No doubt still energized after last Fall's appearance at a gala Wal-Mart promotional rally. Vermont Governor Douglas last week was the first governor to openly endorse (at his weekly press conference no less) Mass Mutual Insurance company's philanthropic 10 yr. life insurance program offered in all 50 states .A press release was also available on the governor's state run website describing the effort.The company and the governor stress the purely altruistic motives for this program and stress that no marketing or promotion is being done to sell policies .The governor's spokesman also stresses no connection between this and Mass Mutual life insurance PAC two $1,000.00 donations to Gov.Jim Douglas re-election campaign .
Jane Kolodinksy, chairwoman of the community development and applied economics department at the University of Vermont, is impressed with the strategy. She said it's a "perfect marketing communications plan.""Is it bad? No. It's done all the time. ... It's actually brilliant marketing. Does it hurt anybody? I don't think so. Will it help some people in the end? It will help a very small minority of people," Kolodinksy said.
Steven Wark dismissed the criticism and claimed not to have known about the pending endorsement until after contact had been made between Mass mutual and the Gov.'s office .
Vermont families who meet the criteria are eligible for a free, 10-year term-life insurance policy through the program. The insurance would not distribute a lump-sum check, but would establish a trust fund that could be used for a wide range of educational needs for the children. The funds cannot be used for other types of expenses, however. The signup date for Burlington is Saturday.
John Pastore of Pastore Financial Group LLC is hoping the LifeBridge program could result in $15 million to $20 million of coverage written for Vermonters, or 400 policies. Aside from the program's overall limit of 20,000 policies nationwide, there is no cap on how many policies can be written in Vermont, as long as the applicants meet the requirements, Pastore said. Roughly 9,500 policies have been written throughout the U.S.
"Through LifeBridge, Mass Mutual has identified a way to tie their philanthropic focus -- education -- with their primary product -- life insurance," Douglas said
What might be the governor's primary product being sold here ?
http://www.vermont.gov/portal/government/article.php?news=851
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20090223/BUSINESS/902230306
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