Berjaya Sompo wraps up integrated pitch, mulls contract deferment due to COVID-19

Berjaya Sompo Insurance has appointed FCB Kuala Lumpur for integrated duties covering creative and digital marketing, and has handed media buying, excluding OOH, to Trapper Media for a period of year in Malaysia. Both agencies will be responsible for the third edition of Berjaya Sompo's "Slient Guardians" brand campaign, with FCB acting as the lead agency.

Mawarni Adam, Berjaya Sompo Insurance's head of brand, marketing communications and customer experience, told A+M that FCB understood the brief, expanded and amplified it further, which made the proposed creative and media strategy more robust and in line with its current objectives and future aspirations.

During the pitch, the insurance provider said it was on the lookout for the agency's creative and media strength in answering the brief it has provided, whether it is aligned to the company's purpose and brand promise now and where it wants to be. 

Given the current COVID-19 situation and Movement Control Order (MCO), Adam said it has been honest and transparent with the agency partners with regards to the possible impact of the pandemic. "I think that is the best way given the highly anxious environment that we are already in, so it is important for us to lessen any unnecessary anxieties by being upfront, especially with our creative and media partners, as it is an unprecedented situation which none of us expected to be in today," she said. With the MCO being extended to 14 April, the insurance provider is finding ways on how best to move forward, but at this juncture, Adam said it does not have the answer until it fully assess the situation. "That can only happen when we all return to work physically and pick up the pieces," she said.

As of today, although the integrated pitch has concluded, we are weighing the possibility of delaying or deferment to the following year.

However, Adam reiterated that she is unable to confirm anything yet at this juncture. Should Berjaya Sompo be required to halt its marketing spend, Adam said it will consider shifting the start date but the length of the contract remains the same. "In a crisis, I think it is only natural or even expected for all of us to take a closer look at our expenses – advertisers, brands and Berjaya Sompo Insurance is no different," she said. Adam added that it is always "a balancing act" between revenue and expenses, and more so needs to be done during this period. 

"So it will require us to step up that balancing act a few notches and if needed, we will cut back or reallocate our budget. As to how much, we are not in the position to comment on that at the moment," Adam told A+M.

Shaun Tay, co-owner and CEO of FCB, said this was an enjoyable pitch to work on as the brief from Berjaya Sompo was extremely clear on what had to be done now, but also allowed for a discussion on future growth possibilities for the brand.

"This win is important to us at FCB and to our partners in Trapper Media Group as it continues to prove the effectiveness of  independent specialist agencies working collaboratively together. And from a timing perspective, it’s a welcome reminder that despite having to face today’s tough situation, there will always be tomorrow’s opportunities to look forward to, we just have to stay the course," Tay added.

The brand campaign was first launched in 2018 with the introduction of “Silent Guardians”, the five iconic Japanese warriors, Ninja, Samurai, Karateka, Sumo and Kendoka. Subsequently in 2019, it rolled out the second campaign "Silent Guardians - The Prequel". When asked how Berjaya Sompo plans to retain top of mind awareness during this period, Adam said word-of-mouth and organic traction arising from the services it offers would certainly be valuable. She explained that when resources are limited, especially in times of crisis, it will require the company to be innovative in its customer engagement approach to retain top of mind awareness. As such, it will be looking at those options in its activations.

That said, there is a constant debate about marketing being a cost centre. In such trying times, it is imperative that marketing teams show they are able to help the company save cost. With this in mind, Adam said the team has put in place a plan to prioritise and deprioritise certain areas that are in line with the general direction of the business. As to where the shift of focus will be for the marketing team, Adam said it will be assessed "in due time". Nonetheless, Adam said it is easy to see the simple equation that marketing is a cost centre and understands why it can be perceived that way.

"But in my opinion and I believe some others may share the same view, marketing actually does the heavy lifting for the brand, products and services through compelling storytelling and even story-doing which, if we put it in a simple analogy, would trigger the process of 'lowering the hanging fruits', ready to be harvested," she explained.

Hence without marketing, those fruits might remain high up on the tree and remain "largely unattainable". Perhaps they will fall off the branches when they are ripe enough or ready, but the waiting time is something to be desired, she said.