Singlife with Aviva names creative and PR partners as it unwraps multi-year brand campaign

Singlife with Aviva has unveiled a multi-year brand campaign to bring to life its purpose, to enable customers to achieve “a better way to financial freedom”. The campaign will be integrated across multiple touchpoints and will be launched on traditional, OOH, digital, social and online platforms.

The assets will project positivity and fun, in the spirit that insurance and financial planning doesn’t have to be, and shouldn’t be, a chore. Through the campaign, the company aims to establish itself as a Singapore headquartered, tech-empowered company, helping consumers gain control of their financial wellbeing at every stage of their lives. MARKETING-INTERACTIVE understands the campaign budget for the first year of its brand campaign is approximately SG$3 million.

Its initial campaign burst includes brand videos such as "Manifesto" released in February, and "Fingerprint". Both videos are in English and Mandarin and were done in collaboration with Blak Labs which was appointed to create the assets to take forward the work done on the new brand. The brand also works with Blak Labs for media planning, alongside its in-house team.

The appointment signifies a new direction for the company, just as the merger was completed on 1 January 2022. Aviva and Singlife announced the merger in 2020 and appointed Pearlyn Phau as group CEO and executive director to lead the new entity.

Singlife has also appointed Wachsman to amplify its strategic priorities and better connect with its diverse audiences. Wachsman, which worked with the original Singlife insurtech company, will help the new brand take forth its key priorities, particularly in the sustainability space.

Singlife's group head of strategic marketing and communications, Debra Soon, told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that the team chose an independent instead of a network agency to work with because Blak Labs has experienced creative directors with a good track record.

The client servicing is also done directly by the agency's leaders themselves, who are very much involved in the everyday work instead of only being present at important meetings. "Blak Labs engages with us directly and a high comfort level was built up over a few months," Soon explained. 

She added that Blak Labs has supported the team with personalised attention, highly customised, which is exactly how Singlife wants to service customers. "It is good for an agency to share our values," Soon said.

According to her, Singlife is planning a brand film and testing the concept now. "As we are data and insight-driven, we have already taken lessons from the first round of consumer research we did and that's just for the creative concept," Soon added.

“As we evolve as a company, we have to stay true to our mission to be a tech empowered company, enabling communities in Asia and always looking for a better way forward. We wanted a fresh start, with an agency which is anchored here, with experienced hands and where client servicing is a top priority," she explained. Soon joined the team last September in the newly created role. She reports to Phau and leads an integrated marketing team and partners the company's product and business leaders to help the company achieve its business targets.

Blak Labs' managing partner, Charlie Blower, said it is honoured to have the opportunity to develop the assets and be the media agency for the launch of a new homegrown Singapore brand from two iconic brands.

"Its heritage includes that of a large insurer with a long legacy in Singapore and also, on the other hand, an insurtech player, a disruptor. Working with the team, I’ve seen surprising agility in the way it thinks and a determination to deliver quality products that truly connect with a diverse Singaporean customer base," he explained.

A key part of the new brand focus is Singlife’s commitment to create a positive impact through its sustainability agenda and support Singapore’s commitment towards Net Zero by 2050. In the pipeline are partnerships with the Singapore Environment Council, the Community Chest and several other social service sector organisations. The programmes will centre around enabling financial inclusion through literacy programmes, health and mental wellness coverage and environmental sustainability.

Wachsman's chief strategy officer, Danny Phan, added that as society enters an era where sustainability and well-being are being redefined to encompass all aspects of its lives, the agency needs businesses that are willing to lead the charge and take a more holistic and integrated approach.

"We believe Singlife is well-positioned to be a leading voice in this space as the champions of financial wellbeing. As a consultancy that caters specifically to innovative and disruptive companies that are heralding societal and economic change, we couldn’t be more pleased to partner with Singlife to make this a reality," he said.

On the corporate front, Singlife recently announced investments in sustainable funds. In January, it became part of the Qblue Global Sustainable Leaders Fund launched by Copenhagen-based Qblue Balanced. The fund helps institutional investors achieve investment objectives by providing sustainable solutions to obtain more diversified and robust portfolios.

Singlife also announced its investment in the CI Green Credit Fund by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, which will provide private project finance debt supporting renewable energy projects globally. As Singlife further commits to its sustainability goals, this will be an increasingly important part of its brand identity.

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