Acko General Insurance Co : Digital Only Insurer

Brand: Acko
Company: Acko General Insurance Co Ltd

Brand Analysis Count: #589

This is the era of digital technologies disrupting traditional business models. The same is happening in the insurance industry in India too. Acko General Insurance Co Ltd is the first digital-only insurance startup in India. The company aims to sell its products only through online and operate only in the digital space. 

The Indian insurance industry is estimated to be around 1,20,000 crore and growing at 15-20% annually. The large population and limited penetration offer a large potential in this huge market. But the size of the market itself creates problems for the insurers. When the insurance industry opened up, a lot of global insurance players entered the Indian market but soon they found that cracking the diverse and large market is not that easy. This has led to a wave of consolidation in this space. 

Insurance in India is a highly regulated market and demands huge capital investment from the players. 

Acko is a startup which aims to disrupt this space. The company which launched its operations in 2017 is India's first digital-only insurance company. This means, unlike traditional insurance companies, Acko will not have a network of offices, rather everything will be app/web-based. This translates to lower cost and competitive pricing of the products for the consumers. Traditional insurers depend on a wide network of insurance advisors and offices to serve the customers. 

Acko launched its first product - auto insurance and claims to have reached the milestone of 20 million customers in the first year itself. 

To create awareness, Acko is running the campaign with the tagline " Full Paisa Wasool " insurance which means - complete value for money insurance. The brand is positioned as a value-for-money insurer and betting on low price as the key differentiator. 

The campaign which is humorous is also an example of using anthropomorphism in advertising. Anthropomorphism denotes the use of non-human characters in advertising for conveying human traits. 

As a consumer, there are certain issues that this brand needs to iron out. First is the awareness regarding the brand. While the advertisement is good and generates eyeballs, for a customer, building trust is vital especially in the case of insurance. Auto insurance, in particular, is a price-sensitive segment, however, the customer should first be assured that he will be taken care of by the firm. I had to search a little on the internet to find the pedigree of this company. Although it is true that this company is targeting digital-savvy customers, in the era of convenience the firm cannot entrust the trust-building task to the customer only. Further, the website of Acko also has very little information about the company.Second issue is differentiation. The idea of digital-only insurance although is new, is not protected from emulation by competition. The established firms will be ready with their own version in no time. How Acko will be able to tackle the competition will be an intersting to watch.

One of the important foundations of trust is the performance of the brand. If Acko is able to deliver the promise of its digital insurance products, this brand will create a new path for insurance startups in India.

Brand Update : Barclaycard RIP ( 2008-2011 ?)

According to newspaper reports, the Barclay's Corporate which runs the credit card business has decided to put Barclaycard on the block. The report further suggest that Barclays is going to scale down its retail operations owing to the bad debts accumulated during recession. The unofficial number of creditcards of Barclays is put at 2.4 Million.

Barclaycard was launched with much fanfare. The brand offered several differentiators which was later matched by other players. The company was in the dilemma of choosing between high risk Vs growth. Finally it decided to sell of the credit-card business and concentrate on other banking domains. 

Credit card brands are a confused lot. On one hand they want the users to splurge  and on the other hand, they worry about bad debts. Greed makes these brands charge exorbitant charges which adds to bad debts. It is a vicious cycle.

Having said that, Barclays had a reasonably good business albeit small in market size. That may bring in some suitors who wanted to scale up their business. Barclaycard failed because the brand lacked the distribution reach which is essential to scale up. The recession add to its voes for fear of accumulating bad debts.

Anyways another brand is going to die. RIP

Related Brand

Barclaycard

News reports

Brand Update : SBI

SBI has been on an overdrive in the advertising world with a series of campaigns following the much acclaimed " Surprisingly SBI" campaign. The entire world was surprised because of the aggression of India's largest bank. The bank was successful in changing the perception of many new generation customers about the key advantages of SBI like " largest number of ATMs", branch connectivity etc.

Then came the second series of campaign " Every Indian's Banker".The ad was a big fall from the quality hype created by " Surprisingly SBI" campaign. The second series campaign was aimed at projecting the bank as a common man's bank which served no strategic purpose as such. Every one knew that SBI used to serve all class of Indians. The second series of ads served no business or brand purpose. Neither the ad gave any new information to the consumers nor it invoked any brand equity for SBI.

Then came the third series of the campaign. The series is currently running across media. The ad shows India's eminent personalities like Tagore, Bose to Tata with the caption - The Banker to this Indian. The brand is trying to show off that it was the banker to the most eminent sons of the soil.
Frankly speaking, I am not the least impressed by the new campaign. Nothing but just a waste of money.

SBI was right when it launched the 'surprisingly SBI ' campaign because it needs to remind the customers about the advantages of banking with the largest Indian bank. SBI obviously had lot of advantages like " government backing" , largest number of branches and lower rates. With the high profile ad campaign by both public sector and private banks, SBI needed such a campaign to keep its brand on top of its customer's minds.

