#MARKiesAwards MY 2021 highlight: Allianz aims big with miniature world to stand out from the crowd

The topic of insurance coverage has always been controversial, especially among sceptics who do not believe in the reliability of buying an insurance package. However, when the pandemic hit, more people from the public saw the merits of having an insurance plan, as it provided assurance not only to the individual but for the surrounding loved ones as well. Pivoting its strategy to sell insurance online, and focusing on social ads, Allianz and MediaCliQ impressed the judges and secured them both the bronze awards for Most Creative - Audio and Most Creative - Social Media at A+M's MARKies Awards Malaysia 2021. 

Challenges

Malaysians are generally sceptical of insurance and dislike ads or even agents that have anything to do with insurance. Audiences are being bombarded with advertisements on most social media platforms they are browsing from. It has come to a point, that this is considered a blind spot, where most ads are scrolled without being consumed. For the whole of 2019, Allianz went with static visuals, rarely developing any video or audio for its social ads. However, the company realised that its biggest competitors were highly active with their social media, organising contests and handing out rewards to the consumers to stay abreast. Despite being aware of where to pivot its strategies to, Allianz still faced challenges in content creation, especially with the social distancing measures in place. It was not ideal to have a huge group of people produce or conduct the shoot.

With this knowledge in mind, Allianz and MediaCliQ sought to find out how it could maximise the budget given to do better than what was initially done. Also, how it could do better than Allianz's competitors such as AIA, Prudential and Great Eastern. The objective was simple, to give Allianz's Facebook content a new look and consistency that could drive results without expanding the budget. The target audience intended were all working Malaysians.

Strategy

Before Allianz and MediaCliQ could propel to new heights, it was crucial for them to earn the trust of the people. This was done by empathy. Aware of the pandemic taking a toll on many people of the public, the safety and welfare of loved ones are becoming a top priority. This gave both the company and agency the opportunity to provide these people with the right assurance. With that in mind, both parties needed something eye-catching and unique to stop audiences on their tracts while they are on their daily social media scrolls. Well aware that the audio is equally important in bringing out the essence of the content, Allianz and MediaCliQ decided to go with video content. In this way, both the visual and audio could be incorporated for better storytelling.

Noticing that most ads use humans or vector drawings of humans to carry the brand message, Allianz and MediaCliQ sought to stand out from the crowd. The company and the agency had a thought - what if Allianz could turn its world into a miniature world? This then led to the decision to show reality through the lens of tiny humans. Allianz and MediaCliQ found that this creative direction gives a sense of surrealism and ample room to highlight audiences’ pain points and why insurance is necessary. For the execution, a paper cut concept animation was chosen, giving an authentic handcrafted visual treatment. By having the papercut and miniature world, Allianz and MediaCliQ could adopt many different sound effects to really bring the visual out to life. It could also have real life sound effects on surreal or art, making things interesting by implementing a paper tear sound effect.

Execution

With the help of Allianz’s database, MediaCliQ created custom and lookalike audience, targeting those who showed interest in Allianz’s wide variety of products. To ensure that the ads were maximised to reach real people who were more likely to purchase or leave a contact number, Allianz and MediaCliQ need to identify insurance agents, competitor’s agents, blacklisted customers, spammers and among others. As for audiences who had interacted with the ad, but did not perform an intended action, the strategy was to retarget them with a second follow-up ad.

Crafting over 87 postings, Allianz and MediaCliQ ensured that the visuals would be eye-catching and captivating. Every video and audio needed to speak to the audience’s pain points, giving them a solution they are looking for.

https://www.facebook.com/209462665759279/posts/3349520728420108

https://www.facebook.com/AllianzMalaysia/videos/1457943454416278/

Results

After the release of the campaign, Allianz surpassed its KPI within nine months, pushing the envelope with its creative and media strategies while remaining the same media budget. Gathering leads in the finance industry costs about RM200 or more, according to Allianz and MediaCliq. Some companies even set up on-ground booths and give free gifts for sign-ups. Utilising the budget given, the team managed to reduce cost for leads and conversion with the campaign.