Opinion: Building engaging BFSI brand campaigns in a post-pandemic landscape

Geetanjali Kothari, Bharti AXA Life Insurance gives an insight into how BFSI brands can shed their technical image and de-jargon their communication through a smart marketing strategy.

The finance industry is witnessing a paradigm shift post-COVID-19 and brands are constantly brainstorming to enhance their engagement strategies and create engaging experiences in the post-pandemic landscape. BFSI brands are thinking of innovative ways to stand out in a crowded market, as customers are no longer making decisions based solely on product selection or price; they’re assessing what a brand says, what it does, and what it stands for. Therefore, it is vital for brands to be authentic and provide new value propositions that create differentiation and reach customers at various touchpoints in relevant and compelling formats.

Overall, the last year has put the spotlight on empathy, courage, resilience, and hope. Catching the pulse of the consumers, listening to them, understanding their pain points will continue to play an intrinsic role in building brand recall. Anticipating the customers’ needs, building campaigns centered on relevance and simplicity, as well as adopting a user-first, omnichannel approach to campaign planning is a must-do for BFSI brands. 

Within the finance and especially the insurance industry, we often see jargons and multiple terms & conditions that can confuse customers or make them adverse about the category. It is in fact a barrier to purchase.

Therefore, simplifying communication and de-jargonizing messages while building campaigns for the BFSI segment is critical.

Further, there is a huge opportunity for BFSI brands to adopt an approach that would provide relevance to consumers by being contextual and personalized to their lives. Therefore, brands must cultivate a marketing strategy that provides authentic insights for consumers, enables them to make the most suitable decisions, and offers optimal value.

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With the shift in consumers spending more time online, digital channels are contributing a substantial chunk of revenue to modern organizations. Marketers, therefore, need to craft campaigns that are digital-first. The new normal also seems to have caused tremendous shifts in consumer behavior and it is important to account for this in campaign planning.

Another aspect is curating the right social media content- As an insurer, sharing content just on insurance may not result in greater engagement. Marketers are driving innovative campaigns and building interactive content that levers on smaller festivals or contextual & topical days. We have seen flexible formats such as Q&As, live sessions, seasons & topical posts not only lead to greater retention of followers but also increase engagement on the content. 

While marketing today is largely driven by analyzing customer data and insights, creativity and intuition are still important. 

In terms of format, video marketing continues to have a high resonance- insightful films, testimonials from policyholders, and demonstrating the brand's commitment to society are effective in engaging customers and generating new leads

This audience often turns to influencers, especially when it comes to financial planning and recommendations. Therefore, influencer marketing has gained even more momentum amidst the pandemic as brands engage with customers in a virtual world. Collaborating with influencers can yield greater participation and engagement, especially among the millennial and digitally savvy audience. 

Lastly, coming to measurement, adopting the SMART approach (specific, measurable, achievable, result-focused, and time-bound) to define campaign goals and KPIs can help improve retention, prospecting, sales output, producing, and cross-selling.

Setting measurable goals is key to gauging the success of a campaign and monitoring actionable insights. Brands should also assess learnings from previous campaigns - deep dive into elements that worked well and resonated, and outline areas of opportunity & improvement. 

Insurance marketing campaigns may appear to be a difficult undertaking, but an insurance marketing firm can provide you with efficient, professional digital marketing services that make the process much easier. Whether you're trying to promote new items or reach out to new audiences, it's important to remember that brand awareness may help you generate sales, open up new business prospects, and uncover audience insights that can help you improve your marketing strategy.

The article is authored by Geetanjali Kothari, Head – Marketing & Corporate Communications, Bharti AXA Life Insurance.