But the second and third series aiming to create an emotional connection was a total disaster.
I was a poor customer who believed SBI claims that it had restructured itself and has shed all the previous "PSU" style functioning. Reports suggested that it had trained all the staff and has become more customer friendly than ever before.Even being a cynical fellow , I believed all the claims ..

Then one day, I visited the SBI branch to take a demand draft. It was during the Lok sabha election time. The person manning the DD counter flatly refused to issue me the DD saying that he had closed the counter early because he had to attend an election training program. I stood there wondering how can a bank refuse to issue a demand draft to a customer ? . I went to the manager and was really surprised when he admitted his inability to help me out because of staff shortage. I had to shout and threaten to file a complaint with the banking ombudsman inorder to 'motivate' the manager to take necessary steps to issue me the demand draft.

What ever that SBI do to prop up its image, nothing will work unless the bank take care of its service DNA. The bank is still to change its customer service culture. They are in the service business and people form an important part of the service marketing mix. Having said that,SBI can breathe easier because the service quality is not remarkable in other banks as well ( private banks included).

SBI just need to instill a DNA of customer service in their branches. In most of the branches, the bankers feel that they are doing some favor to the customers. In a service business, the brand is built at the moment when the customer avails the services not when he sees a campaign.

Hope that SBI will atleast once surprise me positively.

Some different perspectives : Adformula, Bhatnaturally

Related Brands
SBI

Consumer Insight : Insurance is a Subject Matter of Solicitation

If you have seen any advertisement of Insurance products, you may not have missed this disclaimer " Insurance is a subject matter of solicitation ".

As a consumer , this disclaimer/warning is of utmost importance but often ignored.

What is the meaning of the clause " Insurance is a subject matter of solicitation".

The dictionary meaning of solicitation is " Ask For". Hence insurance is a subject that should be asked for . It means that customers have to talk to an adviser who will suggest the right product for your needs. Insurance should not be SOLD but Solicited......

Sounds out of the world isn't it ?

How many of us have asked for Insurance ?

In India, insurance is sold not solicited. Hence this dictum seem totally meaningless OR is it ?

If you read the terms and conditions put forth by Insurance companies, one will find relevance to this dictum.

The above dictum have relevance to consumers because it puts the responsibility for selecting the right product on the consumers than on the company. The website of a leading insurer states " Customer's participation in the insurance products are purely on a voluntary basis ".

As a consumer, the responsibility lies in
Understanding one's insurance needs .
Planning
Meet with a trained financial adviser.
Selecting the right product
Signing the contract.

But we know that most of the consumers are not aware about either their needs or the various options available before them. Hence the consumers have to obtain the help from a trained insurance advisor who will " advise " the customers and then help them to select the right product .

In practice, we find that none of the above applies. Insurance advisers take up the role of pure selling machines trying to " close" the sale rather than " advice " the customers. Companies put pressure on their agents to achieve targets often forgoing the basic dictum that drive this business.
While in the developed markets like USA , the actions of financial planners are highly regulated, here the onus is on the customers . CAVAET EMPTOR.... Buyers beware....

Most of the insurance firms also does not practice the dictum iof solicitation in its pure essence. If you have listened to any of the recent " sales talk" of advisers, they pitch the ULIP plans irrespective of whether you like investing in stock market or not.

There is no analysis of one's financial position or insurance needs. ( There are professional financial /insurance advisers who do all the right things but many doesn't) .

It is because of this non-professional selling approach that makes customers run away from an important product like insurance.

If insurance firms practiced what they preached, then insurance would have gained a much higher value as a product. And insurance sales persons would be regarded as a friend rather than a nightmare.

99% of my MBA students hate to get into a job in an insurance company. Much of this hatred happened because we forgot that we should sell the right kind of product to the right kind of consumers. As a customer I believe that insurance is one of the most important products which helps a consumer to be secure. But alas.....

In my experience as a prospective customer, I met only one advisor who professionally and systematically explored my insurance needs. Rest of all were trying to " sell " me insurance.

The million dollar question for an Insurance salesperson is

Will you walk away from a consumer for whom you do not have a right product ? Will you recommend your competitor's product to him if it fits his need ?

Its time for the insurance companies to Walk the Talk.... It is tough... your quarterly results will show negligible growth. But consumers will love you for it.....

Insurance is a subject matter of solicitation.

Western Union Money Transfer : Money and More

Corporate Brand : Western Union
Company : First Data Corporation

Brand Analysis Count : 347

Western Union Money Transfer is world's largest money transfer company . The company has its operation in over 200 countries . Western Union has a rich tradition of over 150 years.

Western Union came into existence in 1851 as Newyork & Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph company. As the name suggests, the company was in the telegraph business. In 1856 the company changed its name to Western Union .

Western Union started its money transfer business only in 1871. It was only in 198o that the company's revenue from money transfer exceeded revenue from telegraph business.

