Chapter 4 discusses in detail the communications decisions a marketing manager and his or her team has to take. These include PR, sponsorship, and digital and social media marketing, amongst others. Jubilee Life, a market leader in insurance, decided to win its customers by ‘customer love’ through the sponsorship of HBL PSL league, and with its strong digital presence. It ensured that it was present through a digital perimeter board, all backdrops, digital sight screen, ground activation, fantasy cricket league association and much more. The digital campaign ‘Befiker Moment of the Match’ covered interviews with the Man of the Match that were posted on social media. It engaged the customers through Jubilee Insurance’s health-related products like ‘Health Tip of the Day’, which was run on digital media. HBL PSL Trivia and Gold Box engagement activities were posted on Facebook and Instagram. It sponsored “MyStars 11 Fantasy Cricket Game” and TV Bugs during the HBL PSL 7 live transmission. It also ran a successful campaign on ‘International Childhood Cancer Awareness Day’. All of which are good examples of the communication strategies in Chapter 4 (Dr. Aamir Khan, Case Advisor).
If one insurance company can be given the credit of revolutionizing the insurance industry by its conscious efforts, to push insurance products from the category of ‘unsought products’ to ‘specialty products’, then it must be Jubilee Life Insurance (JLI). The year 2022 marks 25 years anniversary of Jubilee Life Insurance for the commitment to a care-free future for the people by focusing on ‘3 P’ communities: people, partnerships, and possibilities. JLI’s inspiring story is narrated here to document how the revolution took place, largely through creating brand awareness and generating and sustaining customer loyalty.
Origins of Jubilee Life
The company started its operations in 1996 with the vision of enabling people to tackle future uncertainties. The company started its operations as a Commercial Union. Later, it was acquired by the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED) and rebranded as “Jubilee Life Insurance (JLI)” in 2011, for its association with “Happiness” as its core business. Jubilee Life Insurance is part of a global business and needed one global name for their customers to recognize them around the world. As a global brand, they brought the best practices in services and world-class solutions to fulfill their customers’ financial needs. Jubilee Life Insurance believed that living as a customer-centric brand is the way forward in the fast-changing marketplace. For them, it was not just the change in name – it is the way they approach your future. Financial robustness, faster growth, and excellent customer service have been the hallmark of their operations.
Jubilee Life is a global brand that offers diverse insurance solutions (life, health, general, and Takaful), committed to the vision of being Pakistan’s best service provider in the insurance industry. JLI has attained the status of being in the list of top 25 companies of the Pakistan Stock Exchange, making it the only insurance company to make it to this prestigious list. It is led by Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Javed Ahmed, since 1997. Under his leadership, the company emerged as one of the leading private sector insurers in Pakistan with over 7.5 million lives insured. The company launched many successful initiatives like Bancassurance, Micro-Insurance, and Takaful business and won many prestigious awards.
The company stands tall today as the largest private sector insurer in Pakistan, be it Life insurance, Health insurance, or Family Takaful. It is also the largest Takaful operator nationwide. Throughout 25 years, Jubilee Life has acquired a strong presence in the market coupled with a promise to provide solutions that protect the future of its customers. Its innovative and customer-centric approach, offering an array of insurance solutions for various financial protection needs makes them the highest premium writer in the country. The business acumen and expertise have also made Jubilee Life the fastest-growing financial fund in Pakistan.
However, external environment turbulence posed major challenges to the insurance business industry struggling with customer perceptions. Life Insurance penetration in Pakistan is only 1% and has myths and misconceptions attached to the category, such as ‘insurance proves to be a long-term investment’ and ‘it is beneficial only in case of untimely death’. While the industry was dealing with ‘customer-centric’ vs. ‘brand-centric’ issues, the COVID-19 pandemic struck the world. Since 2019, the pandemic has undoubtedly tested the industry’s resilience as the industry battled to maintain business stability and operational continuity in the face of lockdowns and disruptions.
Even though JLI being the market leader continued to deliver operational resilience and serve its customers, innovation became inevitable to cope with the novel challenges. JLI introduced the concept of ‘living benefits’ to tackle the myth that life insurance proves to be beneficial only after death i.e., communicate the fact that ‘when you live it’s saving and when you die it is insurance’. Keeping the brand essence ‘Live Free’ in mind, JLI wanted to make sure that there was a visible and significant impact to the myth communicated above and that the target audience gets convinced that they will be offered benefits throughout their life. JLI focused on creating a unique solution to encounter the prevalent issues – 1. Win the customer by ‘customers love’ through the sponsorship of the HBL PSL league in customer-tailored unique ways; 2. Create a strong digital presence of all marketing moves.
