Fri, December 11, 2009 - 10:09:36

AIG Asks: “What’s in a Name?”

A few months ago, we told you the story of Tom Sato, a SMALL reader who saw his once-stalled job search take off literally overnight after making one tiny, but important change to his resume: switching his name from his hard to pronounce birth name, Toshihisa, to his easy-to-say nickname, Tom.  Earlier this week, as we were perusing the New York Times online, we came across a bit of news that reminded us once again of the amazing power that one little name can possess and how the simple act of changing it can have an enormous impact. 

And the name in question this time?  A.I.G.

As the New York Times’ Mary Williams Walsh reports, “Just months after dropping the telltale “A.I.G.” from its sales brochures, the company has leapfrogged its competitors and reclaimed a title it held for many years before its bailout — the top seller of fixed annuities to bank customers.”

Since the massive government bailout in 2008 through June of this year, A.I.G. had struggled to regain consumer confidence, but in a strategic move, the bank chose to remove their name from annuities offered by two of its insurance subsidiaries, Western National Life and First SunAmerica.  As a result, A.I.G. and others in the insurance industry have watched the two annuities rise from the bottom of the barrel to the very top, in just a matter of months.  In fact, since the removal of those three infamous little letters from their sales brochures, Western National has come to sell more fixed annuities than any other insurer.

So, if you’re still wondering if SMALL really can make a difference in your life, it’s time to look at things with a new set of eyes.  Whether it’s in the life of a job-seeker striving for a new career, or in the recovery of one of the largest, most challenged companies in America, one simple fact holds true: SMALL works. 

Posted by Linda and Robin