Promotional Strategies Adopted by Insurance Industry

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Promotional Strategies adopted by Insurance Industry

Executive summery

A successful product or service means nothing unless the benefit of such a

service can be communicated clearly to the target market. An organization

promotional strategy can consist of:

Advertising: Is any non-personal paid form of communication using any

form of mass media.

Public relations: Involves developing positive relationships with the

organization media public. The art of good public relations is not only to

obtain favorable publicity within the media, but it is also involves being able to

handle successfully negative attention.

Sales promotion: Commonly used to obtain an increase in sales short term.

Could involve using money off coupons or special offers.

Personal selling: Selling a product service one to one. By personalizing

advertising, response rates increase thus increasing the chance of improving

sales.

Direct Mail: Is the sending of publicity material to a named personwithin an

organization

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Preface

In this project I review the tools and techniques used to measure Advertising

Effectiveness. Effectiveness is the measure of the gap between results and

objectives. Lower the gap, higher the effectiveness. Thus it is an evaluation of

the advertising process. The advertising evaluation process is frequently called

accountability.

Management wants the advertising managers to identify exactly what results

were obtained for the advertising investment and to provide evidence of the

return on investment. After all, advertising uses the scarce resources that could

be invested in a number of ways. Therefore, the question that management poses

is, "Is advertising the best way to use those funds?" And it is the job of the

advertising campaign planner to be able to answer that question. To do so

usually requires some form of advertising evaluation.

Evaluation of advertising campaign effectiveness is a form of research though itis somewhat different from other forms. Most advertising research is used to

predict what might occur in the market place. Effectiveness research, on the

other hand is used to determine exactly what did happen. Although this

information might be used as a basis for future actions, its basic purpose is to

measure what occurred as a result of the advertising campaign and, therefore,

what return was received on the investment made.

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In short, the reasons to evaluate the advertising campaign are as

follows:

1. To determine if the objectives set for the advertising campaign were met. This

off course presupposes that measurable objectives were set in the first place.

And that these objectives are in line with the overall marketing objectives and

strategies.

The first success of any effectiveness research would be that it forces

managers to think clearly and put down on paper, for themselves and others,

what they expect the advertising to do.

2. To quantify the return on the campaign investment. By knowing what was

achieved, management can relate that information to opportunity cost of

money and determine cost effectiveness of the advertising campaign. Off

course this is an ideal situation. Measurements of advertising results are

seldom precise enough to make this quantification possible.

3. To use the results of effectiveness research to make changes, additions, or

completely alter course for future campaigns. No advertising campaign is

ever totally successful.

Introduction of insurance

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Humans have always sought security. This quest for security was an

important motivating force in the earliest formations of families, tribes, and other

groups. The groups have been the primary source of both emotional and physical

security since the beginning of humankind. Humans today continue their quest o

achieve security and reduce uncertainty. We still rely on groups for financial

stability. With industrialization our physical and economic security has diminished.

Mankind is exposed to many serious hazards, which cause stoppage of income.

The biggest worry any human being has is the economic worry. He is always

thinking of tomorrow and the days to come and he will be planning to meet the

demands of his family, his business and that of his own needs. The economic

worries may arise due to stoppage of income. Our income dependent, wealth

acquiring lifestyle renders us and our families more vulnerable to environmental

and social changes over which we have no control.

There may be accidents, sickness disability, or due to premature death of the

breadwinner. It is impossible to prevent such calamities. But it is always possible

to provide against the loss of income that may result out of such these perils.

Definition of insurance

General definition:

In the words of John Magee, Insurance is a plan by themselves which

large number of people associate and transfer to the shoulders of all, risks thatattach to individuals.

Contractual definition:

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In the words of justice Tindall, Insurance is a contract in which a sum of

money is paid to the assured as consideration of insurers incurring the risk of

paying a large sum upon a given contingency

In simple terms it is a contract between the person who buys Insurance and an

Insurance company who sold the Policy. By entering into contract the Insurance

Company agrees to pay the Policy holder or his family members a predetermined

sum of money in case of any unfortunate event for a predetermined fixed sum

payable which is in normal term called Insurance Premiums.

Insurance is basically a protection against a financial loss which can arise on the

happening of an unexpected event. Insurance companies collect premiums to

provide for this protection. By paying a very small sum of money a person can

safeguard himself and his family financially from an unfortunate event.

Types of Insurance

Introduction

"Advertisements are sometimes spoken of as the nervous system of the business

world. As our nervous system is constructed to give us all the possible sensations

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TYPESOFINSURAN

CE

Life

Insurance

Life

InsuranceHealth Care

Insurance

Health Care

InsuranceHome

Insurance

Home

InsuranceTravel

Insurance

Travel

InsuranceAuto

Insurance

Auto

Insurance


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from objects, so the advertisement which is comparable to the nervous system

must awaken in the reader as many different kinds of images as the object itself

can excite"

"Advertising effectiveness means different things to the groups responsible for

its different effects. To the writer or artist, effective advertising is that which

communicates the desired message. To the media buyer, effective advertising is

that which reaches prospective buyers a sufficient number of times. To the

advertising or marketing manager, effective advertising is that which, together

with other marketing forces, sells his brand or product.

To general manager, effective advertising produces a return on his firm's

expenditure." "In fact, effective advertising must achieve all four goals,

delivering messages to the right audience, thereby creating sales at a profit. Most

advertisers have begun only recently to set goals in all four areas & measure

progress toward them. Some advertisers have set communications & audience

goals, & measured copy & media effects, but few advertisers have set dollar

goals & measured sales & profit effects.

