Two senior leaders explain the decade-long evolution behind the rebrand and what Canadian plan sponsors can expect next
Earlier this month, one of Canada’s largest insurers unveiled a new logo, tagline, and brand identity, rebranding from its former name of Sun Life to Sunlife without much public lead-up. But behind the scenes, the move was years in the making, according to two of the company’s senior leaders.
“What’s behind [the rebrand] is actually an evolution that’s taken over a decade,” said Linda Dougherty, executive vice-president, chief client and strategy officer at Toronto-based Sunlife. “We’ve evolved from an insurance company that owned an asset manager to an asset management and insurance company,” she said.
That two-engine strategy - asset management on one side, insurance on the other - eventually outgrew the old brand. Sunlife built out its alternatives platform, expanded its health and wealth capabilities, and reached a point where the old brand no longer matched the company’s scope. The new tagline, “making life brighter,” is meant to signal that shift, said Dougherty.
Research behind the Sunlife rebrand
Chris Hewitt, senior vice-president, chief client experience and global marketing officer at Sunlife, emphasized that the rebrand was grounded in research, not aesthetics.
“We talked to our clients, we talked to our employees, we talked to the market to understand some of the things that are changing when people think about us as a company and the industry we’re in,” he said, pointing to a recent global study that backed the decision.
“Sixty-five per cent of people are looking to have more support that considers health and finances together,” he said, citing Sunlife’s survey findings.
“They know what they need to do. They know what they’re worried about,” said Dougherty, adding the complexity makes it hard to grab hold of a plan.
Without changing the organizational structure, Dougherty said the focus is on using Sunlife’s full range of strategic assets to deliver more complete solutions and “let them grab hold of something that’s complicated in as simple a way as possible.”
“We have both pensions and health benefits so we’re already positioned to help clients feel more confident about this. It’s not as much a structural change as leaning into the things we're positioned to do today and do better for our sponsors, partners and clients,” Hewitt added.
Simpler language, connected experiences
That demand for connected support, paired with a push for simplicity, drove the visual and messaging changes. Hewitt said clients want Sunlife to partner differently - still doing what it has done well but helping them adapt as things get more complicated.
“One of the things that a brand needs to do is help people visually connect the company to the purpose,” he said.
Even though Sunlife has rebranded, Sunlife’s commitments to plan sponsors and plan members aren’t changing, and the company will continue to show up as a consultative partner delivering what clients need, when they need it, both Dougherty and Hewitt underscored.
“What we're signaling is that intent and that will continue, not just with our business clients, but with our members. They can expect to see us continuing to prioritize being digital, building those trusted relationships. Reframing our focus on that partnership just helps our clients and our partners know that that's a priority for us,” said Hewitt.
A digital-first rollout for Canadian plan sponsors
What plan sponsors can expect, Hewitt and Dougherty said, is a gradual evolution over the next 18 to 24 months. The changes will come in small steps: simpler language, updated websites, and more connected experiences designed to help members link the health and financial sides of their lives.
According to Hewitt, the global scope of the rollout made a phased approach necessary. The priority was to signal the change in a way that was both meaningful and responsible, while staying attuned to partner and client feedback along the way.
In Canada, the team took a digital and client-first approach. Social media and public websites are being changed first, followed by apps and secure login portals for sponsors and members in the coming weeks, with those environments requiring more careful handling given their security requirements.
While paper-based materials like forms will be updated through early 2027, Hewitt acknowledged those are less visible markers of the brand shift than the digital touchpoints.
The focus between now and early 2027 is on the client-facing digital experience, and the approach is consistent globally. Hewitt noted that Sunlife has set up a section on its public sites to keep clients and partners informed about what changes are coming.
Connected needs call for connected support
Beyond the look and feel, Hewitt pointed to a push for greater consistency in how Sunlife delivers its digital-first approach. If something works well in the US, the company wants to bring that learning to Canada more often. If a digital experience is performing on the pension side, the team will ask whether it should carry over to the benefits side.
That cross-pollination is what Hewitt said plan sponsors and members should expect to see more of Sunlife going forward. The updated logo and visual identity, he added, should make the overall experience feel more modern.
“We’re going to listen hard, and then we’re going to go to every part of the organization - asset management, group retirement, group benefits - and see how can we bring the best of what we have to help the sponsor, to help the member achieve what they’re trying to achieve,” said Dougherty.
Hewitt agreed, saying the rebrand is ultimately about connecting the company’s purpose to how it delivers on that purpose.
“What we’re seeing is people’s needs are being more clearly seen as a connected need, and we really think the support they get should be connected too,” he said. “That's really what this refresh is, based not only on what we're seeing in the insights from the survey, but what we're hearing from our clients.”
Sunlife has yet to disclose the cost of the rebrand.
