Accenture Song snares prized NRMA Insurance account from Bear Meets Eagle on Fire

NRMA Insurance has ended its relationship with Bear Meets Eagle on Fire, announcing a new partnership with Accenture Song. The partnership capitalises on the broad capabilities of Accenture Song with an integrated, cross-discipline model across marketing, customer experience, digital, design, and communication.

NRMA Insurance will work with Accenture Song on the amplification of services, experiences, and communication for its customers to help make insurance easier to understand and engage with, enhance the claims experience, and educate Australians on their risks.

Cross-border teams of Accenture Song’s best global and local talent will be engaged to support NRMA Insurance in this transformation.

The move reunites NRMA insurance and The Monkeys (now part of Accenture Song), which was handed the business from M&C Saatchi without a pitch back in 2017.

Says Julie Batch, CEO, NRMA Insurance: “Since I stepped into this role three years ago, our customers and our business have faced challenges from the effects of severe weather and more broadly with societal changes driven by technology and evolving customer expectations. As we enter our 100th year, now is the time for us to reflect and reshape our business for the future, knowing our customers will need our help more than ever before.

“We set out to create a model that draws on our people, experience, and direct learnings from our customers, combined with new technology, to deeply connect with and support our customers with world-class experiences at every touchpoint.

“With Accenture Song we have established a unique partnership, working with their leading Australian talent here and abroad. This model enables us to bring the best global thinking and solutions back to Australia while leveraging their Australian roots and connection to the NRMA Insurance brand.”

To support its focus on the customer experience, in 2023 NRMA Insurance formed a new customer experience and marketing team led by Michelle Klein and a digital business team led by Nandor Locher.

Says Michelle Klein, chief customer and marketing officer, NRMA Insurance: “Our partnership with Accenture Song is the next step in reimagining the customer experience, by delivering an end-to-end customer model leveraging best-in-class creative, communication and technology. At the heart of this approach is a focus on meeting our customers where they are and ensuring that every interaction is a helpful and seamless one.

“This new model aligns with our broadcast partnership with Nine of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, which will be a powerful launch platform to connect with our audiences at scale.”

Says David Droga, CEO, Accenture Song: “Since its infancy, NRMA Insurance has centred its entire business around helping its customers. We are thrilled to bring the full global power of the Accenture Song proposition to help it create a future-facing, tech-powered and personalised customer experience. We want the relationship to be a lighthouse for the type of work that Song does around the world. You rarely get to work on a brand that has such a place in the memory of a nation and even more seldom get to set it up for the future. To bring that relevance to a brand entering its 100th year is so exciting, and exactly what Accenture Song is built to accomplish for our clients.”

Says Mark Green, CEO, Accenture Song Australia & New Zealand and Group CEO & Co-Founder The Monkeys: “NRMA Insurance is a brand that is close to our heart. We knew no existing model could deliver this, so we created something unique. Julie and her team have a clear vision and we are thrilled to partner with NRMA Insurance to help its customers now and into the future.”

Initiative Media will continue as NRMA Insurance’s media buying and planning agency partner.

(Pictured above L-R: Barbara Humphries, executive creative director, The Monkeys; Nandor Locher, executive general manager digital business, NRMA Insurance; Julie Batch, CEO, NRMA Insurance; Nick Law, creative chairperson, Accenture Song; Michelle Klein, chief customer and marketing officer, NRMA Insurance; Bronwyn van der Merwe, service practice lead, Accenture Song ANZ; Nick Heymann, global chief creative officer, Accenture Song; David Droga, global CEO, Accenture Song; Corey Barker, insurance lead, Accenture ANZ; Beth O’Brien, head of innovation, The Monkeys; Mark Green, CEO, Accenture Song ANZ)