The result is that advertising has rarely been a part of corporate planning. Thirty

years ago, management was asking the same questions they ask today: Is my

advertising working and what impact does it have on my sales? Can it be

measured? Can our advertising & promotion be made accountable in the same

manner as which one evaluates all of the other investments by our company?

The Answer to all three questions is yes. In fact, the techniques to deliver this

degree of accountability & control have been around for more than 50 years &

the industry standards.

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There are methods to test every aspect of marketing promotion, sales support

and media mix, and analytical tools to establish a direct relationship to sales

for complete accountability. The key to this is applying a full advertising

research curriculum. This requires involvement of both sales and

marketing management and the advertising/promotions supplier coordinating

their efforts with the researcher. It is a partnership.

This may explain why so many from both the client and agency sides remain of

the opinion that it can't be done. The fact is that a full curriculum can be

implemented, is already integral to nearly every brand leader, and you can do it

as well. It just takes a little planning and co-operation.

Problem Areas

A majority of Indian customers being very conservative and averse to risk, trust

was an extremely important factor in the insurance business. Since LIC was a

government owned body, there was an element of security embedded in its

services and products. This proved to be the biggest hurdle for the new

insurance companies as Indian customers were reportedly rather skeptical about

them.

Background

According to industry observers, one of the main reasons for the low insurance

penetration in India was the ineffective distribution and marketing strategies

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adopted by LIC. The company reportedly never had any strategic marketing

game plan, and due to its monopolistic nature the need for serious marketing

efforts was never felt. The advertising initiatives were limited to some print and

electronic media advertisements that typically talked about LIC's products being

great tax saving tool for salaried individuals who came under the income-tax

bracket. Despite all this, LIC was synonymous with insurance in India and it had

established an enviable brand image for itself, especially in the rural areas and

small towns.

However, with the entry of new players, the insurance market changed almost

overnight. Analysts commented that the private insurers seemed all set to make

the industry marketing-driven, wherein technical and service excellence would

be the key factors of success. The private companies, in a bid to make their

presence felt and their brand noticed, initiated a series of aggressive marketing

and promotion initiatives, something that buyers of insurance were not

accustomed to.

In July 2002, India's state owned insurer, Life Insurance Corporation of India

(LIC) announced aggressive marketing plans with a budget of around Rs 1

billion. The aim of this unusual decision was to woo customers across the

country through a multimedia campaign including advertisements on the radio

and the press media, the outdoor media and the television. However, this did not

come as a major surprise to industry observers who said that LIC did not have

too many options.

With the insurance bill being passed in 2000, the Indian insurance sector saw a

host of private players enter the market with multinationals as their partners.

These new players resorted to aggressive marketing and advertisement strategies

- something the market had never seen earlier.

This sudden spurt of advertisements and awareness programs was visible on all

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the media channels. Print, electronic and outdoor advertisements of the new

private insurers flooded could be seen everywhere. This prompted many

comparisons of such behavior of insurance companies with the advertising

frenzy of the dotcoms in India not too long ago - with similar full-page

advertisements, huge hoardings and costly electronic media advertisements.

According to reports, in the first quarter of the year 2002, insurance companies

spent 70% of what was spent in the whole of 2001, on advertising and publicity.

Across the world, insurance, as a category was one of the largest spenders on

advertising. In India too substantial expenditure was being incurred due to

advertising.

Company Expenditure

LIC 1000

Aliaz Bajaj 200

Om Kotak Mahindra 150

ICICI Prudential 146Source: ICMR

However, during the first year of the entry of new players, while LIC reported a

growth of over 250%, private insurers managed to garner only about 0.5%

market share, in spite of spending hefty amounts on advertising &promotion.

According to reports, LIC's business increased mainly because of the increased

public awareness about insurance, which was brought about by the heavy

advertisement campaigns of private players.

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Research Objectives

Primary Objective

To understand & measure the impact of advertising in themarket.

To measure the effectiveness of advertisement / promotional

activities for a particular product class and corporate

advertising.

To understand and measure the affect of advertising in brand-

building, brand re-call & finally the choice of a plan while

buying it.

Secondary Objective

To know the promotional strategies of ICICI prudential.

To know how they face their competitor's strategies.

To know how they survive in the cutthroat competition.

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Industry Objective

The business of life insurance in India in its existing from started in India in the

year 1818 with the establishment of the Oriental Life Insurance company in

Calcutta. Some of the important milestones in the life insurance business in India

are:

1912: The Indian Life Assurance Companies Act enacted as the first statute to

regulate the life insurance business.

1912: The Indian Life Assurance Companies Act enacted to enable the

government to collect statistical information about both life and non-life

insurance business.

1938: Earlier legislation consolidated and amended to by the Insurance Act with

the objective of protecting the interests of the insuring public.

1956: 245 Indian and foreign insurers and provident societies taken over by the

central government and nationalized. LIC formed by an Act of parliament, viz.

LIC Act, 1956, with a capital contribution of Rs. 5 crore from the Government of

India.

The general insurance business in India, on the other hand, can trace its roots

to the Triton Insurance Company Ltd., the first general insurance company

established in the year 1850 in Calcutta by the British. Some of the important

milestones in the general insurance business in India are:

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1907: The Indian Mercantile Insurance Ltd. Set up, the first company to transact

all classes of general insurance business.

