#MarketingExcellenceAwards highlight: AXA tugs at heartstrings of Sandwich Generation to spotlight critical illness

AXA Insurance wanted to educate and drive conversations about the importance of planning early and being financially prepared for critical illness. At the same time, it also wanted to build top of mind recall when consumers think of insurance plans for cancer and critical illness protection. Hence, it worked with Viddsee on a campaign that showcased a multi-generational Singaporean family. This led the team to clinch bronze for Excellence in TV / Video Advertising at MARKETING-INTERACTIVE's recent Marketing Excellence Awards 2020.

Challenge

According to AXA's Better Beyond Survey 2018, 55% of the public are aware of major health conditions, but are unaware of the financial cost. Meanwhile, 84% of the public are aware of the importance of critical illness plans. However, AXA found that majority are not prepared for the worst. In fact, only 20% of working adults in Singapore have insurance coverage that would on average meet financial needs if critical illness occurs, according to the Life Insurance Association Singapore.

Meanwhile, 42% of young adults surveyed have critical illness insurance, a lower proportion than most other types of insurance plans. At the same time, 44% of those aged 20 to 34 years old have the intent to buy critical illness plans but at a later stage, and 28% of individuals from the same age group would rather spend their money on other commitments. Hence, AXA realised that its campaign messaging had to connect to a range of working adults, from young adults starting out in their first jobs to those entering the sandwich generation who are likely to be financially stressed with supporting their children, aging parents and grandparents in the longer term.

Another challenge AXA faced was the sensitivity of the topic of death and illness and how it would upset some consumers, given that they are not favourably discussed among family members. Hence, AXA had to engage with the audience persistently through multiple layers of messaging across different market segments through several channels.

Strategy

AXA decided to focus its message on decision making, anchoring its campaign to a central message of “Today, I Decide”. The psychology behind this focuses on the now (today) and placing the responsibility on the consumer (I decide). The big idea aims to empower the viewer to take responsibility and turn intent into action.

With the aid of Viddsee's Audience Insights, which draws from viewing habits of millions across 4,500 short films on Viddsee.com, AXA found that Singaporean audiences reacted well to films that carry themes of sacrifice and gratitude, especially when it comes to family. These universal values and themes will also appeal to a wide age group.

To emotionally target consumers, AXA and Viddsee decided to use a storytelling approach to showcase a multi generational Singaporean family having difficult conversations and struggling to make important decisions for their future when an elderly member of the family is suspected to have another critical illness or a cancer relapse. Titled "The Family Portrait" the shortfilm is narrated through the perspective of a young woman about to enter the Sandwich Generation to connect with the target audiences.

The film contains many points of conflict across different generations, bringing up the key issues faced by each member of the family to provide multiple perspectives and discussion points across multiple demographics. It was further supported by 30-second and 60-second cutdowns, which are centred on the young protagonist who has to decide between pursuing her studies and going to work in order to help the family’s finances.

Execution

The five-minute short film was promoted through various digital and OOH assets. Digital OTT channels including Viddsee, Viu and Toggle were used to disseminate the film, as well as 30-second and 60-second cutdowns. OTT channels formed a main component of its strategy as the narrative-driven short film matched well with Singaporean audiences’ consumption trends on these platforms, which have shown a tendency towards family dramas. Meanwhile, Viu and Toggle were chosen for their well-established reputation in showcasing local Asian films.

The full film was available on AXA's YouTube channel and promoted through TrueView via the film cutdowns. It was also promoted on Viddsee's and AXA's Facebook pages. At the same time, AXA also tied up with Golden Village to display its web banner, e-poster and 30-second and 60-second cutdowns of the film in its OOH displays. Golden Village was chosen because the cinemagoers’ demographic matched with the campaign’s and the film's content would fit their expectations of a narrative-driven content.

Results

Through the campaign, AXA witnessed more inquiries and sales about the critical illness plans. At the same time, the campaign also drove an average of 11,200 monthly landings on the product page, resulting in a quarter-on-quarter uplift and a year-on-year uplift compared to last year. Overall, the film garnered more than 13 million impressions and over three million views across YouTube, Facebook, and Viu. The 60-second video had more than four million impressions and over one million views.