FWD Archives - MARKETECH APAC

Hong Kong – Insurance provider FWD Insurance has announced their foray into launching their first-ever NFT collection. They were announced during the 2022 Step Change leadership conference, which brought together the company’s management to explore leadership qualities and inspire innovative thinking.

By firstly engaging internal teams on this NFT initiative, FWD aims to further enhance customer experiences with a diverse suite of engagement activities extended to the metaverse so that people can pursue their passions and live life to the fullest at anywhere, anytime.

The NFT collection is now available on the popular NFT marketplace OpenSea, although they are not for sale.

Paul Tse, chief marketing and digital officer of FWD Hong Kong and Macau, said, “FWD is a fast-growing, innovative and dynamic insurer. Leveraging digital technology and our teams’ commitment to pursuing creativity to stay ahead of the curve, we continue to enhance the customer experience and drive our goals.”

He added, “The virtual world is set to transform our lives in many ways, and we hope to discover new opportunities in the virtual space as we see this as a new and additional way to engage and interact with our customers. With a suite of fun and exciting online and offline initiatives in the pipeline, we’re committed to realise our brand promise to ‘celebrate living’ with the community in the metaverse.”

Singapore – Esports media company ONE Esports has shared in a press release that it is planning to launch an esports talk show by 2022, in partnership with Marriott Bonvoy, Marriott International’s travel program.

Aside from the talk show, the partnership will also see Marriott Bonvoy focusing on expanding its reach to engage esports fans in Singapore and Malaysia via local Mobile Legends: Bang Bang community tournaments.

Aside from the global hotel brand, ONE Esports has also forged a tie-up with top insurance company FWD, to sponsor its Mobile Legends Professional League Invitational 2021 in Indonesia, where the top teams across SEA will compete to be the region’s best.

Through this, the esports media company will also feature the insurance company on its website, as well as create custom content for the brands’ flagship app, FWD Moments.

ONE Esports has been bolstering its media collaborations. The said partnerships follow the company’s recent tie-up with top online food and grocery delivery platform foodpanda, to create a new multi-part docuseries on esports called ‘Heroes of the Game’, which tackles the ‘ONE Esports Dota 2 Singapore Major’ event held in March this year.

Carlos Alimurung, ONE Esports’ CEO, noted that these partnerships will grow the esports ecosystem, and reaffirm ONE Esports’ commitment to scale esports globally with the world’s best brands.

“We are thrilled to have these partners join us in our mission to share and celebrate the stories of esports heroes who ignite the world with strength, hope, dreams, and inspiration,” said Alimurung.

Meanwhile, Julie Purser, the VP of marketing, loyalty and partnerships at Marriott International APAC, shared, “Marriott Bonvoy has evolved from a rewards program to an immersive and inclusive travel program, and we look forward to collaborating with ONE Esports to bring our expression of good travel in both virtual and physical settings to gamers across the region.”

Thailand – As a lifestyle product, you can always trust that a campaign on insurance is sure to touch hearts and ignite sentiment from the audience. Insurance group FWD in Thailand did just that but with a little spin-off of the usual creative films that are served by brands.

The twist isn’t one bit of a loud and attention-grabbing element, but a ‘slow burn’ or one that takes its time with a narrative – through the form of a ‘musicumentary’.

The campaign was created with creative agency GREYnJ UNITED Thailand, through its sister agency, Black&White, and instead of presenting a finished creative, the audience is taken to a 10-minute documentary, sort of a ‘behind-the-scene’, where a young composer has been briefed by FWD to develop a song for the campaign that would center on its slogan ‘Celebrate living’.

So instead of just surprising the audience with the song itself, FWD shows the ‘meaning of life’ through the journey of the young composer in finding the ‘right lyrics’.

In a true depiction of one’s creative process, the composer grabs a notebook and starts drawing inspiration from social media and memories. As the young man deep dives into the different people he sees on social media, he starts to reflect on what the real meaning of life is. He looks into a couple playing with dogs, a woman enjoying a meal, a man indulging in a massage, and another woman energetically exercising in a gym, as well as a group of friends having fun and a father taking care of his child.

In the end, still with no lyrics in hand, the composer takes one last shot on an elderly that has met a car accident, losing her ability to feel on one side of her face. In the film, the retired senior is shown to have lost all hope but is slowly getting back up through the power of music, and playing the guitar.

“Music healed my muscles…it healed me,” she says.

With this, the film comes to a conclusion with the composer’s realization that after all his search for the ‘meaning of life’, in the end, it’s simply a call to just “live it.”

He looks back at the people he has taken as study and realized that to live a good life is to simply continue enjoying the things that the said people are already doing – to eat, play with dogs, get a massage, dance, and live with the people we love.

GREYnJ UNITED Thailand shared that the campaign’s aim is to shift the industry’s norm and change the way people feel about insurance, something which is typically built on fear tactics and even distrust.

“The combination between music and good storytelling allows the brand message to take center stage of the audience’s hearts effectively. It’s another way to encourage people to nurture a passion for life and empower people to live life to the fullest without hesitation,” said the agency’s Creative Director of Black&White Arnon Kantawang.

The campaign is an integrated communication and will cover TVC, outdoor media, radio, and online film targeting people in ‘Segment G’, those that are young at heart, creative minded, and aged between 18 and 35.

