As chief marketing officer and chief innovation officer at AXA Equitable, Barbara Goodstein is responsible for all of AXA Equitable's digital efforts, corporate communications and advertising. In this time of shaky investor confidence, Goodstein and her team have focused on conveying a consistent message across multiple channels.
"We're stable, and we're here for our customers," Goodstein says. "We want them to take comfort in our size and that we were managing risk." Much of the financial services company's television and print advertising features an 800-pound gorilla — an image that is integrated into multiple channels to reinforce AXA's position as a leader in the market.
This past year, AXA hosted its first online retirement forum — a Web-based event that was promoted on Facebook and eventually offered as a podcast for download. It reached an estimated 6.6 million people, according to Goodstein.
AXA's chairman and CEO Christopher "Kip" Condron, who is featured prominently in the company's Web site communications, pointed out the importance of Goodstein's role during this time. "Whether she is leading a cross-functional team brain-storming new ideas, or coordinating crisis communications through unprecedented market volatility, Barbara advances the innovative, collaborative solutions at the heart of our ability to compete and win," he says.
Goodstein is helping extend her company's message through more than direct-to-consumer ways: She plans a retail road show later this year, where AXA's senior sales executives will travel cross-country to visit and reassure the company's larger sales force. Goodstein also promoted and designed the model for the company's participation in so-called "aggregator" sites; AXA began for the first time selling term insurance online through the Small Business Insurance Agency's platform.
