In this interview, Pankaj Gupta, Senior Executive Vice President (Sales) & Chief Marketing Officer, HDFC Life articulates the objectives of the brand’s latest campaign that pays tribute to human resilience displayed during the pandemic
Q] Tell us about HDFC Life’s new campaign ‘Bounce Back’ and the insight behind it.
In the past year, the pandemic has tested us all. Human confidence has been lower, financial insecurity is still endemic and there has been an atmosphere of uncertainty. People across the world have faced unprecedented challenges. However, we humans are resilient and capable of adapting. Through sheer courage and determination, many of us have started our bounce back journey, emerging stronger from the experience. It is this never-give-up spirit and attitude that has been celebrated in our latest campaign.
The ad film focuses on the story of a couple, who on the cusp of success, reminisces on their journey of growth – from the moment the husband lost his job to opening their new retail store, Fashion House. Their determination and financial preparedness helped them when they were at their lowest, thereby enabling them to script a bounce back journey. Our campaign touched upon a topical subject and focused on encouraging everyone to be financially prepared in order to pivot to success, even if they were to face setbacks at some point in their life. The campaign is being promoted across multi-media platforms with a focus on Television, Digital, OTT, DTH, OOH, and has been well received with positive responses from the audience.
Q] What are the key objectives that you have laid out for the campaign?
Our primary marketing objective is to drive awareness and consideration significantly for our brand during peak business months and help the brand consolidate its lead across key brand metrics.
In each of the marketing initiatives, we undertake to drive specific objectives and irrespective of the situation we are in, and we track ROI based on the achievement of these objectives. As a regular practice, we conduct a thorough analysis of our target achievement and map it against our previous benchmark.
Q] What is the media mix being used for this campaign?
Media consumption patterns have been significantly impacted because of COVID-19. Given the changes in consumer behaviour and trends, our media buying and the overall strategy needed a re-look.
There has been an increase in viewership for Television and a host of digital platforms. We believe these to be suitable touch-points for our campaign communications, along with reminder media like OOH. The best media mix to reach customers varies based on the objectives and TG for specific campaign efforts.
ABOUT THE BRAND
HDFC Life Insurance Company Limited is a listed life insurance entity promoted by HDFC Ltd and Standard Life Aberdeen. Established in 2000, HDFC Life is a long-term life insurance solutions provider in India, offering a range of individual and group insurance solutions that meet various customer needs such as protection, pension, savings, investment, annuity and health. It has a wide reach with 391 branches and additional distribution touch-points through several partnerships.
PROFILE
Pankaj Gupta, Senior Executive Vice President (Sales) & Chief Marketing Officer, has been associated with HDFC Life since November 2014. He also heads the credit life business, strategic alliances, digital alliances, CRM, corporate communications and CSR. Gupta holds over 24 years of work experience in the financial services space.
Q] Agents and partners on ground usually play an important role for insurance companies. How has this ecosystem evolved both at the brand and customer end?
We are all going through a period of rapid evolution. For over a year now, we have been impacted by the pandemic. If this were to extend further, the changes would be more significant and deeper rooted. It is imperative that we reassess our offerings and communication based on the changing needs and priorities of the customer. One needs to be in touch with the customer and the sales teams through primary and secondary researches, with ears to the ground and with additional inputs from subject matter experts. Brands that have already started a digital journey have benefited from being able to largely service and meet customer needs even under lockdown. Many consumers have now tasted the ease of transacting online and have become well-versed with the platform. Online is now being actively considered as an option for many of our needs and this is likely to keep increasing. Hence, all businesses would need to further simplify and reinvent existing offline and online methods of business and be further aligned to Digital.
Q] What are some of the insights and key consumer behaviour changes that HDFC Life has looked at when tailoring products and communication?
The pandemic made the adoption of digital solutions a necessity. There has been a rapid evolution in various areas such as consumer behaviour, the category, economy and even the way of doing business. Digital and online transactions have accelerated like never before. They have helped businesses stay connected, grow, or in some cases, survive the tough period.
The power of data and digital helps to build personalised offerings based on the need, preference, and suitability of the customer. Digital tools enable efficient and timely delivery of appropriate products and services in an accessible and simple manner. We are working on initiatives through which we can identify and meet the customer need based on their life stage. Besides the product, we also optimise the channel, communication, language, etc. based on these insights. Our long-standing investments in strengthening our tech capabilities have enabled us to meet customer needs better in the current context.