Western Union is a pioneer in introducing many firsts . It was the company that invented Stock Ticker. Western Union also invented the electronic money transfer and in 1914 the company invented the credit card.

Now Western Union is a key player in the global money transfer industry. The company generates majority of the revenue through the consumer to consumer ( c2c ) money transfers. Western Union is now a part of First Data Corporation which is a Forune 500 company.

The business model works something like this :
The company has a network of agents for receiving and sending money across various geographies. When the sender of the money contacts the agent, the information is fed into a common data processing system. The sender has to pay a transfer fee for sending the money. Within minutes, the money is transferred to the receiver.

Western Union gets revenue from the transfer fee and also from the difference in the exchange rate spread.

Although Western Union was in India from mid nineties, the company began to aggressively market only from 2000. India is a big market for money transfer agencies. The target market for these companies are the migrant workers .
According to reports, Indian diaspora is earning around $ 160 bn annually. The money that is transferred to India is roughly $15 Bn annually .

Western Union has been adopting a unique way of marketing especially in India. The brand has been investing heavily in brand promotion. Along with the brand promotion ,Western Union has been expanding its reach by opening agency offices across the length and breadth of India.

Watch the commercial here : Western Union

Earlier in money transfers, it was the sender who would chose the money transfer agency. Now through extensive networking and building brand, receivers tell the senders to opt for Western Union. So the brand has changed the consumer behavior in its favor. The brand give customers confidence and the reach give the customers convenience.

The brand building of Western Union has been highly localised. I never thought that this was an international giant because the ads were very Indian and very local. The company started its campaign highlighting its key differentiator i.e time. It takes ten minutes to transfer your money .
Now the brand has moved to a more emotional platform in line with the global positioning. Globally the brand talks about " Money and More. " .Now the brand talks about how it enables customers to realise their dreams and wishes bridging the time and distance.

Western Union is a classic example of a global brand with local strategy.

LIC Health Plus : Scaring The Hell Out of You

Brand : Health Plus
Company : LIC

Brand Analysis Count : 318

Indian health insurance market is nascent but with huge potential. With only 10% of the population having some form of health insurance, Indian Insurers have seen just the tip of a gold mine. In a very wise move to unleash the potential of the Indian health insurance market, IRDA gave license to many life insurers to enter the market with new innovative health insurance products.

Surprisingly LIC also got itself into this lucrative market. Reports suggest that there are 315 million insurable persons in this market with an estimated market size of over $ 812 million . The market is estimated to reach $ 5 Billion by 2010.

The major issue facing health insurance market is the lack of awareness. Even in the urban market, the awareness about health insurance is very low.

It is not only the lack of awareness about the insurance policies but also the need for having a health insurance policy. This blind eye towards the need for health insurance is rampant in the middle-class who really needs such kind of insurance cover.

The basic reason behind this lack of awareness is because of two reasons :

a. The availability of inexpensive health care. Historically health costs were considerably low in the Indian market. This is because of government control over medicine costs .

b. In early days the kind of diseases and the cures were very much limited. Diseases were less and cures were also less.

c. The false belief that major illness will not happen to oneself.

d. The premium paid in Health Insurance is lost unless there is a claim to it. This is a major negative since premiums paid is lost.

Both these have changed. The cost of health care has risen beyond one's imagination.Government has limited the support on health care and medicines are becoming expensive.

The new lifestyle began creating lifestyle diseases which only have lifestyle cures that has lifestyle expenses attached to it . Now new diseases has arisen and new cures too. And no one has a guarantee of not getting a major illness.

It is in this context that health insurance attain paramount importance to ones life . From my observation, a major illness or a major accident can ruin the finances of a family. With the family size becoming smaller, the avenues of getting financial support is also thinning. Health insurance is a backup against such disasters. I remember a couple of instances where the entire savings of a family wiped out because the guy met with an accident.

Coming to the brand in context, LIC has launched its health insurance plan branded as Health Plus. Health Plus is an unit linked health insurance plan where the money invested will grow investment rather than lost as in the case of conventional health plans. But the premiums are expensive compared to the conventional types.

The new launch is backed by heavy advertising . The ads are scary and will scare your hell out of you. The ad shows a lady reading a magazine on her bed and suddenly the room morphs into a hospital room . The next scene shows a guy watching television sitting on a chair and suddenly the chair morphs into a wheel chair. The voice over says " Anything can happen to you anywhere and anytime " .

The ads and the message are very very disturbing. The message is hard truth but some truths can be really disturbing. A typical human reaction to such truth is denial and not acceptance. And most often the consumer will turn their head against such disturbing visuals rather than embrace the message. I am a person who has taken such insurance policies but for me also the ad was repulsive. You need not scare your consumers to purchase the product.

