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HowIFFCOTokioattractsurbancustomers
October31,200612:43IST

Howwouldyoureactifyoufoundahorsecarriageinacarpark?Surprised?Confused?Thatjustaboutsumsuphowtheparking
attendantinIFFCOTokio'snewtelevisioncommerciallookswhenheseesawelldressedexecutivetrottinginonahorsecarriage.

Andbeforehecanbegintorelatewiththisdifferentmodeoftransport,theexecutivegivessomesugarcubestotheattendanttofeed
thehorsewhilehe"parks"hisvehicle.Awrymessageappearsonthescreen:"Stillwaitingforyourcarinsuranceclaim?"andthe30
secondadfilmendswiththeparkingattendantstrugglingtotakecareoftheanimal.

ThenewcampaignisfurtherproofofthereinventionofIFFCOTokio.Startedin2001asanonlife(general)insurancecompanywith
afocusoncorporateinsurancewithproductslikefireinsurance,ITinsuranceandsoon,thecompanyisnowlookingatexpandingits
reachbyincludingretailservices.

Untilrecently,thecompanyhasconcentratedonruralmarkets,withspecificproductslikeweatherinsuranceandfarmers'policies.

Now, it is targeting urban consumers with a retail portfolio that includes products like motor insurance, home insurance, travel
insuranceandsoon.

Thisyear,theretailportfoliowillgrow10percenttoaccountfor55percentoftotalbusiness.Thecompanyalsoaimstoexceedlast
year's1.5millionpolicysalesfiguresbyanother40percentthisyear.

AjointventurebetweenleadingfertiliserproducerIFFCOandJapan'sTokioMarineandFireInsurance,IFFCOTokioistheNo.3
playerinthenonlifeinsurancesegmentafterICICILombardandBajajAllianz.

Lastyear,thecompanymarkeditsdecisiontobecomeamassplayerbybringingonboardDenstuMarcom,Delhi,tocommunicate
itsgeneralinsuranceofferingshomeinsurance,motorinsuranceandsoon.Theawardwinningprintandtelevisioncampaign,with
thetheme"whicheverwaylifetakesyou,we'llbethere",helpedincreasebrandrecall(fromnearzerolevels).

This time round, the focus has been tweaked slightly. "Last year's ads spoke about our retail products. Now, we wanted a
communicationthatwouldhighlightourpluseslikehasslefreeserviceandtimeliness,"explainsAjitNarain,CEOandMD,IFFCO
Tokio.

Todothat,thecompanydecidedtohighlightmotorinsurance,whichaccountsfor40percentofallnonlifeinsuranceandissecond
inpopularityonlytolifeinsurance.

Thechoiceofpolicyisalsoaperfectfitwiththecompany'stargetcustomersmeninthe2545yearagegroup.Researchbythe
companyhasshownthatmorementhanwomenarethedecisionmakersonnonlifeinsurancepolicies.

Thecarinsurancethemeremainsthesinglepointofcommunicationacrossallmediapress,outdoorandonline.Theadisbeing
currentlyairedonmassentertainmentchannelslikeStarPlus,SETMaxandbusinesschannelslikeAajTak.

Theprintadvertisement,too,whichshowsanundergroundcarparkwithahorsecarriageparkedalongsideothercars,willappearin
generalnewsmagazineslikeIndiaToday,newspapersandautomagazines.

"Theideawastohighlightcustomerservicesthroughasinglecreativethatiswidelyunderstoodbyourtargetaudience,asthiswould
increasethebrandvisibilityandrecallvalue,"saysNitinSuri,executivecreativedirector,DenstuMarcom,Delhi.

Still,neitherclientnoragencywantedtotakeachancewithanadthat'sratherdifferentfromtheusualinsurancecommercials.So
beforethemassrelease,Dentsuconducteddipsticksurveysamong300consumersinDelhi,MumbaiandChennai.

The respondents were also quizzed on the recall of various nonlife insurance products and just how important was the issue of
promptpaymentofclaims.

Theresultsweren'ttoosurprising:consumersaren'treallyawareofdifferentbrandsofnonlifeinsuranceproducts,buttheydoplace
a premium on timeliness. "The ad underlines the fact that for IFFCOTokio, turnaround time is as important as the car insurance
policy,"saysSuri.

The company claims a success rate of over 90 per cent in settling claims within seven working days of submission of the claim.
Recentinnovationsincludeonlinetrackingofaclaim'sprogressandofferingSMSalertsaboutthestatus.

"These moves increase credibility and also add a personal touch, which will help increase customer assurance," says Mukesh
Pilania,head,brandmanagement,IFFCOTokio.

RegionallanguagevariantsoftheTVChavebeenmade,ashaveshortereditsof15and10seconds.Thesewillbeonairacross
http://www.rediff.com/money/report/iffco/20061031.htm?print=true 1/2
7/13/2016 HowIFFCOTokioattractsurbancustomersRediff.com
cable TV channels for the next two to three weeks. But it's not just about advertising. Crosspromotions with auto companies like
Toyota,HondaandSuzukiarebeingplannedandongroundpromotionswillstartnextweek,retainingtheequinetheme.

ShoppersinGurgaonandMumbaiwillsoonseeacarriageparkedoutsidetheirfavouritemalls.IFFCOTokiostallshavealsobeen
setupnearby,whereinformationwillbeprovidedonthetypesofpolicies,theclaimprocessandsoon.

"Suchinteractiveactivitieswillhelpcreateastrongfootholdforthecompanyandincreasebrandassociation,"declaresSuri.There's
evenasignaturetuneforthecompanynow.It'sbeenusedintheTVSandwillbeplayedonallcompanyphonelinesandduring
corporateevents.

Ofcourse,noneofthatwouldbereallyrelevantifthecompanydidnothavethenecessaryinfrastructureinplace.

Inthepastyear,IFFCOTokiohasestablishedfivecustomerservicecentres,100officesand500exclusivedistributorpointsacross
India.And,thenumberofdistributorshasgoneupbynearly150from350overthesameperiod.

"Wewantedtoensurethatourdistributionandservicesweregoodenoughtoprovidethebest,wherepolicyholdersdon'thaveto
begfortheirownmoneyduetolengthyclaimprocedures,"explainsPilania.

WhoDidWhat

Client:IFFCOTokio
Agency:DentsuMarcom,Delhi
Creative:NitinSuriandChraneetaMann
Clientservicing:ChandyMohapatra

MeghanaBiwalkarinMumbai

Source:

http://www.rediff.com/money/report/iffco/20061031.htm?print=true 2/2