And CNO plans to tout its other brands throughout the fieldhouse, including through a mural depicting the family of companies.
The signage is being unveiled Thursday, and the rebranding of the fieldhouse will be complete in January.
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