Philam Life gets aggressive with multi-media ad campaign

MANILA, Philippines - Only four percent of the country’s 90-plus million Filipinos have personal life insurance. Out of that percentage, about a fourth belongs to Philam Life, which makes them the current market leader in providing life insurance and wealth management. But somehow that wasn’t enough. Not only is Philam Life choosing to expand its market share, it wants to raise the percentage of Filipinos who enjoy the benefits of having life insurance.

Launching their first-ever multi-media ad campaign last June 4 at the Philam Life Theater in UN Avenue, Manila, Philam Life introduced its latest brand campaigns – “The Power of We” and “The Power of Insurance”.

Jessica Abaya, SVP and head of marketing for Philam Life, says, “For the very first time we’re going multi-media. We’re going to officially unveil the new brand visual identity system across all our corporate marketing and sales materials.” These include brand new materials such as brochures, posters, streamers, roadside and highway billboards, wrap ads on the MRT, on-line Internet presence, corporate IDs and uniforms all sporting a brand new bold red design. Supplementing the redesigns and materials are advertisements bound for print media as well as a pair of aspirational television commercials for each brand campaign.

Abaya continues that there’s a huge potential for the Filipino market, especially with such a small number of individuals who have yet to avail themselves of some form of life insurance that is quite different from, say, government-initiated social security. “What this tells us is that our upside potential is huge,” she adds. “We need to reach out to a broader base of customers and convince them of the value of insurance.”

Strengthening Philam Life’s brand equity is The Power of We. An adaptation of an AIA Group regional campaign – for which Philam Life is a member of – The Power of We leverages on the original concept of collaboration and of people working together. It displays the ability of Philam Life employees and agents working together with their customers to make dreams come true.

An original Philippine-initiated campaign, The Power of Insurance, on the other hand, was designed for the unique needs of an emerging market. It makes insurance real and urgent and not something one can put off at a later date. The goal is to change people’s accepted beliefs and perceptions by utilizing honest emotional Filipino insights that resonate in our culture.

According to Philam Life president and CEO Trevor Bull, “Through these campaigns, we want people to do something about their plans in life – whether it is to send their kids to a good school, save up for retirement, secure one’s health, or invest for the future. They should act now and work towards fulfilling those dreams. It is never too early or too late to get insured, or start saving or investing. With Philam Life’s help, they can make those dreams a reality.”

Chris Wei, group chief marketing officer for AIA avers, “The one thing that matters to us is our customers. That is why we are here. We are here to meet the dreams of our customers.”