Summary
In India we are always taught to pursue & project success. Indian advertising itself is responsible for exalting it. ‘Prepare to win' is taught to us, from a young age. But we are never taught how to handle failure. Going against culture, HDFC Life celebrated failure and the importance of bouncing back from it. Only to become, national conversation through the heartfelt letter of Chairperson of National School Board to parents across the country.
Challenge
In a country obsessed with success, we wanted to celebrate failure, drive credible relevance of insurance.
Objective
Objective 1: 15% Growth In Value of New Business (FY12-20 CAGR of New Business In Category) Objective 2: 14% Growth In Annual Premium Equivalent (YOY Growth In APE) Objective 3: 15% Growth in Individual Weighted Received Premium Objective 4: Increase Brand Awareness & Consideration By 5% (Among Private Insurance Players) Objective 5: Website Visits: 98K (Category Average Post Campaign). Video Views 11Mn
Strategy
MAKING FAILURE MAINSTREAM Failure is akin to taboo in Indian culture. It is swept under the carpet. It is avoided in conversation with family or friends. Excuses are found to cover it up and morphed into something else. It is blamed on something or someone. Instead of helping someone who has failed, people make them feel worse. Failure isn't something to ponder over. It isn't something to discuss, debate, learn from. It isn't something to embrace at all. No wonder Indians didn't know how to cope with failure. Until it wasn't made mainstream and talked about without any prejudice. This was needed so that people understood how to cope with failure and move on from it.
Data
1.INDIAN CULTURE EXALTS SUCCESS – DECADES OF EMOTIONAL CONDITIONING Indians are obsessed with success. If there is one thing that binds a diverse nation like India, it was our need for succeeding in life. Doesn't matter if you're a small-town middle-class man or big city upper class woman, doesn't matter if you're a child or an adult. We are all taught to pursue and project success. 2.SUCCESS SELLS ANYTHING IN INDIA Indian advertising is also at blame. Success is the secret formula that can sell anything in India – from undergarments to cars. We are so blinded by it, that we believe a sugary milk drink can prepare us to win in life. 3.INDIANS DON'T TAKE CONFRONTATIONS WELL More than half of Indians are Aspirers. They want status and social recognition in society. Success is needed to achieve status & recognition. Going against this need, confronting Indians about any other possibility apart from success was not going to go down well. 4.INSURANCE ADVERTISING IS ALL ABOUT TALKING PLATITUDES The category sticks to talking similar language. Nobody wants to rock the boat. Heavy government regulations mean most product features are same too. Despite this, category sticks to the formula of talking platitudes. 5.GOING AGAINST CULTURE, INDIAN ADVERTISING AND THE CATEGORY Indians are taught to pursue & project success always. But we are never taught how to handle failure. As a result, when failure strikes, we are not ready to overcome it. As a category, that is meant for helping people tide over setbacks, we talked not about success but about failure.
Solution
NOT JUST A CAMPAIGN BUT A NATIONAL CONVERSATION We knew that we had hit upon not just a campaign idea but an important message for Indians, especially for young Indians. In one stroke, we aimed to target the bulls eye TG, through the most potent lever for him – his child. We also made sure that this message was delivered and received in the most impactful manner, through various touch points. AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE DELIVERED THROUGH AN IMPACTFUL STORY Despite knowing that our attention span has dropped from 12 to 8 seconds; despite knowing that we live in a world where short format, 6 seconders work better; here again we went against the grain and made a long format film. Because we were sure that we had an important message to share and that it shouldn't be rushed. In fact, it should simmer and stir up our audience. FATHER DAUGHTER BOND OVER FAILURES We brought the idea alive through the story of a young girl & her father. One of the most thigh stakes situation for any parent child relationship – performance in school. Failure in school is one of the biggest tension points among all Indians. And that was exactly the plot point we used to normalize failure. EXPERTS SESSION TO EMPHASIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF OUR MESSAGE This strong message was taken forward with a strategic partnership with Times Network with a large viewership from males. We invited experts from the field that emphasized the importance of bouncing back from failures. We conducted two in depth sessions, that brought to life the complexities of the issue and steps need to be taken to change for the better.
Results
AN UNEXPECTED RESULT – PARENTS ACROSS INDIA SUMMONED TO PAY HEED TO OUR MESSAGE For the first time ever in India, a letter was circulated to all Indian parents across the nation by the Chairman of National School Board professing the importance of our message. Typically, the education system likes to stay away from pop culture references. Advertising in fact has the least impact on the National School Board and its doings. But our campaign changed this, for the better, in our opinion. Objective 1: 15% Growth In Value of New Business (FY12-20 CAGR of New Business In Category) Achieved: 25% Growth In Value of New Business (FY20). 20% More than Target. Objective 2: 14% Growth In Annual Premium Equivalent (YOY Growth In APE) Achieved: 18% Growth in Annual Premium Equivalent. ~28.5% More Than Target Objective 3: 15% Growth In Individual Weighted Received Premium (WRP) Achieved: 19% Growth In Individual WRP. 26% More Than Target. Objective 4: Increase Brand Awareness & Consideration By 5% (Among Private Insurance Players) Achieved: Met the objective and Increased Awareness by 5% and Consideration by 6% Objective 5: Website Visits: 98K (Category Average Post Campaign). Video Views 11 Mn. Achieved: 181K Website Views. 84% More Than Target; 20MN + Video Views. 81% More Than Target.
