AIA Malaysia consolidates creative duties with dentsu

AIA Malaysia has consolidated its creative duties with dentsu Malaysia, with immediate effect. Dentsu's Merdeka LHS is currently already managing AIA PUBLIC Takaful, the company's takaful arm, and the consolidation will see dentsu manage AIA's conventional life entity. The duties will be led by dentsu One. According to AIA's spokesperson, the pitch was held in the fourth quarter of last year and saw dentsu, Leo Burnett, and Reprise Digital vying for the account. 

The appointment seeks to maximise AIA's branding investments to drive sustainable business growth. Dentsu said it will run the account based on its philosophy of "teaming without limits" where it brings the best of dentsu to deliver maximum results, regardless of agency. According to dentsu, this will allow for an integrated model that will help evolve AIA's brands to be future-fit in this virtual economy. Work for the brand kicked off in January with the YAY with AIA campaign.

Leo Burnett previously worked with AIA Malaysia. Meanwhile, the brand also works with Invictus Blue and Reprise Digital for media and digital duties respectively. 

CMO Heng Zee Wang said in an era of hyper consumption, it is crucial to partner with an agency that not only thinks and acts with speed and agility, but more importantly has a deep understanding of its brand value, requirements and positioning.

"After an impressive stint with our Takaful business, we have decided to place our trust in dentsu to extend their capabilities in managing the entire AIA brand in Malaysia; creating integrated solutions that will help us build a stronger brand narrative and deeper connection with our customers across multiple touchpoints to ultimately inspire them to live healthier, longer, better lives," he said.

Dentsu One CEO Michelle Ong said it is deeply honoured to win the business. She explained that the brief was to have AIA at the forefront of consideration for both health and wellness needs. However, one requirement was to not just deliver a campaign, but a sustainable communication solution that can be carried forward naturally and touches all the relevant consumer and agent points.

Meanwhile, dentsu One's chief strategy officer Milan Agnihotri said the anchor of AIA's proposal was in seamless integration of big organising idea with return on investment for the brand. To achieve this, dentsu leveraged the methodology of masterbranding and behaviour mapping to ensure it is able to steer AIA through the funnel and the brand ecosystem. 

Dentsu Malaysia recently appointed Tan Kien Eng as CEO, replacing Nicky Lim who moved on to pursue other interests close to six years after he first took over in 2015. Tan reports to Ashish Bhasin, CEO, dentsu Asia Pacific. Tan is responsible for continuing the business’ transformation journey, driving integration across media, creative and CXM service lines. He was previously with Publicis Groupe Malaysia as CEO, stepping down after more than four years. 

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