#MARKiesAwards 2021 highlight: MSIG protects biodiversity via digital-first approach

The insurance scene in Singapore is no doubt one of the most competitive industries. With the horde of competition where agencies are constantly thinking of ways to prove what they can do for their clients, MSIG Asia took the unconventional greater route, turning its focus to what it can do for the conservation of our planet. While we see an increasing number of brands pledging to adopt more sustainable practices, MSIG took it upon itself to achieve sustainable change through education and engaging others to do the same. The campaign, which was done in partnership with W/E + Partners and GroupM, saw MSIG walk away with a bronze for Most Effective Use of Content category and Most Creative Communications / Public Relations category at MARKETING-INTERACTIVE's recent MARKies Awards 2021.

Challenge

As part of MSIG Asia’s ongoing initiatives to protect biodiversity, the insurance company wanted to establish MSIG as the general insurer associated with protecting biodiversity while driving actionable participation. It also hoped to boost its presence in the sustainability space to grow MSIG’s reputation for environmental stewardship and social responsibility.

According to the insurance company, its campaign tagline "protecting biodiversity for a sustainable future" embodied both its mission statement and brand positioning. With that as the overarching theme, it launched its campaign “MSIG for Biodiversity”.

Strategy

MSIG Asia said that public relations and communications were used to amplify the brand’s sustainability agenda over two periods. The first part focused on creating conversations to establish a connection between insurance and biodiversity. The second part coincided with the MSIG’s partnership with Conservation International Asia-Pacific and deep-dived into other topics surrounding biodiversity.

The brand chose to target corporate partners and industry players as well as like-minded working adults, to get them to share in its mission in protecting biodiversity and engage the current generation who have a direct impact on Earth with their actions and choices respectively.

It also planned to spread greater awareness for biodiversity as the topic is not well understood. The campaign focused on three key areas - to educate its target audience to join in on its sustainability journey through meaningful content and stories, leverage partners in conservation and sustainability field to create educational content on biodiversity and demonstrate how sustainable actions impact the protection of biodiversity and persuade its target audience to take action.

Execution

To continue growing MSIG’s association with biodiversity, the company distributed content that demonstrated how protecting biodiversity is essential for sustainable development and human well-being. Adopting the mission “protecting biodiversity is the insurance for a sustainable future”, MSIG Asia chose a digital-first approach and leveraged on non-digital channels whenever it could.

The company, together with its agency W/E + Partners, created localised content for each market across three different content categories. The three categories were building awareness for MSIG’s mission through the campaign, education on the rationale and solutions for protecting biodiversity, and action showcasing MSIG’s biodiversity initiatives from around the region respectively.

The first half of the campaign spanned from January to September. It was launched through a series of Facebook posts, Instagram Stories where eight targeted vertical video ads displayed interesting insights and learnings about the curiosities of biodiversity and KOL marketing.

For the latter, a few influencers from each market were engaged to drive awareness for educational content that was localised and unique. The influencers were asked to use a combination of Instagram posts and stories to showcase biodiversity focused content unique to their country, highlight MSIG’s biodiversity initiatives in their country and depict how sustainability was incorporated in each of their daily routines.

MSIG also utilised sponsored editorials to increase the reach of its education campaign, engaging South China Morning Post and Channel NewsAsia with a three-chapter infographic and five advertorials respectively. This was further amplified through their social channels. The brand also tapped into its social media follower base to boost the sponsored editorials by resharing content on brand-owned channels. This sought to further amplify and drive awareness for education and brand-focused initiatives.

Biodiversity-themed corporate premiums such as a care pack containing reusable masks, pouch, umbrella, among others were also created and distributed to its employees in the region as part of employee engagement and education efforts, in line with MSIG’s focus for the campaign.

The insurance company kicked off the second half of the campaign, lasting from October to December, by announcing the partnership with Conservation International Asia-Pacific in commemoration of sustainability day. It also launched an MSIG biodiversity knowledge hub, which was designed to educate and engage audiences on the importance of protecting biodiversity. It featured informative resources, such as a carbon footprint calculator, e-learning videos on biodiversity and quizzes. In addition, it also featured MSIG’s corporate customers who share a common goal of protecting biodiversity, such as Thai Union and Hong Kong’s MTR.

Leveraging Conservation International Asia-Pacific's expertise on the topic of biodiversity, MSIG extended the reach of its content through the latter's Facebook page and Instagram. Lastly, it also embedded its communications objectives and campaign goals around biodiversity into a sponsored event, District Race Singapore.

Results

The campaign saw significant media coverage and social posts. According to the insurance company, the overall campaign achieved all its targets and surpassed industry benchmarks for all platforms. Based on the results, the company said that it was evident biodiversity is a topic of interest, and it hoped to keep the conversation going to drive more to take action, and create a greater impact by getting more of its partners and corporates onboard this journey that will result in a sustainable future for generations to come.