Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation?

This work is a shining example of how we used one of the most basic features of a Mobile Device to design a 100% mobile customer journey to onboard & retain the bottom of the pyramid under-penetrated (5%) segment breaking through their aversion to insurance by leveraging on the trusted national postal network which has 100% reach in the country. Supported by on-ground activations, training, sustainable income solutions and a 360 degree campaign, this drove direct Business Outcome and has gone a long way towards helping us achieve our brand purpose of “Enhancing the quality of lives of Sri Lankans.”

Background

Life Insurance Penetration in Sri Lanka Languishes at 14%. Softlogic Life has been a trailblazer and the fastest growing life insurance company locally. In the last 5 years the company has doubled its market share and achieved a revenue growth of 33% while industry average was 12%. It’s more difficult to convince the bottom tier population (Earning less than 100USD/moth) when even the upper tiers with disposable income weren’t buying life insurance. The Agent-model isn’t affordable at the bottom of the pyramid and not profitable for Softlogic life given the operational expenses/ incentives involved. For micro insurance, volume is key but given the large number of households agent model was not appropriate. We created a micro-Insurance product with the aim of acquiring 2000 new customers from this segment by end 2020. This was an ambitious target considering take-up of micro insurance products are slow but grow exponentially in later years.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

Our message was simple- “To uplift the quality of every Sri Lankan’s life, together with the Sri Lanka postal department, Softlogic Life introduces the postal insurance cover for just Rs.5/= a day” Why postman? They are from a tightly knit community and are a familiar sight for these families having a great relationship within the neighborhoods they serve. Their recommendation is trusted much more than traditional insurance agents and any communication. The postman are also from lower income brackets. We tied up exclusively with the Sri Lankan postal department and we also provided a 10% incentive for their referrals which was a significant income for themselves. The postal network is well established and 100% spread which allowed us effectively reach lower income groups as the delivery of letters remain an integral part of these people’s everyday lives. The ring of the postal bell was used across media to break clutter.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

The bottom of the income pyramid (40% population) depend on daily wages without job security making them vulnerable if they are unable to work due to sickness and injury. They don’t understand complicated paperwork and sophisticated selling. Life Insurance is the last thing they consider given the low income and “live for the day” mentality. We devised a micro insurance product which amounted to 0.03 USD per day with a loss of income benefit for each day of hospitalization plus a pay as you go benefit which prevents the policy from lapsing if the premium is not paid on time. These addressed their key pain points. We eliminated the complicated paperwork and introduced a 100% sms based onboarding and payment process. All they had to do was scratch the card enter national ID number and send using even a basic mobile phone and a life insurance was bought.

Describe the execution (30% of vote)

A sales agent selling a micro product wasn’t feasible due to reach limitations & operational costs. We partnered with the oldest, most reliable & wide spread network which had 100% access across sri lanka with 16,000 postmen who are trusted by the TG. They had no insurance knowledge thus needed an easy process. With 149% high mobile phone and 91% using mobile reloads we replicated the reload card mechanism for the first time in the world for insurance with a 2 minute 100% Mobile onboarding & premium payment process that you can do from the most basic phone. Making sure the masses knew about the product, we launched a campaign across all mediums, using the iconic, ‘ring’ of the postman’s bell with a message ‘await the good news’. Digital video, TVC, political memes and postal affiliated POSM were used during the presidential election which commanded 90%+ island wide reach.

List the results (30% of vote)

Our target was 1000 policies (Softlogic Life achieved this on it’s first year of operations) but this product surpassed 6000 policies in the first year despite a 3-month lockdown. We tapped into a crucial insight – people don’t believe in brand messaging, but they’d believe it, if a known party tells it to them. The brand being carried to their doorstep by their trusted postman was a deal breaker. We ensured the postman got a 10% commission on each card sold which made the model sustainable. We gave 25% from our earnings towards building the department’s IT infrastructure. Impressions: 4.6Mn (Source: ISOBAR MIS) Consideration Increase: 400bps (Source: Kantar LMRB, Brand Health 2020) A testimony for much needed simplicity for increase life insurance penetration in the country. 100% Mobile Registration, Verification and Premium Process is a world’s first and a key driver in enabling financial management/ wellbeing of lower income groups.