The Whole Enchilada!
by James P. Hallan
MRA President and Chief Executive Officer

No, this not a food review column, though I do enjoy Mexican food. Rather, I want to talk about branding and name identification.

All businesses struggle to maintain a niche in the marketplace. And every business faces the age-old marketing dilemma: how can we get customers to think about us and remember us? This is especially true of new businesses that are trying to create a quick positive identity and marketplace splash.

Retailers Mutual Insurance Company, though a successor to Retailers Fund, is indeed a start-up company and is trying to build its image in the independent insurance agent community.

So our communications and graphics design department was given a challenge: develop a campaign that brands Retailers Mutual while simultaneously telling people about the many benefits of Michigan Retailers.

They responded with something deceptively clever. The Whole Enchilada! What?

Well, think about it. By buying a workers’ compensation policy through Retailers Mutual, the policyholder becomes a member of Michigan Retailers and is eligible to enjoy our treasure chest of benefits, including merchant processing, dental, health and vision benefits, shipping and natural gas discounts and educational opportunities. In other words, they are entitled to the Whole Enchilada.

Now, the Nike “swoosh” or the “Pillsbury Doughboy” should not be threatened by our little image-building campaign. But, the point is that one can have fun while developing a brand.

So, have fun, try something new, and the next time you’re out for dinner don’t forget to order the “Whole Enchilada.”