What Indian consumers need is real education about the need for having health insurance. The issue is not to make him disturbed so that he denies the truth and get on with life. So the message ought to be on a softer side. Since HealthPlus is a unit linked plan, one can add savings on premium as an attraction. Reliance Insurance had launched a campaign health + wealth which is more an attractive proposition.


The print ad for Health Plus also features a visual from hospital. These are displayed in hoardings too. It too is of bad taste. The execution of the message is with out taking the viewer's emotions into context.

The challenge is making the consumer realize the importance of protection against possible loss of financial security rather than worry about hospitalization expenses. The reason why I took health insurance is to protect my family from any financial shocks rather than cover the expenses ( which was secondary). I remember a friend asking me whether I expect any diseases to occur, when I explained to him the details of health insurance. He failed to understand that I took health insurance to safeguard my existing financial security from such shocks.

The consumers for these products are those who are healthy , alive and rocking. They hate to see themselves in wheelchairs or hospital beds. During this phase of life , one expects to live healthily always. To make him aware of a potential shock should be done in a more subtle way.

ING Vysya Life Insurance : Mera Farz

Brand : ING Vysya Life Insurance ( IVL)
Company : ING Vysya
Agency : Rediffusion Dy&R

Brand Analysis Count : 316

In most cases, we discuss branding in relation to products rather than services. Some how there is a feeling that unlike products , building brands through promotions lacks significance in the marketing of services. Usually service brands are built on functional dimensions rather than on imagery.

Hence it is taken for granted that if the service provider delivers excellent functional performance , the brand will automatically grow.Five years back , financial service firms focused on their sales force and below -the- line promotion and shied away from aggressive brand building through advertising.

But the increase in competition and the cut-throat warfare on the field forced the service firms to venture into aggressive brand building through advertising.This trend was initiated by the aggressive brand promotion by telecom service providers. Financial services firms began to realize that having a good brand will make the life of a salesperson a lot easier.

The latest aggressive candidate in the financial services branding is ING Vysya Life Insurance ( IVL ) . IVL launched its insurance services in 2001. Now it has grown into size with presence in 246 cities and 300 odd branches.

What has interested me is the current campaign run by IVL. The brand did not have a good run in the Indian market. According to media reports, the IVL has a market share of only 1.2 %. The primary reason being that the strategy of the company is slow and steady growth rather than aggressive growth. So very rarely you get a call from an ING Vysya Insurance advisor.

The brand first launched its campaign in 2007 when it identified the core brand value. ING Vysya Life Insurance decided that the brand stands with the consumer in helping him fulfill his responsibilities towards themselves and families. Thus IVL took up the slogan " Mera Farz " which means " My Responsibilities ".

Watch the campaign here : Mera Farz 1

The ad was well made but nothing special in terms of creativity and was not intended to deliver any result on the field. But this gave the brand a vital direction for the future.
This year, IVL came out with another set of campaign which captured the attention of the audience .

The new campaign took birth from a very important consumer insight that with every happy moments , comes certain burden of responsibilities " . The thought of these additional burden creates a " Sinking Feeling " in the mind of that person and it will take away some degree of joy from him.

From this insight came this campaign : Sinking Feeling
The ad show three situations
1. Marriage
2. Birth of a child
2. Daughter getting admission to a expensive college.

The protagonist in all these cases feels a sense of sinking with the burden of added responsibilities.

What I noticed from the reaction of my family members is that the idea has clicked. There was a little smile in everyone's face when they saw this ad.

There is no doubt that the idea is a BIG Idea but the execution was a little too straight. Personally speaking , I did not liked the term " BURDEN " . In Hindi the term used is "Bhari" and in Malayalam the term used is "Bharam"- both these terms are used to denote Burden and also heaviness.

When my child was born, I never felt it as burden but it is true that there was added responsibility but never a burden. Even the child's education to be termed as a burden is too harsh . It was not the visuals but the term " Burden " that I disliked about the ad.

The message behind the campaign is that ING Vysya's plans help you to experience the joy of responsibility.

Then came another ad which I thoroughly enjoyed.
Watch the ad here : ING Goa

The ad shows the husband Satheesh literally sinking into the floor when his wife tells the friends about 'their ' plan to buy a house in Goa. Even after seeing the ad many times, we all still liked the look of the harassed " Satheesh " . That was a wonderful execution.
The big idea of ' Sinking Feeling ' has the potential to last for some time because it stems from an actual consumer insight.

These campaign has brought the customer's attention on this brand. The insurance advisors now will have a chance to spent less time talking about the company and more time selling the plans

Barclaycard : You Are in Control

Brand : Barclaycard
Company : Barclays
Agency : Mccann

Brand Analysis Count : 310

When I was a college student, my dream was to flaunt a credit card ( infact more than one) . Then on to my first job, I ran to my bank to rightfully claim for my first creditcard. I was in for an unpleasant surprise. I then realized that not everyone was eligible for one. Then after three years of constant followup and lots and lots of document, I landed up my first credit card ( not exactly because later I found out that it was a chargecard). It was a Cancard with a credit facility for Rs 5000 and credit period of 30 days.

