#MarketingExcellenceAwards SG 2021 spills: MSIG Asia on instilling employee pride and authenticity to push boundaries

MSIG Asia has seen success in cutting through the online clutter about insurance by producing interesting initiatives such as a choose-your-own-adventure film titled "Help Me Leh". Its team in Singapore also improved the brand's reputation and top-of-mind recall in the digital landscape with its #RealSmallProblems campaign featuring witty and engaging content relevant to Singaporeans aged 20 to 44 years old.

At the same time, the insurer is also known for its support towards protecting biodiversity. Its 2022 red packets, for example, drew inspiration from the wonders and beauty of biodiversity. According to MSIG previously, it hoped to create a 10% to 20% increase in conversations around the topic of sustainability and biodiversity.

Leading the charge for all these initiatives is CMO Rebecca Ang Lee (pictured) who joined the team in 2016 as SVP, brand and communications, business excellence. She took on her current role two years later. Her efforts saw her clinch the gold award for Marketing Leader of the Year (Individual) at MARKETING-INTERACTIVE's Marketing Excellence Awards Singapore 2021. The brand also walked away with bronze in Excellence in Communications / Public Relations and was a finalist for Excellence in Brand Strategy and Excellence in Launch / Re-launch Marketing.

In this interview, she shares one shift in the marketing space that caught her by surprise and MSIG's marketing plans for the year.

This interview was done as part of MARKETING-INTERACTIVE’s winners’ and finalists’ interview series for Marketing Excellence Awards Singapore 2021. To find out more about the awards click here.

With flexible working arrangements being the increasing norm, how are you leveraging on that to your advantage?

Lee: I believe we have all adjusted and adapted to the new way of working since the COVID-19 outbreak began two years ago. Our working processes have altered as both work and personal life have been blurred, unfortunately.  We see many people taking on more in their work and juggling family obligations and that is why self-care is so important as time also seems to pass by very quickly during these times!

In view of these insights that everyone is pressed for time, in order for us to have a meaningful engagement with our stakeholders, target audience and even journalists who are working from home, having bite-sized content then becomes very important. The same applies in the advertising space where short, crisp and engaging videos are becoming increasingly popular. It is estimated that by the end of 2022, as much as 80%, or even more, of all created content will be in the form of video. That also explains why videos do very well for our target audience during this period.

What was one shift in the marketing space that caught you by surprise? How did your team pivot?

Lee: All the rage with TikTok! We know it was already gaining popularity among the younger audiences pre-COVID but in the past two years, TikTok users skyrocketed. This is attributed to its short-form video format. Users are also delighted by the unique content they find, and they feel safe expressing themselves with their own content. Another example is the increasing number of scams that further corrode trust in both online and offline space, and this has unfortunately spilt over to our marketing arena.

For example, where previously advertisers could send SMSes to clients with a link to website, we cannot do that anymore. Consumers are also more sceptical with banner ads carrying offers that seem too good to be true. This is where we need to ensure a fine balance in applying authenticity in a tactical message to ensure a successful call-to-action.

Tell us one crucial learning lesson the team gained in 2021.

Lee: Online events became the default during the pandemic and while it might look easy to run an online event compared to a physical one, we did not feel this was the case. One of the key challenges was, how do we ensure high engagement with our viewers? Attending a webinar during pre-COVID days always seemed such a novel idea. But in today’s context, everyone has about enough of this online fatigue. Therefore, a well-executed online event takes a lot more time to plan as users and presenters need to learn and understand the platform and optimise its features for engagement including pre- and post-event activities.

The programme needs to be concise and have strategic key messages in order to achieve and retain the audience’s attention. We’ve done enough live virtual events to also know that a lot more time is needed to plan and rehearse for it. Contingencies also need to be in place should technology fail us! All these require a lot of time, effort and creativity to ensure a highly engaging successful online event. Next up would also be how to plan for successful hybrid events as we move towards the next phase in these dynamic times!

What are your marketing plans for 2022?

Lee: At MSIG, we continue to focus on driving our brand awareness, building our thought leadership, and instilling our employee pride. However, the challenge today is that we are operating in a very much changed environment. It’s about asking ourselves how we can effectively carry out our priorities in the best possible way and achieve even better results in a challenging environment. 

Take instilling employee pride, for example, some of the initiatives that have been put on hold for our staff are the on-ground hands-on conservation activities due to COVID-19 safety measures. While we continue to press on with our sustainability webinar series for our staff, it doesn’t feel like the same impact has been achieved.

With online, participants don’t get the “touch and feel” experience. However, what we can potentially get are higher participation among staff, and hence greater engagement levels. This means my team and I are constantly challenged to continuously think of new ideas to engage our colleagues. And we will continue to push that envelope in 2022 and beyond.

What is one trend you are excited about that you think will carry on into the new year?

Lee: How organisations are going out fast and furious in communicating their sustainability or Net Zero messages! In view of the global challenges posed by issues such as climate change and limited natural resources, marketers ourselves have to start embracing and understanding the messaging around responsible consumerism in this new world.

I would like to think that as marketers, we are good communicators, so we need to ensure the authenticity of messages and information we’re putting out there. Consumers are playing an important role in driving up stronger sustainability standards and are increasingly making purchasing decisions for products and services they see as sustainable or coming from socially and environmentally responsible companies.  This is definitely a space where we will continue to see many more companies developing tactical and thematic marketing messages.

We need to keep up with the dynamic changes happening around us and that’s why I love marketing because there’s never a dull moment and I have to always creatively challenge myself with the new norm.