Associate Jubilee with Pakistan’s passion: Cricket
Pakistan’s love for cricket is no secret. The game brings the whole nation together and is an integral part of the country’s culture. Pakistan’s cricket history is filled with the winning of numerous championships over the years, including the historic 1992 Cricket World Cup, the ICC World Twenty 20 in 2009, and the ICC Champions Trophy in 2017. Despite the tough time for cricket in Pakistan after 2008, the PCB has managed to bring back cricket to Pakistan. The credit goes to the players as well, whose performances in different cricket series is phenomenal. The HBL-PSL league started by PCB in 2016 gained great momentum in a short span of time and become the biggest sporting event in Pakistan. The entry of international players and coaches, and the passion of cricket fans added a huge brand mileage to this cricket series.
Considering the significance of cricket in Pakistan, Jubilee Life Insurance decided to support cricket events nationally and internationally through major sponsorships. As the Official Insurance Partner of HBL-PSL 2022, Jubilee covered on the ground the 1) 3D mat in the mid-wicket area and 2) logo placement, for enhanced visibility. It also took other initiatives:
Digital Perimeter Board and Upper-tier boards
All backdrops (Press, Match Ceremony & Commentator)
Digital sight screen at One Bowling End and Giant LED Screen
Safe Hand of the Match and Customized award in the Final Match
Ground Activation during HBL PSL 2022 /Interview of Man of the Match after every game and Merchandise Activation
Fantasy Cricket League Activation
International Childhood Cancer Awareness Day Activation, and
TVCs Aired on Ten Sports and A Sports
To leverage the cricket events, Jubilee was one of the Gold sponsors for HBL PSL 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 and used this platform to strengthen its connectivity with the masses, with digital mediums being the key. Along with the on-ground marketing campaign, JLI ensured a strong digital presence to tap the audience watching the matches from home. The main objective was to leverage offline activities on digital media in return generating user interaction and engagement.
Jubilee Life initiated various activities on social media in accordance with being the Official Insurance Partner of HBL Pakistan Super League season 7. The digital campaign included ‘Befiker Moment of the Match’ that covered the interview of ‘Man of the Match’ on social media (Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube). A total of 34 videos were posted on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, each of the videos was built around the Turning Point (Befiker Moment of the Match) featuring Bilal Ashraf, Fawad Alam, and Faizan Najeeb talk to the Man of the Match to get to know the turning point (Befiker Moment) for them in the respective matches. The celebrities also discussed and analyzed every match of the tournament.
To engage the customers and draw their attention to Jubilee Insurance’s Health-related products ‘Health Tip of the Day’ was run on digital media. The series of videos showed Bilal Ashraf, Fawad Alam, and Faizan Najeeb talking to the ‘Man of the Match’ to get to know the health tip they follow to stay fit. The ‘Fan of the Game’ interview with Jubilee Life Customers and Spectators in the stadium was another unique customer engagement move by JLI, where the selected celebrities/influencers talked to customers and enthusiastic fans from the stadium.
Furthermore, HBL PSL Trivia and Gold Box engagement activities were posted on Facebook and Instagram. In HBL PSL Trivia fans were asked to give correct answers in the comments section and in Gold Box fans were asked to place their favorite golden goody in Jubilee Gold Box and post the screenshot in the comments section to win the ‘merchandise’. Players’ and commentators’ shout-outs were uploaded on social media, congratulating Jubilee Insurance on becoming the Official Insurance Partner of HBL PSL 7.
Danny Morrison, Mike Haysman, Nick Knight, David Gower, Anwar Ali, Hammad Azam, Sahibzada Farhan, and Jamal Anwar along with Bilal Ashraf, Fawad Alam, and Faizan Najeeb were part of the shout-out videos. Distinctive and classifiable ‘Saffron Befiker Deals’ were also sponsored by JLI where the audience watching the cricket matches from homes could fetch discounts on their food orders. A total of 20 posts were posted for all the Saffron Deals and Discounts throughout HBL PSL 7. The results were encouraging; Video views increased by 116.9% compared to that of PSL 2021, post reach increased by 158% compared to that of PSL 2021, and engagement rate increased by 1.27%.
Jubilee Insurance sponsored the ‘MyStars 11 Fantasy Cricket Game’ and TV Bugs during HBL PSL 7 live transmission was run as well as content on Cricwick social media pages was uploaded. The objective of the Jubilee Insurance MyStars 11 Fantasy cricket game was to maximise and enhance the brand engagement of Jubilee Insurance association with My Stars 11 Fantasy Cricket League and to tap into the future market for product information and building brand relationship. It also helped in building on the Jubilee Insurance cricket association of ground sponsorship with digital assets. It became the most downloaded app, with total installs of 974,797 and an active usage rate of 310,704 per day during the HBL PSL 7 time period. A total of 1,951,651 teams were created with 202,526 players. It was a great season for MyStars11 in HBL PSL 7 with new records being set by marking a 100% increase in total userbase with 4.4 million total users. This was coupled with 216 million views and over 19 million total sessions.