1957: General Insurance Council, a wing of the Insurance Association of India,

frames code of conduct for ensuring fair conduct & sound business practices.

1968: The Insurance Act amended to regulate investments and set minimum

solvency margins and the tariff Advisory Committee set up.

1972: The General Insurance Business (Nationalization) Act, 1972 nationalized

the general insurance business in India with effect from 1st January 1973.

107 insurers amalgamated and grouped into four companies viz. the National

Insurance Company Ltd., the New India assurance Company Ltd., the Oriental

Insurance Company Ltd. And the United India Insurance Company Ltd. GIC

incorporated as a company.

Insurance sector reforms in 1993, Malhotra Committee, headed byformer Finance secretary and RBI Governor R.N. Malhotra, were formed to

evaluate the Indian insurance industry and recommend its future direction. The

Malhotra Committee was set up with the objective of completing the reforms

initiated in the financial sector. The reforms were aimed at" creating a more

efficient and competitive financial system suitable for the requirements of the

economy keeping in mind the structural changes currently underway and

recognizing that insurance is an important part of the overall financial system

where it was necessary to address the need for similar reforms" In 1994, the

committee submitted the report and some of the key recommendations included:

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Structure

Government stake in insurance companies to be brought down to 50%.

Government should take over the holdings of GIC and its subsidiaries so

that these subsidiaries can act as independent corporations. All the

insurance companies should be given greater freedom to operate.

Competition

Private Companies with a minimum paid up capital of Rs. 1bn should

be allowed to enter the industry. No Company should deal in both Life

and General Insurance through a single entity. Foreign companies may

be allowed to enter the industry in collaboration with the domestic

companies.

Postal Life Insurance should be allowed to operate in the rural market.Only one state Level Life Insurance Company should be allowed to

operate in each state. Regulatory Body the Insurance Act should be

changed. An Insurance Regulatory body should be set up. Controller of

Insurance (Currently a part from the Finance Ministry) should be made

independent.

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Investments

Mandatory Investments of LIC Life Fund in government securities to

be reduced from 75% to 50%. GIC and its subsidiaries are not to hold

more than 5% in any company (There current holdings to be brought

down to this level over a period of time). Customer Service LIC

should pay interest on delays in payments beyond 30 days.

Insurance companies must be encouraged to set up unit linked

pension plans. Computerized of operations and updating of technology

to be carried out in the insurance industry.

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Reforms in theInsurance sector were initiated with the passage of the IRDA Bill in

Parliament in December 1999. The IRDA since its incorporation as a

statutory body in April 2000 has fastidiously stuck to its schedule of

framing regulations & registering the private sector insurance

companies.

Attracted by the huge untapped potential, many private players entered

the market after the Insurance bill was passed in late 2000. A majority

of these were collaborations between an Indian company & leading

MNC insurance/financial services co.

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Research Methodology

Research methodology is a strategy that guides a research in providing answers

to research questions and for this, research survey is being done. "Accuracy of

the study depends on the systematic application of the method". The researcher

has to decide the method to be used that helps him to get a desired direction in a

systematic way. This study in the following manner.

Data collection

Structured Questionnaire

In this collection data, structured questionnaire is used as a tool by asking a set

of standardized questions to know the effect of Life Insurance Advertisement and

behavior of the people for the ICICI Prudential Life Insurance.

Secondary Data collection

Various websites were consulted to collect literature relevant to the topic.

Interpretation

Interpretation refers to the task of drawing inference from the colleted facts

after an analytical study, in fact it is a search for broader meaning of research

findings it is through interpretation that the researcher can well understand the

abstract principle that respondents beneath his findings. The simple statistical

tools will used to analyze the data collection, Bar Graphs and pie chart have

been used to illustrate the findings diagrammatically. The scores for

advertisement were compiled on spontaneous recall, aided recall & likeability.

The top ads are selected on the basis of their score.

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Literature Review

Media Exposures in Rural Market

Corporate Advertising

Learning of ICICI prudential

Affect of advertising in brand building

Power of emotional branding by ICICI prudential

Promotional strategy

Message & media strategy

Strategy

Internet promotion through website

Mobile promotional

Television advertising

Wall hoardings Promotions strategy

Radio advertising strategy

Print media advertising strategy

Media Exposures in Rural Market

The rural middle-class constitutes a potential market lying to be tapped by

any industry. There are 16.4 million urban middle-class households and 15.6

million rural middle class households in the country, but the latter had a better

purchasing power because they do not incur any expenditure on rent, transport

and school fees, compared to their urban counterparts, who spend a sizable

portion of their income on these items.

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The estimated annual business from rural markets was Rs 1,23,000 crore,

comprising Rs 65,000 crore of FMCG, Rs 5,000 crore of durables, Rs 45,000

crore of agricultural inputs including tractors and Rs 8,000 crore of two-wheelers

and four-wheelers. 29% of the rural people own cars, 27%t own colour

televisions, 24% own refrigerators and 10% own washing machines, which

points to the untapped potential in the rural areas.

TV impact: The dressing style of the rural people has also changed due to the

impact of the TV. Studies revealed that TV advertisements are not understood

by the rural people who think "they are for the rich". "Being sensitive and

relevant to the requirement of the region should be of utmost importance in the

choice of products, packaging, pricing, promotions, markets & communication,"

Key Summary

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The Indian rural market with its vast size and demand base offers a huge

opportunity any industry cannot afford to ignore. With 128 million households,

the rural population is nearly three times the urban. We therefore have to look at

the rural market very seriously for future expansion.

