Aviva's global 360-campaign puts real people in focus

Insurance can be a bit boring, admits Mark Duffy, regional marketing director of life products and marketing for Asia-Pacific, and Aviva’s first global campaign as a consolidated brand aims to bring a fresh perspective by putting the spotlight on the real stories of Aviva’s customers, employees and the community.

“There are two messages we're trying to convey with this campaign,” Duffy said. “The first is that as a global institution, Aviva has the financial stability you'd expect from a 300-year-old institution. Perhaps the more important part of the campaign and where we differentiate ourselves from our competitors is through the second message, which is 'You are the big picture'. This is our statement of intent to building a customer-centric organisation.”

The first phase of the campaign rolls out from the United Kingdom to six of Aviva’s markets in London, Paris, Warsaw, Singapore, Mumbai and Delhi. “The idea was to roll out the campaign in markets that are important to Aviva, and for it to have a global reach,” Duffy said adding that Singapore was chosen as the first place to launch in Asia because it is one of the company’s largest markets in the region.  

“We wanted to show we were all about the customers in a humble yet slightly different way,” Duffy said of the 360-degree campaign.

Undoubtedly, a big part of the campaign is its huge outdoor component, where images are projected onto landmark buildings, such as the National Theatre in London, Ave Charles de Gaulle in Paris and Hotel Intercontinental in Warsaw. In Singapore, projections start tonight on Central on Clarke Quay until the end of November.

“We’ve linked our global stature to the huge buildings, and the projections are all based around the recognition of people,” Duffy said, adding that 28 true and inspiring stories make up the core of the campaign.

Equally big is the digital component of the campaign. The public is invited to upload pictures onto the specially-created website Youarethebigpicture.com to be projected on a randomly-selected building anywhere in the world. The company has also launched a You Tube channel for those who want to save their eight seconds of fame.

For every photo uploaded, Aviva donates one GBP, up to GBP250,000, towards 'Street to school', an initiative which helps get street children around the world into education. “We’re also about recognising people who are not recognised,” Duffy said, adding that the goal is to get half a million kids off the streets.

Duffy said that local activities are different for each market. In Singapore, Aviva works with Northlight School for disadvantaged kids, and the public would be asked to nominate a person they want to recognise. Nominations would be encouraged via online, radio and print media.

Worldwide, the insurance group has also launched the Future Prosperity panel as part of the campaign. Thought-leaders from across the world are invited to join a think-tank that looks at the issues and trends driving global savings in the future. “That’s from a societal point of view but clearly there's a link to our business,” Duffy concluded.