Opening Sesame to "Muppets" and makeovers

Professional Adviser
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When Misys announced in April it would rebrand the life and pensions division as 'Sesame', the reaction of intermediaries was not a polite one. IFAs said being associated with a name linked to Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, or even the children's TV programme Sesame Street, would create the wrong image for a responsible financial services firm because those images carried too many negative connotations.

Two months on Misys' argues the tide has swung back in its favour and only a handful of Misys network members are still unhappy with the name change to Sesame. Julie Henderson talks to Martin Davis, commercial director at Sesame, to discuss the snipes, jokes and thinking behind the Misys IFA rebrand. As soon as Misys unveiled the 'Sesame' name, senior management of the life and pensions division began their campaign to explain to its members and staff what the brand really meant and what it would mean to clients. Sesame was not intended to be merely a name change, but the arrival of...

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