The estimated annual business from rural markets in 2008 was Rs. 1,23,000 crore,

comprising Rs. 65,000 crore of FMCG, Rs. 5000 crore of durables, Rs. 45,000

crore of agricultural inputs & Rs. 8,000 crore of two wheelers and 4 wheelers. 29%

of the rural people own cars, 27% own colour televisions, 24% own refrigerators &

10% own washing machines.

Corporate advertising

How a company does announced a name change especially when the old name

was well known? How does the company explain itself to constituents who may

have known the company quite well in an earlier incarnation but may be

struggling to figure out what the new organization stands for? How can the

company create a new image while retaining the strengths of the old one? Andwhat role might corporate advertising play in all this?

Corporate advertising can tell a story about a company as a whole, large

organizations may need to use corporate ads to simplify their image in the minds

of key constituents and to show what unifies the company, despite the

geographical spread and variety of its businesses.

We can very well understand the concept of corporate advertising by taking the

example of ICICI Prudential communication. When Company first began

operations, the task was to present the visiting card of the company to the public

at large and build credibility and stature and to give the consumer the

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confidence that ''here is a company that can be trusted to invest funds with.''

This required a corporate campaign - to establish the brand, build awareness and

give the brand a larger-than-life image. The advertising idea, which was

encapsulated in symbols of protection from the initial print campaign, culminated

in the corporate film where sindhoor was used as an endearing and lasting

symbol of protection.

Once the corporate image and brand identity were established, and as the

company expanded and its product range grew, the next phase of

communication was to give the consumer a rational and tangible reason to buy -

first of all insurance and secondly from ICICI Prudential Life. This was tackled

through product-specific advertising, such as for ICICI Pru Smart Kid, retirement

solutions or Lifetime.

The advertising idea, which was encapsulated in symbols of protection from the

initial print campaign, culminated in the corporate film whereSINDOOR was used

as an endearing and lasting symbol of protection.

Key Summery

Create a good citizen image through consistent & dedicated effort. Convey the

organizations commitment to the concerned publics as well as to the masses &

eliminate prejudices, if any held by opinion leaders in particular & by the public

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in general. Boost both employee management relation & employee morale

enabling all members of the internal public to discover a new vitality.

Advertisers aimed at appealing to the main stream, middle class family.

ICICI prudent strategy was to highlight the importance of the nuclear

family, the neighborhood and the country as a whole.

Each group is attracted to a specific type of content, which makes it

easier for advertisers to target a specific audience a certain way

Mechanism points out that our media is becoming global, where people

all over the world are being influenced by segment making media.

Wednesday, April 25, 2007(times of India)

Learning of ICICI prudential

ICICI prudential has been advertising its retirement solutions

through the chintamani campaign the focus of this ad campaign

has been on educating consumers about its solutions, which

provide tax savings & investment options. ICICI targeted the

office-going segment & sent direct mailer to them through the

dabbawallas.

ICICI sole mention has been to education the customers about the

services it provides and the related attributes and benefits.

Marketers have begun to realize the importance of teaching the

consumer about their product & services and how these products

and services would benefits him.

(III sem consumer behavior book (page no. 101))

Affect of advertising in Brand Building

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Brand building through corporate advertising, defined generally as

advertising that benefits a company's image by emphasizing its own resources,

skills and/or character. Many astute business people now recognize corporate

brands as fundamental business assets, and have begun reaching out to

customers, prospects, and the financial community by advertising those brands.

Brand building advertising is synonymous with product advertising and is

commonly seen in traditional mass media, including TV, radio, magazine, and

newspaper. Brand building advertisements tend to be product/service- (or

retailer-) oriented with the purpose to establish a positive image and creating

demand for a product or service that leads to eventual purchase. The

communication route is typically one-to-many and is designed to reach a mass

audience by using a tactic of at capturing the attention of users.

http://www.asiainsurancereview.com/pages/awards/awardswinners2008.asp

Power of emotional branding by ICICI prudential

More & more companies are now days trying to market and promote their products

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using emotional advertising. Today we see lot of advertisement in different

segments using different Relationship or bonding of individuals with others

Take an example of ICICI Prudential, they successfully used following emotional

branding techniques to create there brand and marketed there products

http://www.managementparadise.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-

18260.html

Promotional strategy

A

D P

PromotionalStrategy

P S

A---> Advertising: Is any non-personal paid form of communication using any

form of mass media.

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P----> Public relations: Involves developing positive relationships with the

organization media public. The art of good public relations is not only to

obtain favorable publicity within the media, but it is also involves being able to

handle successfully negative attention.

S---->Sales promotion: Commonly used to obtain an increase in sales short

term. Could involve using money off coupons or special offers.

P---->Personal selling: Selling a product service one to one. By personalizing

advertising, response rates increase thus increasing the chance of improving

sales.

D---->Direct Mail: Is the sending of publicity material to a named person

within an

Organization

Message & Media Strategy

An effective communication campaign should comprise of a well thought outmessage strategy. What message are you trying to put across to your target

audience? How will you deliver that message? Will it be through the appropriate

use of branding?

Logos or slogan design? The message should reinforce the benefit of the

product and should also help the company in developing the positioning strategy

of the product.

