<b>Campaign logic:</b> Matters of the heart

A new ad campaign by Aviva demonstrates how people can motivate each other to stay healthy

Brand: Aviva

Budget: Rs 10 crore 

Agency: Contract Advertising

Life Insurance is an extremely commoditised and cluttered market in India. There is little differentiation in terms of product proposition, features and prices offered by different brands to the extent that even their communication seems identical. So the best way to stand out is to take an emotional stance rather than send out a product-centric message.

Aviva Life Insurance, which has launched a heart insurance plan (Aviva Heart Care) for couples in India, has unveiled three television commercials (TVCs) to communicate the benefits of the plan. The brand message is captured through light-hearted exchanges between couples. One of the TVCs shows a couple hiding each other’s cigarette lighters to help quit smoking. The voice-over says “Good habits at home means one is thinking about a healthy heart”. Another TVC features a couple exercising together. The husband is struggling as he attempts planks and is egged on by his wife who encourages him to hold on to his position for few more seconds to get a “fully flat” stomach. The third TVC shows a couple dining together. The woman is reading through an Aviva Heart Care brochure while the man has two bowls of quinoa for them. The husband is trying to help his wife pronounce “quinoa” correctly even as their daughter interrupts the conversation with a pronunciation of her own. The voice-over says “Quinoa at home means healthy thinking”. All the three TVCs end with a sign-off message from Aviva Life Insurance’s brand ambassador Sachin Tendulkar, who says, “Now that’s good thinking.”

Health is an important discussion point today with people becoming increasingly conscious about the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. “On the other hand, it is also true that more and more people are falling prey to lifestyle diseases and some say India is fast becoming the heart disease capital of the world. So we have consciously put the heart at the centre of our new plan, Aviva Heart Care,” says Anjali Malhotra, chief customer, marketing and digital officer, Aviva India.

Research by Aviva shows that about 80 per cent of the expenses for critical treatments are out-of-pocket, which means there is little or no insurance coverage when it comes to the heart. Most plans are sub-optimal because there are issues such as value capping, exclusions of some medical conditions, and no coverage for post-treatment rest periods where income may be impaired and so on. Aviva’s plan looks to fill these gaps with respect to heart ailments by providing a fixed payout, at the time of need, in a convenient fashion. Says Malhotra, “While people make resolutions but most are unable to adhere to them for long. Hence the importance of being committed as a couple to each other’s healthy heart.”

The TVCs were created by Contract Advertising. “The objective was to develop a communication campaign for a heart care plan that appeals to couples and helps them realise the importance of having a firm plan to deal with heart-related disorders in addition to making lifestyle changes. The tonality had to be positive, endearing and light-hearted,” points out Ashish Chakravarty, chief creative officer, Contract Advertising.

In addition to the TVC, the campaign has been extended to print, digital and on-ground activations, corporate worksites to build more awareness about the product.

“We have also tried gamification of product by creating the Heart Age Calculator. This calculator helps to find out how young your heart really is in just a few minutes. And if needed, it helps to generate the sense of responsibility and need to care about yourself and your better half,” says Chakravarty.

According to industry reports, India’s insurance market is expected to grow to $160 billion over the next 10 years from its current size of $60 billion. With over 70 per cent market share, Life Insurance Corporation continues to be the market leader, followed by SBI (5.1 per cent), ICICI (4.9 per cent) and HDFC (4.1 per cent).