We stay away from pure endorsements if there’s no larger brand connect: Vishal Subharwal

HDFC Life recently collaborated with cricketer Rishabh Pant to create a compelling campaign aimed at driving the need for term insurance. The objective of the campaign is to encourage individuals to financially secure their loved ones against unforeseen circumstances.

Created by Leo Burnett, the campaign serves as a powerful reminder of the fact that life is unpredictable and seldom gives second chances. This makes it necessary for one to prepare beforehand to enable their loved ones bounce back from any challenge that life throws their way.

The film showcases the real-life story of Rishabh Pant and his journey of realisation. Through the film we see glimpses of his numerous accomplishments, moments of happiness and the experience that taught him the biggest lesson of his life.

In conversation with Adgully, Vishal Subharwal, Chief Marketing Officer and Group Head – Strategy, HDFC Life, speaks at length about the campaign featuring Rishabh Pant, the thought process behind collaborating with the cricketer, leveraging social media platforms to maximise the reach of the campaign, and more.

Could you share some insights into the thought process behind collaborating with Rishabh Pant for the term insurance campaign? How do you believe his story resonates with your target audience?

Our research studies showed that awareness for term plans was at an all-time high due to the unpredictability seen during the pandemic. However, with time the consumer focus has shifted and penetration continued to remain low vis-à-vis global standards. This made us realise that we needed to create a compelling story that could educate and inspire Indians to understand the relevance of term plans and act on it.

Hence, Rishabh Pant became a natural choice for our campaign: a world class cricketer who is not only looked up to by a majority of Indians, but also has a strong and relevant story to tell. His recent life-changing experience carried a life lesson for all of us.

The campaign emphasises on the unpredictability of life and the importance of term insurance. How did you conceptualise and execute this message effectively in the short video? What challenges did you face in creating a compelling and relatable campaign? How did you overcome them?

In this fast-paced world with dwindling attention span, the unpredictability of life remains a challenging lesson to talk about. To tackle this, we devised a captivating campaign – Rishabh narrating his remarkable journey of achievements and sharing the realisation after his near-death experience.

We think what makes the campaign really work is the truth it carries and the brand connect with his journey of pride (Sar utha ke jiyo!); it is not another simple endorsement by a celebrity.

People are already aware of Rishabh’s journey and the hardwork put in by him to realise his dream of becoming a member of the Indian cricket team. Similarly, most of India is also aware of the unfortunate incident that followed Rishabh’s cricketing success. We have simply brought them face to face with a real story in the hope that it would move them towards overcoming inertia and protecting themselves financially.

How do you plan to measure the success of this campaign? What are the key performance indicators (KPIs) you are looking at to evaluate its impact? As Chief Marketing Officer, how do you approach measuring the effectiveness of marketing initiatives in terms of both short-term and long-term impacts on business growth?

To measure the campaign’s success, we track multiple brand and business metrics – Brand Track, Social Listing, and Media metrics. Our key metrics for this campaign are increased consideration, website visits and creative effectiveness. Furthermore, since we are a distribution-heavy business, partner feedback on the campaign also serves as a crucial parameter.

Could you elaborate on the key marketing strategies that you employed to promote the campaign and engage with the audience?

The overall goal was to increase adoption of term plans, ensuring greater financial preparedness and security for families nationwide. We have thus launched a multimedia campaign across TV, Digital, Print, OOH, and Social Media. To expand our reach across India, our aim this time was to extend beyond metro cities.

In today’s digital age, social media plays a crucial role in marketing. How did you leverage various social media platforms to maximise the reach of the campaign?

Understanding that social media is a people’s medium, we adopted a user-centric approach to encourage engagement and sharing. Like Rishabh, there are numerous individuals who have encountered life-altering situations that highlight the importance of financial preparedness.

Through social media, we aimed to create a platform where people from all walks of life could share their stories and experiences, fostering a sense of connection and empathy. By amplifying these diverse narratives, we sought to inspire a broader audience to recognise the significance of securing their loved ones’ future through term plans. Further, we also leaned on influencers to drive visibility for the campaign and its core message. Lastly, Rishabh’s huge fan basehas also helped immensely in making the campaign visible across.

Brand partnerships have become a popular marketing strategy. What factors led you to collaborate with Rishabh Pant? How do you ensure such partnerships align with HDFC Life’s brand values?

At HDFC Life, we have always believed in partnering with celebrities only when their story resonates with the core messaging we intend to drive for our brand. We have always stayed away from pure endorsements if there isn’t a larger brand connect.

As shared earlier, our collaboration with Rishabh Pant was driven by the fact that as a survivor, he had a huge life lesson for us all. Also, our due diligence revealed that his inspiring story of resilience and determination strongly resonated with our core values as a brand. Lastly, Rishabh’s unwavering zeal to overcome this challenge and get back on his feet quickly reflects our brand’s focus on overcoming challenges and living a life of pride.

The video portrays the importance of life insurance and preparedness for the unexpected. How does this campaign fit into HDFC Life’s overall marketing and communication strategy?

The film is a continuation of our efforts to drive the importance of life insurance, especially term insurance, and being prepared to face the unexpected. Over the last few years, we have explored similar testimonial led efforts from survivors to drive the importance of being financially prepared. That said, as each story is based on a different individual, the campaigns are also different.

Could you share any specific customer feedback or success stories related to the campaign that stood out for you?

Upon launching the campaign with Rishabh, his massive fan base poured us with emotional messages, showcasing their love and wishing him a quick bounce back. Amidst this, numerous individuals highlighted the valuable lesson Rishabh taught them – the importance of life insurance in securing their loved ones. From messages that call the campaign ‘heartfelt’ to those that highlight the relevance of living with pride, the remarks are quite thoughtful.