The Campaign

Consumers view insurance as a long-term relationship between customers and insurance companies. Customers value the on-going interactions beyond the point of sales. They have high expectations towards insurance companies and they no longer only expect swift claim processes. They want the insurance company to walk an extra mile to prevent risks, support the customers through trying times and stand by their side when they need help. Insurance staff plays an important role to demonstrate how an insurance company can exceed customers’ expectation. Since insurance staff members are usually the first contact point when consumers are in need, consumers associate the company’s image and values with the attitudes, knowledge and service of their staff. The insurance market is competitive in terms of media spent and product innovation and there is a low level of differentiation among competitors. Consumers may confuse AXA with other insurance companies as a result of the keen competition and the relatively cluttered advertising space. We wanted to differentiate ourselves and to clearly communicate that at AXA, “Protection is our calling”.

Results

The AXA Born to Protect campaign was launched in 2014 to strengthen our brand preference in Hong Kong and to explain what AXA does to better protect people and how we differentiates ourselves from competitors. We wanted to clearly communicate that at AXA, “Protection is our calling” and that it is our inherent responsibility to going beyond expectation to protect our customers, the community and the environment against potential and existing risks. The campaign adopted a 4-phased media approach: 1) drive high visibility and achieve maximum reach via TVC and OOH, 2) direct traffic to a campaign specific mini site to share real protection stories, 3) create an award for the community to recognize protectors in Hong Kong and to create interactions with the targeted audience, 4) generate added social media exposure via an award event with attendance of celebrities. Ongoing awareness was built through extensive coverage using highly emotional TVC and OOH, which featured a real claim case using an AXA staff as the talent. These media exposures have successfully built quick and high ad and campaign recognition. One of the key elements of the campaign was the partnership with the leading TV station showing doctors in Asia going beyond expectation to protect people. This successfully drove the overall campaign awareness. We used the statiosn online platform to build an Award site for nomination and voting. 2-min videos were produced for the 10 shortlisted stories which were then shared in social media platforms to create viral effect for the campaign. The campaign result was highly satisfactory, achieving high ad awareness and more importantly, significant increase in key brand KPI’s.

Individuals aged 25 to 55 who were health conscious and technologically savvy was our target audience. When problems arise in these individual’s lives, they turn to their insurance companies for protection, thus expectations are high. But, customers often found it difficult to differentiate between insurance companies. Thus, we focused on the customer awareness and activation stages using an integrated branding campaign. Using television and online content as our main media channels, we would be able to reach our target audience. We were able to show a sense of care for our audience and this resonated with their needs.

The 360 degrees campaign delivered a high recall and improved brand equity, based on brand tracking by independent research house. The sponsorship program maintained an average rating point of 17. AXA's top of mind increased by 66% and total awareness was at 83%. Spontaneous ad awareness achieved 36% which was 60% higher than competitors' branding campaigns over the same period. Extensive reach of target customers for online media for desktop and mobile reached 64 and 99 million impressions respectively. The AXA Protector Award mini-site reached over 200,000 unique visitors. The award ceremony earned positive media coverage on TV and print.

AXA wanted to build brand preference over other insurance companies by introducing the icon of the AXA People Protector (APP). We wanted to engage our audience using the human and caring aspect of the company with a modern and innovative image through an integrated digital experience. Using TV, OOH, Radio, Print, and Social Media, we were able to reach our target audience. We told our story through a TVC that showed how an AXA employee went beyond expectations to provide for her customer. In addition, we utilized other forms of media to further deliver the message of 'Protection'. With the sponsored TV program, audiences were engaged in nominating and voting for their own protectors. This was then followed by an award ceremony that emphasized AXA's 'Protection' message and the care the company has for its customers.