JLI introduced the first-ever cricket experience through Virtual Reality (VR) activation in Pakistan during HBL PSL Season 7 Fantasy Cricket League. The virtual reality-based game allowed the players to play with their favorite cricketers in virtual reality. The activation was carried out during HBL PSL 7 in the cities of Karachi, Lahore, Gujranwala, Hyderabad, Islamabad, and Rawalpindi at Cinepax Cinemas and Daewoo Bus Terminals.
JLI ran a successful campaign on Digital Mediums focusing on celebrating ‘International Childhood Cancer Awareness Day’. Being a partner with The Indus Hospital and Health Network, JLI in sponsorship with Pakistan Cricket Board made the dream come true for Habiba and Affan, cancer child patients, by taking them to Lahore to watch the live HBL PSL match between Peshawar Zalmi and Quetta Gladiators on Feb 15, 2022, and to commemorate the International Childhood Cancer Awareness Day. The award ceremony also manifested JLI’s presence by highlighting Farhan Faridi, Group Head – Retail Operations, Administration & Marketing at JLI presenting the Wicketkeeper of the Tournament award to Muhammad Rizwan, Captain of Multan Sultans after the grand finale of the HBL PSL 7 between Lahore Qalandars and Multan Sultans. TVCs were broadcast on Ten Sports & A Sports channels. JLI distributed merchandise to on-ground audiences/spectators as a promotion campaign in which 55,000 cheer hands, 75,000 placards, and 19,000 caps were distributed in the stadiums in Karachi and Lahore.
OOH (Out of Home) Streamers Campaign was yet another way to increase the reach to the prospects and potential customers. Out-of-Home (OOH) Streamers were deployed in Lahore to enhance reach and visibility during HBL PSL 7. The streamers were placed in Lahore on the selected routes of Canal Road bridges, Gulberg main boulevard, Mall road, Faisal town to Barkat market road, Center point to Firdous market road, Jinnah hospital to Karim market road.
As cricket is the biggest platform in Pakistan for any brand, Jubilee was the first brand in the insurance category to associate itself with it. The decision helped the brand to increase awareness among the masses, foster its brand equity and build TOM (Top of Mind awareness). Brand intended to buy in future category intenders marked Jubilee Life higher after the campaign, showing an increase from 31.4% to 32.5%. Hence proving that the target audience intends to choose Jubilee Life over the competitors.
Jubilee Life has its footprints entrenched in every corner of Pakistan, having attained the position of the leading private sector life and health insurance company in Pakistan through its well-thought, well-managed HBL PSL campaigns. This was attained through the trust and confidence reposed in them by their valued policyholders, the support of all Jubilee Life stakeholders, and the teamwork of their human resources. The endless thrust of their policyholders, partner banks, a panel of hospitals, shareholders, their human resources, and strong marketing policies over 25 eventful years have made the impossible, possible. Through robust insurance solutions and subsequent commitment to the timely payment of claims and benefits, Jubilee Life instilled a sense of confidence and trust in its customers and stakeholders.
Over the years Jubilee Life Insurance has paid PKR 120 billion in Insurance Benefits and has secured over 7.5 million lives. Jubilee Life reaffirms its commitment to its policyholders to provide them with the highest levels of excellence and service and looks forward to celebrating many more anniversaries together. With Jubilee Life, families across Pakistan have the peace of mind that they can get the support they need - when and where they need it!
Questions to stimulate conversation on the case
- What distinct features of the marketing campaign do you notice in HBL-PSL 7 by Jubilee Life Insurance?
- What aspects of ‘Artificial Intelligence’ and ‘Design Thinking’ were employed by JLI in its customer-centric marketing campaign?
- How JLI tackled Pandemic related issues? How effective were the marketing tools of JLI in achieving the goal?
- If you are given the task of changing ‘customers’ perceptions’ positively towards ‘unsought’ goods, what marketing techniques would you employ?
Links and media
“goods consumer does not know about or normally think of buying” – Kotler, P., & Keller, K. (2015). Marketing Management (15th global edition). Pearson Education Limited. page 391.
“goods that have unique characteristics or brand identification for which enough buyers are willing to make a special purchasing effort” – Kotler, P., & Keller, K. (2015). Marketing Management (15th global edition). Pearson Education Limited. page 391.
Heding, T., Knudtzen, C. F., & Bjerre, M. (2020). Brand management: Mastering research, theory, and practice. Routledge.
Kotler, P., & Keller, K. (2015). Marketing Management (15th global edition).
Pearson Education Limited. page 48.