Companies with effective message strategies include:

ICICI PRUDENTIAL: Jeetye Raho & Retire from work, not

life

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Www.yahoomail.com

Www.way2sms.com

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INC student portal

Www.monster.com

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Mobile promotional

Mobile Promotions is a very individual business. From road shows &

sampling campaigns to hospitality & shopping center promotions, we have a

team of people who will help you stand out from the crowd.

Television advertising

The typical approach followed by national brands to attack the lower end of the

market is to introduce an offering, which is priced just above tunorganized market's

offering. The idea is to upgrade the consumer from that to the branded one.

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Wall hoardings Promotions strategy

Wall hording promotional strategy used by ICICI prudential company. In many

places in Surat puts the hoardings of ICICI prudential & also puts the hoarding in a

malls so more awareness of the ICICI prudential life insurance company. Some

wall hoardings in a mall shown as below in the picture

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Radio advertising strategy

A radio commercial (in the USA also called a spot by people in the business)

is a form of advertising via the medium of radio. Airtime is purchased from

a station or network in exchange for airing the commercials.

The first radio commercial is credited to WEAF, New York on August 28,

1922 for the Queensbury real estate corporation. The ten-minute live

commercial was voiced by H.M. Blackwell, a representative of Queensbury.

Print media advertising strategy

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Advertising in India can easily handle your advertising needs. You may need to

design an ad for your business, looking for placing a matrimonial advertisement or

perhaps you want to publish an advertisement in newspaper for job recruitment

Analysis

It includes the summary of advertisement scenario of insurance industry in the

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soaring mass market available in India based on the survey conducted.

Data and Interpretation

In the market it can easily be realized that the Television audience had a huge

impact of these ads. Although the most popular medium of entertainment or

information gathering has emerged as the arena of media war. But yes the old

players news paper and radio are still on their high trying to dominate in the

market. Internet being in its youth phase is rapidly reaching in the elite class.

Apart from entertainment channels like Zee T.V, Sony etc where family soaps

are having the highest TRPs contribute mainly for in FMCG sector. Though

they show a bit of Insurance Ads too. In the emerging economy of INDIA News

and business channels have risen surprisingly and contributing in the promotion

of insurance sector.

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(Ranks are in ascending order)

LIC being the giant of Life Insurance in INDIA has grabbed the top slot in

terms of advertisement also. Other private players like ICICI Prudential, HDFC

Std. Life, Birla Sun life and Reliance Life Insurance are trailing behind LIC.

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The message which is conveyed through these advertisements are however

acceptable by the mass market. People agree that the ads are understandable to

them. But the relevance is still in the black hole as these advertisements are

treated as like entertainment clips.

Life Insurance is considered to be sold by push strategy only, and we are

witnessing alternative financial Instruments available in the market giving tough

competition. The first thing before buying an Insurance Product in the

competitive market comes in the mind is the BRAND. It really plays a

tremendous role for a product to be bought. It seems clearly in the survey.

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Facts & Findings

TAM Media Research, a joint venture between Nielsen Media Research (NMR)/

AC Nielsen and Kantar Media Research (KMR)/IMRB gives fruitful knowledge

to understand media and advertising trend.

In July 2002, TAM took operational control of ADEX service-the pioneer in

Media monitoring in India. TAM inherited a well-oiled monitoring system with a

trend work force. ADEX India represents a cutting edges strategy tool which

helps us to keep an eye on advertising and media trend.

Facts and figures of advertising trend of year 2007-08 and role of Life Insuranceadvertising in advertising business as per the survey conducted by AdEx India

(A division of TAM Media Research) is mentioned below.

Snapshot on TV Advertising in 2007

1) Volumes growth in TV advertising.

TV ad volumes saw a tremendous growth of 126 per cent during 2007 compared

2) Sartorial division in TV advertising

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Top 10 sectors constituted 58 per cent share of TV advertising during 2007.

With 14 per cent share F&B had the largest share of TV advertising, followed by

Personal Care/Personal Hygiene and Services with 9 per cent and 6

per cent share, respectively.

4) Channel wise distribution of advertisement in TV.

General Entertainment Channel led with 1/3rd share, followed by News & Music

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Channel with 23 per cent and 15 per cent shares, respectively, during 2007.

Key Findings:

31 per cent growth in TV ad volumes during 2007 compared to 2006.

Food & Beverages sector leads in TV advertising during 2007.

HUL maintained its first rank in the top 10 advertisers list on TV across

both the years 2006 and 2007.

Snapshot on Life Insurance advertising on TV in2007

1) Share of Life Insurance (Life Insurance versus Other Insurance).

The overall TV advertising was shared by Life Insurance and Other Insurance in

the ratio of 80:20 during 2007.

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2) Volume Growth in Life Insurance sector.

Television advertising of Life Insurance grew by 258 per cent in 2007 as

compared to 2004.

3) Private versus Public Insurers on TV during 2007.

Private Insurers lead with 78 percent share of overall advertising of Life

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Insurance sector on TV during 2007.

4) Rank shift of top Life Insurers in 2007 during 2006.

LIC & HDFC Standard Life Insurance Co. Ltd switched their ranks in 2007

compared to 2006. Compared to 2006, Bharti AXA Life Insurance Co & ING

Vysya Life Insurance moved up maximum places to be in the top 10 list of 2007.

5) Top 10 Life Insurance brands on TV.

