Lovemarks and Charitable Branding

1999–2005

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AA finds its friends on TV

“We will carry on re-investing our growing profits in building our brand. Expensive though it is advertising increases the power of our brand and that’s vital to our future.”

Tim Parker, Chief Executive, AA

• AA needs to reinforce its premium offering in the face of price cutting competition • A new TV campaign highlights the reassurance of the AA patrol man • The activity attracts 250,000 extra new members

The challenge

The Roadside Assistance market is worth some £1.5bn a year with 74% of motorists signed up for some form of emergency help.

As the market leader AA Roadside is a premium product with 42.4% share and has traditionally focused much of its activity on driving loyalty rather than seeking new recruits.

In recent years, however, new entrants such as supermarkets have tried to commoditise the market while the number two player, RAC, has been bought by Aviva, which has backed the organisation with extra marketing spend but also offered cut-price deals.