Aviva Life Insurance expands brand proposition

Aviva Life Insurance's existing proposition 'Education is insurance' undergoes a metamorphosis and ventures beyond education to own the entire child insurance pie.

In 2009, when Aviva Life Insurance brought BBDO India on board, the challenge was to differentiate the brand by adopting a unique proposition. Consequently, the thought 'Education is insurance' was born. Now, driven by category clutter, the brand has re-visited this proposition.

As per the evolved brand architecture, Aviva Life Insurance stands for more than just the education slice, and attempts to own the entire child insurance pie. Besides taking a more holistic view of the category, the brand, in its new and improved avatar, highlights the role of the father as the supreme 'protector' in a child's life.

Interestingly, the brand has upped its overall ad spends by 10-15 per cent.

The campaign features brand ambassador Sachin Tendulkar, and the media mix comprises TV, radio, outdoor, and digital communication. Of these, the brand plans to focus on digital marketing as that's where most of its target audience (that is, young parents in the 27-35 years age bracket) is present, and also to leverage its products that are driven primarily by the online medium. In fact, the digital spend comprises 15-20 per cent of the entire media spend amount.

Explaining the brand's new proposition, Josy Paul, chairperson and chief creative officer, BBDO India, tells afaqs! that the exercise is akin to the brand "pulling back a bit" in order to get a broad hold on the entire child space, encompassing all aspects and not just education.

Gaurav Rajput, director, marketing, Aviva Life Insurance, says, "So far, the brand has focussed on just one facet of a child's gamut of needs -- education. This campaign addresses other aspects in the same space, as well."

One such aspect is the role of the father in a child's life, the insight being that children associate their sense of security with the presence of the father. When quizzed on why the brand chose to exploit this particular emotion, Paul tells afaqs!, "The role of the mother is very clear in society, but the role of the father is still evolving, as fathers are today more than just bread winners. 'The Provider' is the traditional role; today it's 'The Protector' -- that's the most important one. Through this campaign, the brand explores the many different roles that fatherhood entails."

This change in the brand's proposition is based on the research findings thrown up by Aviva's 'Education Insights' consumer research that was carried out over the past two years. The study, conducted by IMRB India, tried to tap into behaviour trends amongst young parents.

A total of 2,402 face-to-face interviews were conducted across metros and mini-metros (including Delhi, Lucknow, Kolkata, Bhubaneshwar, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kochi, and Chandigarh). The sample comprised parents (across SECs) of children in the age group of 0-14 years.

Heart-warming as it is, one could, however, question the relevance of this approach in today's era of gender equality. afaqs! questions, "Isn't the emphasis on the father as the child's main source of security a bit obsolete today, given the fact that women (mothers, in this context) also play the role of the bread winner?

"At the risk of sounding sexist, it is true that a lot of the financial decision making is done by the male. And, the campaign does not aim to undermine the role of the mother. Rather, it aims to celebrate the role of the father," Rajput fields.

Paul, in turn, answers, "The role of the father today, is not as clear as that of the mother's. This campaign spells out the father's role beautifully."