HDFC Standard Life Children Plan lead with 8 per cent share followed ICICI

Prudential Life Insurance & Bharti AXA Life Insurance with 7 per cent & 6per

cent share, respectively, during 2007.

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Top 10 brands were a mix of five brands of Life Insurance, and three of the

brands belonged to the Pension Plan

6) New brands launched on TV in 2007.

Birla Sun Life Children's Dream was number one Life Insurance brand to be

launched on TV in 2007

7) Genre usage for Life Insurance advertising.

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Snapshot on Life Insurance advertising in print in2007

1) Share of Life Insurance (Life Insurance vs. Other Insurance)

'Life Insurance' & 'Other

Insurance contributed to Insurance advertising in the ratio of 76:24 in Print.

2) Volume Growth in Life Insurance sector

Life Insurance' advertising in Print witnessed a dip of 14% during 2007

over 2004.

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3) Share of Private and Public Insurers in Print during 2007

Private Insurers took 55% advertising share of 'Life Insurance' advertising inPrint during2007.

4) Rank shift of top Life Insurers in 2007

Tata AIG Life Insurance and Max New York Life Insurance moved up

maximum places to be in the top 10 list of 2007 compared to 2006.

5) Top 10 Life Insurance brands in Print

6 out of top 10 brands of Life Insurance print advertising were of LIC during

2007. 3 of the top 5 brands were of LIC during 2007

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6) New brands launched in Print in 2007

Interestingly, among the top 10 list of new brands, 8 were related to ULIP

except for LIC's Aam Admi Bima Yojana and LIC's Jeevan Amrut.

7) Preference of Genre for advertising of Life Insurance

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Maximum Life Insurance advertising was done on business/Finance/Economic

magazines, followed by news/current affairs and general interest. But the

condition is reversed in case of newspapers. Here 91 percent of the Life

Insurance advertisement is found on General Interest page.

Highlights:

In the Insurance sector, 'Life Insurance' contributed 76% of advertising in

Print during 2007.

'Life Insurance' advertising dropped by 25% in Print during 2007 compared

to 2006.

High advertising in 'Life Insurance' sector during the first quarter of both

the years 2006 and 2007.

Private Insurers took 55% share of overall advertising of 'Life Insurance' in

Print.

LIC and Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance maintained their respective 1st and2nd ranks in 2006 and 2007.

Baja Allianz Life Insurance and LIC were the top 2 brands of 'Life

Insurance' in Print during 2007.

Findings

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As per the survey conducted it is found that our result also supports the facts

mentioned above. Majority of public use television for entertainment or

information gathering, followed by newspaper and internet. Radio is seems to be

out dated in urban areas. But after revolution in mobile technology and satellite

radio it again starts growing.

This survey question shows that how much brand awareness is important. Majority

of the public goes behind brand name. Thats why corporate advertising plays a

vital role in growing stage.

Have you Awareness of ICICI Prudential life insurance?

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92

8

Yes

Have you seen advertisements of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance?

92

8

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In which of the following media have you seen these advertisements

the most?

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Can you recall the content/message of the ICICI Prudential advertisements

now?

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%100%

Yes I am unable to recal

Yes I am unable to recall

Yes I am unable to recall

10

60

30

How often do you share interesting advertising with your family or friends?

5

55

55

55

5

5

5

55

55

55

55

55

55

55

Never Reraly Sometimes Often Veryoften

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Understand the message of the advertisement of ICICI Prudential

life insurance?

ICICI Prudential Life insurance advertisement was believable?

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Do you think this ad has influence you to?

If you hear the word Life Insurance what company comes to your mind immediately?

Rank the following life insurance companies as per your brand recall capacity?

%5 %55 %55 %55 %55 %555

None

Suggest the insurance Policy

Recommend the Insurance Policy

Buy the insurance policy

55

11

55

55

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Share of Life Insurance v/s other insurance

Growth of Life Insurance Advertising

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Media strategy of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co.

Ltd.

It was time when the marketing team was thinking about an advertising

campaign, almost everyone, including the company's board, pooh-poohed the

idea. At that time people thought Company is wasting money. But ICICI

discarded this "fear" typically used for hawking insurance, choosing instead a

"happy" platform to convey a more positive message.

Even today after it has rolled out so many campaigns, ICICI remains among the

top advertisers: ad spends, as a percentage of new business premium, range

between 0.5 per cent and 0.75 per cent. Lowe (Lintas) has been the creative

advertising agency for ICICI Prudential Life since the beginning.

The TA:

Representing an ideal mix of medium to high net worth individuals: Theconsumers most disposed towards buying life insurance. Middle-aged

professionals, primarily male, salaried and self employed, age group: 28 - 45

years, household income: Rs.20, 000 and above.

Creative Strategy:

The essence of the creative strategy: To get the consumer to re look at Insurance

as a means to lead a worry free life and not as a necessary evil. When ICICI

Prudential Life Insurance first began operations, the task was to present the

visiting card of the company to the public at large and build credibility and

stature and to give the consumer the confidence that 'here was a company that

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could be trusted to invest funds with'. This required a corporate campaign,

which started with advertising to establish the brand, build awareness and give

the brand a larger than life image. To this effect the core brand insight

highlighted was "As head of the family it's my responsibility to take care of my

loved ones and protect them from the uncertainties of life", summed up in the

advertising idea:

'We cover you at every step in life (Suraksha Zindagi ke har kadam par). ICICI Pru

was positioned as an enabler of protection relevant to the needs of the life stage

that you are in. Over the last few months, ICICI Prudential has been advertising

in outdoor, TV and press. The company launched a corporate television

campaign - Saat Phere - which took the emotions and thoughts of initial Sindoor

corporate film a few steps further. The film highlights the strength of promises

that a husband makes to his wife, through the depiction of everyday situations,

and then goes on to emphasize that ICICI Prudential will stand by the husband to

help him fulfill all these promises. The TV campaign has also been extended to

outdoor. The company has also undertaken press and internet campaigns to

inform customers about benefits of some of its products, particularly retirement

solutions, through the Chintamani campaign.

