Allison Chew, the head of PR, Brand, and Marketing at AIA Singapore, is recognised at MARKETECH APAC’s Empowered Women Awards 2023 as one of our ‘Empowered Women in Marketing’.
Since 2020, Allison has been spearheading the PR, Brand, and Marketing department of AIA Singapore, a leading life insurer in Singapore. Her rich professional background combines experience from both the client and agency sides – giving her a holistic understanding of the PR, brand, and marketing spectrum. Allison has led the marketing teams of some of the biggest corporations in Singapore, such as Singtel. Meanwhile, on the agency side, she has previously worked at acclaimed international agencies, Dentsu and McCann Worldgroup.
Developing brand campaigns with a heart
AIA Singapore’s brand promise is enabling people to live ‘Healthier, Longer, Better Lives’. Beyond the brand and communications objective of its marketing campaigns to remain top-of-mind amongst consumers, Allison has developed innovative initiatives to engage Singaporeans with genuine social advocacy in mind.
One of her notable achievements is scaling up the brand’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives by launching creative and impactful campaigns, resulting in business growth, increased engagement, and loyalty. Recognising the potential to strengthen AIA’s commitment to social responsibility, Allison launched the AIA Better Lives Fund in 2021, strategically consolidating the company’s diverse CSR initiatives into a unified entity.
One such remarkable initiative under AIA Better Lives Fund was the ‘Grant-A-Wish’ campaign. Leveraging the popularity of football in Singapore, Allison led her team in partnering with Tottenham Hotspur Football Club (Spurs) players by auctioning their match-worn shirts and exclusive merchandise and featuring them in a social challenge – The AIA Header Challenge – on Instagram and TikTok. These activities generated over 3.6 million engagements across Facebook and Instagram and raised about S$100,000.
Amongst other significant campaigns under her helm was the launch of the AIA Green Pledge of S$5 million in 2021 to the National Parks Board’s (NParks) registered charity, Garden City Fund. This initiative would see the planting of 16,666 trees in Singapore’s parks and nature reserves over five years, making AIA’s contribution towards more green spaces across the city to the OneMillionTrees movement and Garden City Fund’s Plant-A-Tree programme the largest by an organisation to date.
Nurturing consumers’ passions
One of the challenges of marketing a brand within the insurance space is making such a complex industry understandable and relatable to customers.
Under Allison’s leadership, AIA Singapore was able to embrace its inherent brand character while remaining adaptable to consumers’ needs. Allison led the team by ensuring their ears were kept on the ground, constantly listening to consumers’ needs and passions. With Singaporeans being fervent football fans, Allison identified the opportunity to leverage AIA’s football assets given its global principal partnership with Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, building stronger relationships and positive associations between the brand and its customers and community.
By leveraging football, Allison spearheaded the development of engaging campaigns and experiences that allowed the audience to connect with AIA on a more relatable level, which is fundamental in forging brand affinity and positive reputation building. These campaigns established a compelling and dynamic brand image that also differentiated AIA from its competitors. Allison’s leadership and strategic thinking have played a pivotal role in positioning AIA as a forward-thinking insurer that leverages sports to connect with audiences.
With this strategy, Allison launched a series of CSR initiatives with football as their theme, under the wider AIA Better Lives Fund umbrella. Aside from the ‘Grant A Wish’ campaign, Allison also elevated AIA Singapore’s flagship fundraising initiative, ‘AIA Better Lives Charity Golf and Dinner” in September 2022, by inviting Teddy Sheringham, a Spurs legend, to participate in a breakfast session with the media followed by the golf tournament and charity dinner event.
In a similar vein, Allison leveraged AIA’s partnership with Tottenham Hotspur Football Club with the support of its International Development Coaches in the AIA Kids’ Football Clinics, which encouraged children and their families to live healthier, more active lives. Through its partnership with Spurs, AIA Singapore was able to use sports as an anchor – which correlates to its Healthier, Longer, Better Lives brand promise. This contributed to the AIA Better Lives Fund, administered by the Community Chest, which aims to create greater access to opportunities for education, growth, and development of its beneficiaries. This has highlighted AIA Singapore’s authenticity as a brand that is committed to promoting healthy living and doing good for the wider community.
An empathetic and empowered leader
Allison leads by genuine empathy, treating her team members as individuals with unique talents and invaluable perspectives. Her leadership is guided by mentorship, paving the way for her team to achieve success on a professional and personal level.
Under her guidance, the team thrived in an environment where they are engaged and empowered to do their best. As a result, her team members have grown to be recognised as experts in their fields. By leading with empathy and purpose, Allison is a mentor and a friend to her team. She has made a lasting impact not only on the people who have personally worked with her, but also on the company as a whole.
“As a woman leader at AIA Singapore, I’m inspired by our diversity-focused culture and my fellow female colleagues, who always strive for excellence, and are never afraid to speak up,” remarked Allison.
Check out who else made it to the Empowered Women Awards 2023 Winners’ list.