Then after two years, something happened. I would call it the financial sales revolution. The new generation banks like ICICI and HDFC bank began appointing Direct Selling Agents for opening the Savings Account, loans and creditcards. For the first time, customers ( like me) were treated like worthy of a credit card. I remember filling out numerous forms and getting rejected by Citi and ICICI . Infact I remember a bank official saying that they rejected my application because I work with a media. At that time they don't give loans or creditcard to Media or Police officials .

When I was running around after creditcards, wise-owls warned me of impending danger. They said - credit cards can ruin your financial stability so use it wisely. I vouched that I will not take credit for my creditcard and use it wisely. But the fact is that I have taken loans, I have splurged, have bought products on EMI all through creditcard.... I realized that you will never win against the creditcards.
As always the thumbrule in any financial service dealings involving banks or insurance firms is to play by the rules. That is critical in the case of creditcard business. The fact is that only they know the rules and as customers , we don't bother to read the 60 page terms and conditions booklet that is printed in 5 point font size.
I realized this when the creditcard charged me fine and interest for late realization of a cheque owing to a bank strike. I tried to fight but they showed me the rules.
It is in this context that a new bank has comeout with a credit card that says that the customer is in control...
In 2007 Barclays Bank launched its retail banking operations in India. Barclays is the UK based financial services group which boasts of a heritage of over 300 years. The operations of Barclays started in India in 1970's and was more focused on investment banking . Barclays began the commercial operations in 2006 and retail operations in 2007.

The bank is now aggressively pitching for its creditcard business in India. According to Businessweek , the size of Indian Credit-card market is about $4 Billion and growing at 35% per-annum. No wonder global majors are queuing up in the Indian market. But the going is tough because competition is tough with ICICI bank leading the pack.

Barclaycard chose to break into this market with a clear differentiator . The differentiator was ' giving power to choose the billing cycle and fix monthly payment amount ' to the customer. The brand is now running a high decibel campaign in all media

Watch the TVC here : Barclays
Here the idea is that banks treat customers like kids with little or no power in the hand of the customers.
As a customer, I think that this differentiator comes from consumer insights. Infact in my case I have to pay my credit card during the middle of the month and by that time all money would have gone up in smoke. Barclaycard lets you decide which week of the month the customer would like to be billed. That means that the customer can select the appropriate week when his salary is being credited or when he has the maximum cash-flow.

The brand in that way has come up with a meaningful differentiator but I think that differentiator is not sustainable in the longterm since all other players can easily achieve parity with that feature . But the brand has made its presence felt using that meaningful differentiator.

For any new bank, the issue of payment of creditcard bills also act as a significant demotivator for the customers. In the case of Barclaycard, the brand has tiedup with BILLDESK so that the payment can be done online using internet banking of other banks. So one does not have to search for the drop-boxes. For a new brand to break into the clutter, Barclaycard has done the homework right and has made the right moves.

Apart from these differentiators, the other things remain the same, the interest rate is as high as 36% ( annualized) and charges comparable with other players .

As a customer, I have learned a hard lesson of using a credit-card. I still don't understand why these cards charge so much interest on the cards and still want customers to use it. I somewhere read that credit-card companies lose money when the customers pay in time. But these heavy interest rates are charged to make customers pay in time. ( is it not a paradox ?).

Credit-card firms will realize their next path to growth only if they rationalize their interest rate in favor of the customers. In this era of sophisticated CRM algorithms, the banks should be able to give differential interest rates to customers who are credit worthy. Till that time I am gonna pay my bills on time.

IFFCO- Tokio : The life you desire

Corporate Brand : IFFCO -Tokio
Agency : Dentsu

Brand Analysis Count : 308

One of my close friend's brand new Santro was stolen weeks after he bought his dream machine. This happened despite all the anti-burglar stuff being loaded to the vehicle. After running from pillar to post and following it up with Police, the hope of getting the vehicle back was slowly fading. We friends began consoling him pointing out the insurance policy he had for the vehicle. Hope again came back and the entire ' process' of getting the insurance and buying a car began taking life.

Now after 5 months and 100 phone calls , only the hope remains. Today I checked my car insurance : I paid Rs 7000 for one year full cover insurance for my car and was feeling secure about the vehicle but this incident shattered my confidence. I now double check the doors and keep my gate secure with big locks because I know that it is not all that easy to get your claims.
I am not blaming the insurance companies for the delay because they play by the rules especially when they have to pay the buck. Here in my friend's case the technical issue is something known as ' Non traceability Certificate ' that has to be issued by the investigating police department that certifies that the vehicle cannot be recovered. Some times Police may give the certificate after one full year. Till then Keep Walking....