Pavarisa Chumvigrant, chief branding, and communications officer at FWD Thailand, said, “GREYnJ UNITED via Black&White showed us its expertise in both strategic planning and creative excellence. They truly understand FWD’s initiatives on empowering people to celebrate Living and our vision in changing the way people feel about insurance.”

Black&White’s Business Director Sureeporn Kulchotehirun also commented that the life insurance market in Thailand is highly competitive, and therefore a strong brand presence and trustworthiness are becoming a key consideration for customers.

“We’re pleased to partner with FWD and leverage our creative expertise to address the business problems of this challenger brand,” said Kulchotehirun.

In January of this year, FWD in Singapore has also picked creative agency Grey to manage its integrated and creative campaigns.

Singapore – After a four-month-long pitching process, Grey’s Singapore arm Grey Group Singapore (Grey) has won the appointment of insurance company FWD Singapore as its lead agency, battling out 18 other agencies.

The deal is inked to span 12 months, with the option to extend for another year, and charges Grey with the management of all of FWD Singapore’s integrated and creative campaigns. The partnership will also see Grey offering its strategic counsel and advice on brand strategy to the company.

FWD Singapore is part of FWD group which spans Asia such as in Hong Kong & Macau, countries Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines, offering life and medical insurance, as well as general insurance, and employee benefits.

Grey Group Singapore’s CEO Konstantin Popovic

Taking over the mantle from incumbent DDB Asia Pacific, Grey Group Singapore’s CEO Konstantin Popovic said, “We are absolutely thrilled and honored to become part of FWD’s next growth phase. The brand’s pioneering spirit and ongoing commitment to innovation present tremendous creative opportunities.”

“Coinciding with how this category could transform for the better in an ever-changing, fast-paced world, we can’t wait to create famously effective campaigns together,” added Popovic.

Just recently, Grey has launched a new division, Grey Commerce Collective SEA, which saw the consolidation of Grey Singapore’s Shopper marketing arm to the collective.

Hong Kong – Insurance group FWD is launching a podcast series titled ‘Changing the way people feel about insurance…with FWD’, in an aim to freshen peoples’ perspective towards insurance.

The podcast will offer insights into FWD’s innovative approach and areas of expertise as well as the exciting trends in Asia’s dynamic insurance industry by means of expertise from FWD’s leadership team across Asia.

Its CEO, Huynh Thanh Phong is the first guest for the pilot episode of FWD’s podcast series. The episode centered around his personal philosophy that inspired his work, revealing what his customers have taught him, and describes how FWD is taking a new approach to a legacy industry.

Huynh Thanh Phong, FWD Group CEO

Hosted by broadcast journalist and writer Fiona Mattesini from podcast production group The Podcast People, FWD’s future podcast episodes will be focused on FWD’s customers, business partners, and employees and will cover topics ranging from FWD’s brand and culture, to its customer-led approach, to technologies and industry trends that are driving business initiatives.

“We’re delighted to announce our first-ever podcast series which is designed to bring powerful stories and helpful insights and information to our customers, partners, and employees located all across Asia. FWD is a digital-first insurer that prides itself on innovation, so launching a unique and educational podcast is a very logical step and aligns with our ambition to engage and inspire our customers in new and exciting ways,” said Azim Mithani, FWD chief of staff.

He added, “Today’s audiences are looking for original, on-demand content that sheds new light on old topics. This is exactly what our new podcast series is all about and we hope it will allow us to illuminate trends and leading-edge solutions in insurance to our audiences throughout Asia.”

Meanwhile, Bernadette Stevens, FWD Vice President for Brand and Marketing, said, “Our new podcast series will enable us to start a fresh conversation in what is a largely unoccupied space in the Asian insurance industry. Our aim is to stimulate interest in insurance and explain complicated subject matters in a creative and accessible way. At the same time, we are providing access to deeply candid conversations with FWD executives that illustrate exactly why we’re different and ahead of the curve, and ultimately changing the way people feel about insurance.”

FWD’s future podcast episodes will be released every two weeks, and are available on online platforms Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and Spotify.

Hong Kong – Insurance company FWD has made claim payments easier to receive by launching its instant claim service through its eService app.

Claim applications submitted to FWD’s eServices app

With the new platform launch, users can now process claims payment faster from days to within a day. Claim applications submitted to the eServices app are processed by its AI assessment engine, and customers can receive claims approvals and get paid through their selected means instantly via the platform’s Faster Payment System (FPS), at any 7-Eleven convenience stores, or by direct transfer to their bank accounts.

Applications processed and approved instantly by eServices app’s AI assessment engine

“Elevating the customer experience is always our top priority, and every claim is a ‘moment of truth’. We’ve been continuously developing customer-led innovations and working closely with our partners to make claims more straightforward and effortless. FWD will continue to invest in improving the claims experience and enhancing overall insurance solutions to keep changing the way people feel about insurance, and truly ‘celebrate living’ together,” said Ken Lau, FWD’s managing director for Greater China and Hong Kong CEO.

The instant claims service is available for life insurance’s personal accident claims of up to HK$3,000 covering treatment expenses, as FWD will extend service to support hospital income and hospital claims later this year.