Once the corporate image and brand identity were established, and as the

company expanded and its product range grew, the next phase of

communication was to give the consumer a rational and tangible reason to buy -first of all insurance and secondly from ICICI Prudential Life. This was tackled

through product-specific advertising, such as for ICICI Pru Smart Kid, retirement

solutions or Lifetime.

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The Creative execution:

TVC: Building image and creating a differential in the most creative and

compelling manner. The creative execution heightened the emotional connect

with the ICICI Pru brand - Indian; satisfaction of knowing that one's loved ones

are protected. Symbolic representation of the protector of the family through

situations showcasing various life stages and creating endearing imagery

of protection and familial bonding.

Press: Gave the consumer a rational and tangible reason to buy insurance first

and secondly from ICICI Prudential. The product specific advertising focussed

on changing the prevalent perception about insurance and breaking a few

myths: non- affordability, insurance not being good investment option and the

myth that insurance was good only for tax saving.

After the hugely successful Chintamani (retirement) and Saat Phere (corporate)

campaigns, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance also introduced some innovations in

the category, such as: having a tax planner by the name of Chintamani on radio,

who would answer consumer's queries about the role of insurance in financial

planning.

Other Communications:

Other programs included direct mail, PR of communications campaign in press

& TV, website marketing; and database generation through Bancassurance

channels.

Other initiatives included tie-up with the Dabbawalla Organisation in Mumbai

for a direct marketing exercise, to talk to the customer through a non-cluttered

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route, and thereby have a higher impact. The direct mailer was about ICICI

Prudential's retirement solutions and the tax benefits that one can avail of buy

investing in any of these. About 100,000 direct mailers were attached to the

'dabbas', in areas such as Churchgate, Bandra and Andheri where there are

mostly office-goers. ICICI Prudential Life Insurance has also announced a

strategic distribution tie-up with Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar, the rural business arm

of DCM Shriram Consolidated Ltd (DSCL). As a partner, Hariyali Kisaan

Bazaar can now distribute ICICI Prudential's protection, wealth creation,

retirement solutions and health insurance products to customers across the its

growing number of rural business hubs in the country.

In addition to advertising, the company has also initiated several activities to

raise consumer awareness about life insurance and ICICI Prudential. "It includes

seminars - ICICI Prudential regularly holds consumer awareness meets on 'the

need for retirement planning' in different cities such as Pune, Aurangabad,

Coimbatore, Nagpur, Bangalore and Mangalore. These are very well attended

and have contributed significantly towards increasing awareness about the

category and the company. Apart from this, company also entered into alliances

with telecom companies, as well as companies like BPCL and Dominos.

The results of communication efforts:

Being no: 1 in awareness and saliency.

Awareness: ICICI Pru showed a significant jump in awareness between Feb and

Sept 2001. Image: Highest score among all Insurance players including LIC, on

image parameters like safety, modernity, service, good returns etc. Intention to

invest: Next only to LIC as per research (All Source: Research by ORG Marg).

No. of calls and emails: There were 70,000 calls at the call center and 6582

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emails in the year 2001. Today, ICICI Prudential are fairly high on awareness,

among target segment.

Company has a 86% brand recall today. A research survey shows that among

the investing public. About 11% of the investing public knew Prudential ICICI

top of mind. It is a fair indicator of the share that the brand enjoys in the market.

On spontaneous level ICICI prudential are at 30%. ICICI Prudential Life was

awarded the INDY's Award for Excellence in Mass Communication in the

category of Most Creative Advertisement- Television.

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ICICI Prudential Growth Story

ICICI Prudential, a joint venture between ICICI Bank and Prudential UK, has

been around ever since the private sector was allowed to sell life insurance

policies. ICICI Prudential began their operations in 12th December 2000 after

receiving approval from Insurance Regulatory Development Authority (IRDA).

Since then the tribe of life insurers has grown from 12 to 16, but ICICI still leads

the private sector pack. With a portfolio of over 6.5 million policies, India's

biggest private sector life insurer has not merely held on to its share but grown

it; at the end of January 2008, the firm commanded 29 per cent of the share

owned by private sector players. Quite some way below was Bajaj Allianz with

21 per cent, while State Bank of India came in third with 10 per cent.

ICICI Prudential's premium income grew at about 100 per cent between March

2003 and March 2007. Interestingly enough, the insurer started out with the

traditional endowment products and was not the first to introduce the more

popular Unit Linked Insurance Policy (Ulip): the credit for that goes to Birla

Sunlife.

However, in the first full year of operations itself, it started offering Ulip policies

and was selling more policies than anyone else. Today, Birla Sunlife doesn't find

a place in the top five and players such as HDFC Standard Life, which were late

to cotton on to Ulips, may be regretting it.