This long introduction was necessary because this post is about an insurance company which talks about hassle free claims : IFFCO - Tokio.
IFFCO-Tokio is a joint venture in general insurance between Indian Farmer's Fertiliser Cooperative limited and Tokio Marine which is a Japanese Insurance giant . IFFCO-Tokio was launched in December 2000 and during the initial years, the company was concentrating on the corporate insurance segment focusing on products like Fire Insurance theft insurance etc.
The brand had the task of creating brand awareness during the initial period since IFFCO is a fertilizer company and the consumers had to be educated about the brand's new venture into the insurance sector.
Like any other insurance company, IFFCO-Tokio began to address the issue of accidents like fire and theft jeopardizing your future plans. The brand had a series of campaigns highlighting this theme. The brand had the slogan " Which way life takes you, we will be there " .

After tasting success in the corporate segment, the company began to look at the retail general insurance market. During 2004-05 the company launched its motor vehicle insurance product.
I began noticing this brand when I saw the brand talking about quick claim settlement. At that time no insurance firms were talking about this attribute.
What I liked was the television campaign where a well dressed executive comes to the office in a horse cart . Watch the TVC here : IFFCO Horse cart
The brand was talking about the delay that happens in most insurance claims and promises to provide customers hasslefree claims.

This year too the brand has come out with a new campaign : Deaf Ear
The new campaign talks about the usual attitude of insurance firms when the clients ask for claims. They often turn deaf.
Both these campaigns contains perfect consumer insights. The brand uses the promise of ' Hassle free claims ' as the differentiator. I feel that it is a powerful differentiator provided the brand lives upto the promise.

I strongly believe that the true nature of a company will be revealed when the customer has a complaint. How the firm deals with the customer complaints often reflects the customer focus of the firm .

For an Insurance firm the claim settlement is the final moment of truth which reveals the firm's true face. Often insurance firms delay payments because of the fact that there are many rogue clients who take advantage of insurance claims . But what about genuine clients. When a customer pays a hefty sum of Rs 7000 to Rs 30000, it is the responsibility of the firm to take the responsibility rather than hide behind technicalities.

IFFCO-Tokio talks about settling 90 % claims with in seven days which if it is true , is a remarkable achievement.
Differentiation based on quick claim settlement is also risky. First the brand has to live up to the expectation otherwise the undelivered promise create catastrophic effect on brand equity. Second, the company has to make sure that its claim procedure is robust and secure so that it will not be taken for a ride by rogue clients. The company should make sure that the genuine customers are not taken for a ride. Once the customer is found genuine, the claim should be settled because it is the fulfillment of the brand's promise. A claim which is settled quickly acts as a powerful word of mouth advertisement that can generate lot of goodwill.


To the customers ... Check whether you have locked the gate .....

Brand Update : SBI

After surprising every one with Surprisingly SBI campaign, the bank has now moved into the second phase of campaign rationally explaing why SBI is better than other banks.

The bank has taken the positioning of Pure Banking emphasizing that SBI does what it does best : Pure banking. Th bank has now took the tagline" Pure Banking , Nothing else" takes a dig at new generation banks that spent lot of time doing non banking financial services.
A new Tvc is also running which shows a young guy getting impressed by the services offered by SBI which is his old parent's bank. The recent print and tvc is aimed at shedding the " old public sector bank" image of SBI and make it more relevant to the young customers. The bank is now running a mix of Rational, Humor and emotional advertisement to promote the bank. Laudable and Surprising.

Watch the hilarious Chiman Lal campaign here: Chiman Lal Charlie

Related Brand
SBI

American Express : Membership Changes Everything

Brand : American Express Platinum
Company: American Express
Agency : O&M

Brand Count : 202

American Express is one of the world leaders in travel, financial and network provider business. The brand is synonymous with traveller's cheque and is a world leader in travel related financial services.

American Express was created in 1850 as a express delivery service provider (courier/moneyorder service). It metamorphosed to a financial service giant through a series of innovations. In 1891, American Express invented the first traveller's cheque. In 1958, world's first charge card was created by the company.American Express is currently the world's largest issuer of traveller's cheques.

American Express started its Indian operation way back in 1921.In India too , the brand is known for its travel related services. The brand extended to credit card business in 1986 for International travellers and in 1996 consumer card for domestic use was introduced. American Express was the first brand to introduce balance transfer facility for credit cards which later became a standard for all credit card issuers. ( Source : superbrandsindia.com)

Although American Express and Diners Club was the first companies to introduce credit cards in India, over the time, these brands failed to capitalise on the credit card boom. Visa and MasterCard through their aggressive promotions have cornered major market share in India. The aggressive schemes from the issuing banks like ICICI has virtually tripled the market for credit cards in India. But all through this hungama, American Express chose to take the backseat. The Indian creditcard market is estimated to be around $4 billion and there are around 17mn cards in circulation in India.

American Express only occasionally invested in brand building in the credit card market. I believe that the company was concentrating more on its travel related business rather than into credit cards. I remember only one TVC of American Express which shows an Indian traveller in a foreign location who get caught in a holi celebration. The ad was a memorable one but again the target was the travelling segment. The ad projected American Express as the card which is globally accepted.

