The Campaign

The idea ‘Ready for Life’ was built on a simple but strong universal insight: Even when you make plans for tomorrow, some events still take you by surprise. ‘Ready for Life’ acknowledges life’s defining moments, that bring new opportunities & make us think about days still to come. It speaks to the realities of life in Singapore, specifically relating to planning for the future, & presents them in a truthful, hopeful & actionable tone. The articulation of being ‘Ready’ is as a state of mind, not an aspiration; an important distinction to recognize existing apathy toward the category, & allowing an honest, relevant & realistic conversation with a broad audience. The idea was also driven internally within Manulife, with a common Mantra communicated: ‘We are committed to helping all Singaporeans be Ready for Life both now & later; encouraging actionable steps towards protection & security of a brighter tomorrow.’

Creative Execution

‘Ready for Life’ was executed across print, out-of-home, radio, cinema, digital & social, targeting audiences aged 25 to 64, to achieve an always on & consistent brand presence. The creative execution shares the journey of a Singaporean couple & is designed in ‘chapters’, all relating to stages in life when Manulife’s solutions may be relevant. This allows the story to have different angles, to focus on various life stages individually, as well as portray the story from an individual or collective view. The key messaging centered around being ready, (Ready for Now, Ready for Later, Ready for Life) is echoed consistently across all creative elements. The central 40 sec commercial features Kodaline’s song 'Ready'; bringing a fresh, contemporary feel to the brand, & has considered all mediums to ensure the work can be equally appreciated viewed with or without audio. A simple, yet highly effective, engaging & memorable execution.

Ready for Life exceeded all expectations, with all annual KPIs exceeded within just 3 months of launch. Importantly these results have been sustained & further increased. Unprompted Brand Awareness & Consideration increased by more than 13% ; placing Manulife firmly on the shopping list in the Singapore market. Market Share increased by 16% - taking Manulife from number 6 in the category to number 1. NPS scores improved by over 35% an important measure in an industry where negative NPS scores are the norm. The Commercial achieved over 3.6 million online views in 3 months; a significant result in a market the size of Singapore. Web & Lead Results significantly improved &sustained: o 600% increase in website traffic with 65% new visitors o 115% increase in leads generated o 845% increase in traffic to Retirement specific landing page with 86% new visitors o 500+% increase in retirement leads generated

This is the story of a simple idea, beautifully executed across multiple media to achieve above expectation results. Launched in February 2016, the Ready for Life brand positioning campaign was developed to drive a rapid increase in brand awareness & consideration for Manulife Singapore. The work was executed across digital, social, print, outdoor, radio & cinema; & drove a 13% improvement in brand awareness & consideration in just 3 months. Sometimes the key to excellence is going back to basics & focusing on creating engaging & entertaining advertising, founded on a strong customer insight that empowers the customer to take action.

For the average Singaporean, planning for a secure future & the ability to retire at all, is often seen as simply too difficult; whilst the desire to enjoy the opportunities of today, means planning for tomorrow is often not considered a priority. These attitudes breed apathy toward insurance & retirement planning, & with an aging population where 34% expect they won't have enough to cover expenses to retire, planning for retirement is seen as a critical conversation for the category. The strategic approach was to develop a new brand positioning that could communicate differently from the 'wallpaper' of competitors, who vary from being overly aspirational or pessimistic in the category. The brand tone would be refreshed to speak about the realities of life in a truthful but hopeful manner, starting real conversations relevant to everyday life; & encourage actionable steps, highlighting retirement as an achievable reality rather than an aspiration.