Aegon Life takes the simplicity route to change the communication paradigm

Aegon Life Insurance has partnered with DDB Mudra Group to launch a new integrated campaign – christened ‘Simple Makes Sense’ – that focuses on simplicity and ease of buying its products.

Contrary to other life insurance ads, this multimedia campaign is completely bereft of the usual play of safety, security, emotions and a better future for the insured and their dependents. Instead, it focuses on the efficacy of jargon-free communication, simple processes and easy accessibility.

The campaign is being primarily led by a one-minute long TVC film, supported by print, radio and digital activations. Clear, impactful and ‘Simple’, the ad film showcases multi-dimensional visual perspective using minimal elements for bringing out ‘Simplicity’ as the core of the Aegon Life’s ideology.

TVC Link:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sqLNG9VYUcY

Commenting on the campaign, Shamik Banerjee, Chief Marketing Officer, Aegon Life Insurance, said, “With this unconventional take on insurance, we are confident to change the communication paradigm. This campaign stands out from the usual speak of life insurance brands and will bring a renewed vitality to the insurance advertising space.”

On how the latest ad campaign was different from the earlier ad campaigns, Banerjee elaborated, “During the last decade, we have seen considerable change in the way people of India respond to the word ‘life insurance’. Digital as a medium has given them the power to understand their needs. The audience today is much knowledgeable and smarter. We acknowledge the same and aligned ourselves to the language, benefits, experience and themes. Through our campaign, we have made an effort to empower our consumer in making the right decisions instead of telling him the need of buying it. It was about time we communicated things that suited their taste. In a cluttered industry like life insurance, it was very important for us to come up with communication that makes us relevant.”

He further said, “Going by our history, we have always had campaigns that have given us an edge over others. We had introduced the concept of KILB (Kam Insurance Lene Ki Bimari), where we were the first ones to talk about the problem of inadequate insurance cover. Now, our research demonstrates that customers want to take their own decision and that’s where ‘Simple Makes Sense’. This is a new integrated marketing campaign to showcase us as Aegon Life – the new brand that is designed on the tenet of simplicity with a strong digital edge.”

“The company is aligning its processes and products with an aim to de-jargon, simplify and make every customer interaction a delightful experience. This is exactly what we have tried to communicate in our ad campaign, that the company is now focusing on creating better service platforms and catering to customer needs seamlessly in a way they want to be served across all channels of distribution,” Banerjee added.

Sonal Dabral, Chairman and CCO, DDB Mudra Group, remarked, “It’s not just the current life insurance processes that are complex, the advertising too in this category is cluttered and fuzzy. For a brand that promises to simplify everything associated with buying life insurance, it was important that Aegon Life’s communication too was simple and yet had a sense of scale to it. I am truly happy that we have been able to achieve just that with this campaign. I am sure the audience will enjoy it and engage with it as much as we did while creating it.”

He further said, “The objective of the campaign is, pardon the pun, simple. Aegon is the last player in an already crowded market, yet they have products and services which few can match. What we wanted to do is bring the customer’s attention that there is this large company, with world class insurance solutions looking to simplify life insurance so that you can make better choices and be better covered. Hopefully, we have managed to do that.”

Throwing light on the brief given by the client, Dabral elucidated, “When Aegon first called us for a briefing, they were very clear about what set them apart from the many, many insurance agencies out there. Simplicity. This claim of simplicity, which many make but no one lives up to, was one we were skeptical about. But the more we talked to the client, the more we understood how they inculcate simplicity in every step of their working. From the way they create their products to the way they market them to the way they deal with the customer, or how the customer deals with them, every aspect of their business was simplified to make it better. After that, there was no doubt that simple was the way for us to go.”

“At the same time, we had to also let the customer know that this is a large company, present in many countries around the globe, with over 175 years of insurance experience. So, juggling simplicity of insurance with the largeness of the brand became the task for us,” he added.

Elaborating on the creative execution and ideation behind the campaign, Dabral said, “We knew whatever we did, it had to be simple. It had to have simple at its heart. And that’s how we came up with ‘Simple Says’. The idea was that simple has been talking to us all this time, always trying to tell us that there is a better way to do things, there is a smarter, friendlier way of doing things. But no one really listens. Of course, Aegon has been listening, which is why they have managed to simplify so many processes.”

Visually, the agency took the metaphorical route to bring alive the message of the scale of the company. Everything was larger than life, from the clocks to the installations to the maze. “We wanted people to feel that this was not just some unknown company talking through thin air, but a well-established, reputed, large organisation looking to change the way we look at life insurance. Arun Gopalan did a superb job of directing the film and making our vision come alive,” Dabral further said.

Meanwhile, speaking on the growth plans for 2016, Banerjee informed, “At present, we have over 300,000 customers and the same is poised to grow consistently in the days to come, more so among the customers who would like to choose a plan on their own. Aegon Life is a new brand designed on the tenet of simplicity with a strong digital edge. We have created the best in class buying experience and would consistently work towards making it better.”

He added, “When it comes to claims experience, we believe we are in the business of paying claims and make sure every claim that is payable is paid with utmost sincerity and speed.” The company’s current communication hovers around the same and promises on four distinct facets that define simplicity:
• Respect the time of the customers
• Make sure to get everything right the first time
• Work towards making the service available to customers anytime, anywhere across all channels
• Make sure all interaction with customers is meaningful and adds value.

Campaign credits:
Client: Aegon Life Insurance
Creative agency: DDB Mudra Group
Production house: Story-tellers.in
Director: Arun Gopalan

Shanta@adgully.com
 

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