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2

 

Power of intermediaries

A significant downstream channel threat is the potential loss of partners or distributors if 

there is a channel conflict resulting from disintermediation (Chapter 2, p. 53). The tensions 

between intermediaries, and in particular aggregators and strategies to resolve them, are 

shown by the public discussion between direct insurer Direct Line (

www.directline.com

) and 

aggregator Moneysupermarket (

www.moneysupermarket.com

) in Box 5.1.

Box 5.1

The balance of power between brands and aggregator sites

Guardian (2007) reported on an ongoing spat which saw Direct Line disparaging com‑

parison engines like Moneysupermarket, Confused.com and Go Compare in a  multi‑ 

 million‑  pound TV campaign. It reported Roger Ramsden, strategy director for Royal 

Bank of Scotland Insurance, which owns Direct Line, as saying:

Direct Line has never been available through a middleman of any sort and never will 

be, and that’s what these [comparison] sites are. They are commercial operations