It wasn't just that ICICI Prudential rolled out Ulips quickly; the company also

made sure the products were priced competitively. Compared with the

competition, ICICI's upfront charges have always been lower.

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With charges across the industry now converging at around 20 per cent of first

year premiums, ICICI has come up with a zero-load product. Another scheme

that has been introduced automatically balances the debt and equity components

of the portfolio every quarter. Apart from this, ICICI Prudential has been quick

off the block with retirement solutions and the first to come up with health

products.

If ICICI Prudential has managed to sign on 6.5 million policy holders, it is

because the company has built up a strong agent network, which brings in 60

per cent of the total premium. Today the insurer has nearly 250,000 agents

working for it, even though it doesn't hand out the best commissions in the

industry.

Bajaj Allianz's network is about 275,000- strong, while the public sector Life

Insurance Corporation boasts over a million agents. ICICI Prudential does not

care about their commission at the lower end compared with peers they

compensate them by ensuring that customer do better volumes.

The insurer is also rolling out offices at a furious pace; by the end of March

2008, ICICI Prudential will have around 1,500 offices from around 1,100

currently, of which nearly 900 will have come up in 2007-08. Bajaj Allianz, too,

has around 1,000 offices as of now. ICICI Prudential targeting of 3,500 branches

in five years.

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The industry believes ICICI Prudential has a big advantage in that it can

leverage the customer base of its parent ICICI Bank. Bajaj Allianz, for instance,

didn't have that advantage. Banc assurance today fetches about 27 per cent of

ICICI's premium; apart from ICICI Bank, the insurer sells through Bank of India,

Federal Bank, South Indian Bank and some co-operative and rural banks.

While ICICI Prudential has done well to stay at the top, the next seven years will

certainly be more difficult than the last seven. Competition is getting keener - in

the past couple of years, Bajaj Allianz is believed to have written more policies

than Prudential. SBI Life has a stronger distribution now that it has signed on

many more agents and newcomers like Reliance (which took over AMP Sanmar)are growing at a fast pace. But the strong growth in the industry has surprised

everyone.

Limitation of the Project

The research is confined to a certain parts of Delhi due to time constraints and

does not necessarily shows a pattern applicable to all of Country.

Some respondents were reluctant to divulge personal information which can

affect the validity of all responses. In a rapidly changing industry, analysis on

one day or in one segment can change very quickly. The environmental changes

are vital to be considered in order to assimilate the findings

Conclusion

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There has been a tectonic shift in advertising the insurance companies. Till 2 or

3 years back a typical Ad will showcase a small happy family enjoying their

life. Then one unfortunate Day the head of the family dies in an accident and the

rest of the family is drawn to rags. The ad ends up saying Insurance can help

them against such calamities. People bought the idea and started buying

insurance. But there was a basic flaw in the ad. It tells the consumers about the

advantages of "having Insurance" but nothing about "buying insurance from a

particular insurance firm". So whoever casting such ad was helping the industry

as a whole but not their specific firm.

If we see the recent ads they are talking about how "SBI Life" can help smoothen

your old- age life or how "ICICI Prudential" can help you in receiving pensions

etc. This sounds more logical. Each ad speaks about how their firms offers can

help you instead of telling how insurance as a whole can help you.

In concluding part of this project it shows that advertisement is very much

important for any business. A huge amount is paidby companies against

advertisement. There are many ways available to give advertisement on which

this amount is paid this are TV, Newspaper, Radio, Internet etc. The amount

spent on advertisement over four year across the world is shown I table.

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At the initial phase of a company it is important that they give emphasis on

corporate advertising because it helps in brand recall. At the later stage company

can go for product class advertisements. Well it is also found that during

session that endorsement of celebrities is helpful in ad recall. But giving

advertisement in any type of media is not the only medium; there are many other

ways also like social service, by way of educating people.

Especially for Insurance companies if they want to capture rural market then

they have to approach in different way. In my opinion rural market can only been

captured if we reaches to there heart. And this can be happen only if we solve

there basic problem.

Recommendation about promotional strategies

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The suggestions have been classified into two categories. Action oriented

suggestions People oriented suggestions

Action oriented suggestions

An intense AIDA model needs to be adopted the AIDA model (Awareness,

Internet, Desire, and Action). Customers are aware of majority of products of

ICICI PRUDENTIAL Life Insurance Co. Ltd.

To create the awareness regarding Product

1. Print & Electronic Media Advertisement should be done (As we can see

intense ad campaign of HDFC Standard Life and Bajaj Allianz.)

2. After the initial promotional campaign the relative advantage of ICICI

PRUDENTIAL Life Insurance Co. Ltd. Over its competitor should be

highlighted.

3. Hoardings at prime areas should be used.

People oriented suggestions

1. Creating offers like lucky draws for the users of Internet.

2. Giving free gifts for the customer.

Special recommendation

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The insurance sector has largely stuck to images of happy families, carefree

couples and cute babies. We have to use a different route to break the clutter,

and humor and endorsement of celebrities is some of the routes available to us."

ICICI Prudential should come in front for development of rural sector, by way

of establishing a school, by digging a well in villages. May be it seems like a

fool's suggestion but it is one of the way to gain trust in rural sector. We can also

use to advertise us by using the way of "HALLA BOL". If we adopt this

technique then I am sure that this will be most creative and cheaper

advertisement all over the world. And by this way ICICI Prudential can againlist their name in top advertiser.

Promotional Strategies Adopted by Insurance Industry

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