In Conversation with Karthik Raman, CMO and Head – Products, IDBI Federal Life Insurance

One of the leading Life Insurance companies of India, IDBI Federal Life Insurance, has been an active driver of the industry’s evolution. In our chat with Karthik Raman, CMO and Head – Products, IDBI Federal Life Insurance, he explains the brand’s marketing ploys and their intelligent use of sports-marketing.

Q. Your journey with IDBI Federal spans over 11 years. How has the insurance sector reinvented itself and how instrumental has IDBI Federal been in that change?

My journey of 11 years at IDBI Federal has flown by in a jiffy and has been both, super exciting and incredibly challenging. I started off in Bancassurance sales and set up the entire distribution channel for the organization. Despite the ups and downs, I managed to drive Banca differently to take IDBI Bank to one of the top producers in the PSU segment. Then, after 22 years in sales, I decided to head in a different direction and moved to my current role in November 2015 as the Head of Marketing and Products.

The life insurance industry has evolved tremendously since opening up to private players in 2000. However, life insurance penetration is still very low in India and there is a need for greater awareness and education about its importance, which is something the industry is trying to tackle. Marketing of life insurance is also undergoing a change, moving from an earlier positioning of fear and tax-saving to living a life of happiness. We are happy to have been the first mover on this front, with our focus on health and well-being and have walked the talk with our marathons, our ‘Quest For Excellence’ program with the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy, our #YoungChamps badminton program and our other sports initiatives.

Q. Insurance marketing is generally received as boring. How is IDBI Federal Life Insurance doing it intelligently to break the clutter? What is the biggest challenge when it comes to advertising in the insurance sector?

The life insurance industry in India is one of the most competitive with 23 players targeting the same set of audiences. The biggest challenge is being heard as most of the players end up talking the same language when selling their products. They either attempt to instill the fear of death in consumers or position their products as tax-saving instruments.

At IDBI Federal Life Insurance, we have taken a conscious call to move away from this negative space and have endeavored to change this mindset by repositioning life insurance as an important tool for enhancing one’s financial security and well-being. In many of our campaigns, we have used humor as a medium to convey this message in an appealing and non-threatening manner. We have also used our marathons, our grassroots level badminton programme and our other sports initiatives as mediums to convey positivity and encourage Indians to lead a fitter and healthier life.

Q. How do you utilize various platforms (Print/ radio/ OOH) for advertising? How does your ad spend look like?

Over the years, we have seen that digital helps us reach our desired audience, is far more sustainable and is the most cost-effective medium of communication. Keeping this in mind, we now focus primarily on digital with most of our latest campaigns like #KeepMoving, Term Insurance videos, ‘Double Delights’ – Tax Saving Campaign and Child Plan campaign being run solely on digital platforms such as social media, through both our own pages and category influencers, microsites, blogs and GDN banner ads. Close to 60% of our budget is allocated to digital, however, around the time of our marathons, we do some targeted print, outdoor and radio advertising in the respective cities.

Q. Sports-marketing in India is becoming quite a trend. How was the response to the #KeepMoving campaign? How according to you did association with sports compliment your brand image?

The #KeepMoving campaign, helmed by our Brand Ambassador, Sachin Tendulkar the campaign sought to drive home the message that in order to create and lead a healthy lifestyle, it is important to focus on both – Physical Fitness & Financial Fitness. The campaign was launched with a series of short films featuring Sachin Tendulkar, where he encouraged people to log onto the #KeepMoving microsite – www.keepmovingindia.com and test their Physical and Financial Fitness levels. The campaign received a tremendous response and the #KeepMoving microsite clocked over 7 million hits, with 70,000+ registered users taking the pledge to improve their fitness on both counts. The #KeepMoving campaign also sustained a high engagement rate of 30% on social media platforms, which demonstrates the reach we have achieved as a brand.

Our unconventional approach to brand-building through the medium of sports and fitness has paid off very well over the years and it has greatly helped us in spreading awareness, reaching out to audiences, changing consumer behavior and differentiating ourselves from competitors.

Q. Talking about Sachin Tendulkar as your brand ambassador, he has been a face for other prominent brands too. Do you think it will weaken the top-of-mind recall for your brand? What was your rationale behind choosing him?

We have had a great association with Sachin Tendulkar right from 2016 when he came onboard as the Face of our Marathons and now, as our Brand Ambassador. After a truly legendary cricketing career, Sachin has been very active in spreading his message of health and fitness. We believe this resonates closely with our purpose of empowering people to create the life and lifestyle of their choice. Our association with Sachin has always been tremendously positive and this can be seen in our marathons in Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata and Kochi where he has inspired thousands of runners to put on their running shoes and begin their journey towards a fitter future. We also hold a pre-marathon chat show with Sachin in each city called ‘Run To Sachin’ where registered runners are invited to participate in a contest and win a chance to interact with the Master Blaster. Over the years, the response has been overwhelming with thousands vying for this exclusive opportunity.