November 2006 saw a major initiative from the brand to tap the domestic Indian credit card market. American Express launched the Platinum club in India which targeted the young Rich and Famous Indian. Platinum club is an exclusive club which offered the member wide range of privileges. Platinum Club is a premium service that gives exclusive service and pamperin a year , travels abroad three times a year and dines out three times more than the average Indian ( source :g to the privileged owners. The members of the club receives the new American Express Platinum credit card which provides the key to a host of premium services. Amex has tied up with premium service providers like Taj, Kingfisher etc which offers special benefits to the member. The club is targeted at Indians who is at the age group of 30-45 who earns 20-25 lakhseretailbiz.com)

To become a member one has to pay a lifetime fee of Rs 50,000.The member gets a welcome gift worth more than Rs 70,000 which includes a Longines watch and Two Kingfisher airline round trip tickets. Other benefits include dining privileges with Taj hotels, special treatment with Kingfisher etc..
The brand is clearly on an overdrive to woo the affluent Indian. The logic is simple, an affluent Indian spend around Rs 3.67 lakh on his credit card a year which is ten times more than an average credit card user.
Platinum Club is the special way through which American Express plans to build its credit card business in India. Worldwide the brand is known to pamper its customer. There are some unique stories about this pampering like one given in the super brand site which talks about how the company arranged to courier a sample of Dead Sea sand for a child's (of Amex cardholder ) school project.
Platinum club is endorsed by Abhishek Bachchan who is also the first member of the club. Already TVC is running in all media followed by an aggressive print campaign. The brand is using the tagline " Membership Changes Everything". The brand is directly taking the route of creating an aspirational value for the product. This campaign is going to create a positive effect on all American Express cards . The campaign also will increase the brand awareness which is one of the problem that American Express faces. Still there are lot of merchants that do not accept this card because of ignorance. Although the brand is aimed at premium segment, the entry cost is kept low at Rs 50,000 that will definitely drive volume for this card.
Platinum club is a smart marketing move by American Express which will also force other card companies to start pampering their customers.

Related Brand
Mastercard

Source: superbrandsindia.com,eretailbiz.com,businessline
image courtsey:superbrandsindia.com

Mastercard : Priceless

Brand : Mastercard
Company: Mastercard Worldwide
Agency: McCann Erickson

Brand Count ; 165

Mastercard is one of the pioneers in the global credit card business. Born in 1967, the brand is the second largest player in the Indian plastic money market trailing behind the global leader Visa.
Diners Club issued the world’s first universal credit card in 1920. Mastercard was born from an alliance created by United California Bank, Wells Fargo,Crocker National Bank and Bank of California. This alliance was pitted against the Bank Americard issued by Bank of America that later became Visa.

The original name of Mastercard was Master Charge Inter Bank Card which later shortened to Mastercard in 1979. In 2002, Mastercard International was absorbed by Europay International SA and in 2006 the company changed its name from Mastercard International to Mastercard Worldwide.

The business of credit card works in different layers. There are four players in the business.

1. Network
2. Issuer
3. Users
4. Establishments

The networks consists of players like Mastercard ,Visa who are the credit card companies .These companies have linkages and association between different banks and facilitate transactions between users , the establishments and the banks .The issuers are the banks that issue the credit cards like the ICICI, HDFC etc.The users are card users and establishments are those who accept credit cards as a mode of payment.

How credit card works?
When the user buy something, the network ratifies the user’s credibility and authorize the establishment to proceed with the transaction.The netwok then instruct the bank to make the payment to the establishments.(This the layman’s description of how credit cards work).

The credit card companies make money through the association fees paid by the banks and the fees paid by the establishments. The issuers make money by the interest charges paid by the users when they avail the revolving credit facility. Issuers also charge the users annual fees for issuing the card.The establishment benefits by the higher purchasing power of the users .

Mastercard is positioned on the emotional platform rather than on the rational platform that Visa uses. The brand has the famous campaign “ There are somethings money can’t buy, For everything else there's Mastercard”. The campaign known as Priceless campaign was launched in 1996.The campaign executed by Mccann Erickson rejuvenated the sagging fortunes of the brand during 1996. The brand at that time was facing disaster, the sales was sliding and the competition from Visa was slowly pushing Mastercard to oblivion.The Priceless campaign was indeed Priceless for the brand.

The main attribute that consumers look for in a credit card was its acceptability in shops ( reach). Visa was a leader in this and the positioning was based on its awesome acceptability.Together with the reach, the Visa also was building its equity through celebrity endorsements.

Mastercard at that time had no clear positioning and was not focused on any one attribute.This diluted all the previous campaigns for Mastercard. What the brand needed badly was some meaningful differentiation.

The Priceless campaign was aimed at differentiating this brand on the basis of intangibles ie emotions. The campaign is based on the big idea that cost of ownership is one thing and the emotional value that one derives out of it is another thing. Mastercard wanted to say to the consumers that the Mastercard is the best way to pay for every thing that matters. It wanted to show how the purchases can enhance the quality of the consumer’s everyday like. So the brand takes Money as a competition rather than other cards. This campaign is cited as an example of breakaway positioning .The campaign is already 10 years and some 170 campaigns old .This is a classic case of a successful global positioning and one of the most successful campaigns ever.

In India too the brand is riding on the Priceless campaign. The company very cleverly mixes local version of the campaign and the global versions to keep the excitement live. This campaign has established the brand recall for Mastercard in the Indian market. The Indian credit card market is a large one with a market size of $4 bn and there estimated to be around 17 mn cards and growing very fast. The market is skewed towards Visa but Mastercard has gained its rightful share with the help of the Priceless campaign.

Priceless campaign was extended not only to the credit cards but also to other retail products of Mastercard. The campaign is now extending itself to consumers and asking consumers to share their Priceless moments with the company through its website “ Priceless.com”. The brand is an example of the power of Big Idea and a lesson for all who are bored with a successful positioning and want to change the positioning for the sake of change.

Source: Breakaway branding by Kelly &Silverstein, Wikipedia,mastercard.com

HDFC Standard Life Insurance: Respect Yourself

Brand: HDFC Standard Life Insurance
Company: HDFC Standard Life Insurance
Agency: Leo Burnett

Brand Count :113

India is one of the most lucrative financial services market in the world. The insurance market in India is estimated to be around 400 bn growing at an astounding rate of 30% p.a. Still the experts believe that the potential is largely untapped.

The insurance market is dominated by the public sector giant LIC with a market share of around 71.4%. With the private players leading the growth story, this sector is witnessing more marketing actions than even the FMCG sector.

Traditionally insurance are sold through direct selling. The reason being purely the nature of product warrants direct communication with the consumer. Kotler categorizes Insurance as an "Unsought" product . Unsought products are those which are ranked lowest in terms of consumer interest. Consumers may not be even aware of either the need or existence of such products.

Historically, Indian insurance products are sold for wrong reasons. People buy insurance to avail the tax benefit and not to ensure protection and LIC was happy to oblige. Hence most of the sales talks start with the question " How much do you pay tax?" . Little money was spent on brand building because there was no competition for LIC.

Things have now changed. With the increasing financial literacy, volatile economy and uncertain future are prompting Indians to look seriously at insurance as a means for protection rather than tax saving instrument. With more private players entering the domain, the issues of differentiation and branding became important.

HDFC Standard Life Insurance (HDFCSL) is one of the major players in the insurance market. One of the first private insurers to enter the market, HDFC SL entered the scene in 2000. It is a joint venture between the housing finance major HDFC and the UK insurance giant Standard Life.

Now a days we are seeing a lot of media action from this company. Although a slow starter HDFC SL was having a small share of the pie. It was eclipsed by ICICI prudential with its media and sales blitz making it second largest player in the Insurance market. 2006 saw a shake up in this market with Bajaj Allianz edging out ICICI from the second spot . Bajaj have a market share of around 8% and HDFC SL and ICICI fighting at 3rd place with around 7.5%.

HDFC is currently focusing on The Pension Plan and the Child Plan aiming to cash in on the potential of these segments. The pension market in India is estimated to be around 1000 crore with a huge potential for growth in the future.

The change in the demographics is going to drive the pension market in India. Traditionally in a Joint family, there was an inherent protection for elders. With the urbanisation and the evolution of Nuclear Urban Family ( NUF) , elders are often forgotten. Out of the 314 mn workers in India only 11% has some sort of old age security. People earlier depend on social security products like EPF and PPF to build a corpus for their golden years.

It is this potential that has encouraged HDFC to promote its pension plans. Introduced in 2002, this product has been well received by the consumers. The ads are well executed and revolve around the positioning of "Respect Yourself". The target segment being the 30 year old family man. The basic theme of the campaign is to appeal to the self respect of these men who are in their prime of their career. "Even after retirement let your hands give rather than receive" is one of the best themes for a pension plan. Since I am in that category , these ads strike a chord in me and reminds me of the need to plan for my retirement. The same theme is carried to the Child plan also.

Although these campaigns will help to invoke an interest in TG, the market is in its nascent stage and lot of convincing has to be done to crack this huge market. One of the stumbling block being the expensive annuity plans. For example , it takes a 2 lakh corpus to generate Rs 1000 per month pension. Also if you put 10000 per month in a pension plan if you are 30 yrs old, what you will get after 20 years is a monthly pension of 10000. ( correct me if I am wrong). So it looks unattractive in the first look compared to MFs.

HDFC Standard Life has correctly identified the pulse of the target market and is all set to reap the benefits.

Source: Businessline, HDFC SL website, indiainfoline.com, agencyfaqs