Singapore – Manulife Singapore, a provider of insurance and financial planning solutions has partnered with Vonage a global cloud communications helping businesses accelerate their digital transformation, to enhance customer engagement in the Asia Pacific region.

As part of the partnership, Manulife Singapore will use Vonage’s SMS API to deliver automated and timely notifications for one-time passwords (OTPs), policy notifications and promotional messages to its customers in the region, including Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Hong Kong and China. 

In addition, Vonage APIs enable businesses to easily build intelligent, intuitive customer experiences directly into their existing applications, systems and workflows, enabling communications across any channel and on any device for better customer engagement.

Sunny Rao, Senior Vice President, API Global Sales of Vonage, said adopting digital solutions and personalised customer experiences has become critical to meeting changing customer expectations and strengthening brand loyalty. In fact, 71% of Singaporean consumers were more likely to buy again from a brand that treated them like an individual. 66% only buy from brands that understand their preferences, such as communicating through their favourite channels1.

“SMS remains a vital communication format in the Asia Pacific region, where mobile penetration continues to rise, with 1.8 billion subscribers expected by 20252. Vonage’s solutions can help businesses create seamless customer journeys through automated communications solutions. This ensures that businesses are engaging with customers on their preferred channel in a continuous and timely manner,” Rao said.

Both the number of application-to-person (A2P) messages and their value are growing as brands add mobile and digital channels to interact with their existing customers and recruit new ones. 1.3 trillion A2P SMS messages were sent in 2020, in emerging Asia Pacific, accounting for 70% of all A2P messages worldwide. It is expected that the number of A2P SMS messages will reach 1.9 trillion by 2025.

As a Vonage API Services customer, Manulife Singapore’s developers also benefit from priority support via a designated support team contactable through all channels and access to an Enterprise Service Manager who can assist with on-boarding and ongoing project success.

Singapore – As a way to show its appreciation for healthcare workers’ efforts during the country’s battle against the pandemic, Manulife will be giving away up to four complimentary admission passes to workers to the Manulife Sky Nets – Walking at Jewel Changi Airport. 

The recent campaign is in line with the company’s “Life Goes On, Let’s Move Responsibly”, which focuses on encouraging Singaporeans in embracing life in the new normal.

For Darren Thompson, chief customer officer at Manulife Singapore, the campaign launch is a way of bringing the focus point of gratitude to healthcare workers.

“2020 has been a whirlwind of a year for everyone, but no community has fought and endured the eye of the storm quite as much as healthcare workers. In the thick of the pandemic, these dedicated and resilient individuals not only performed their duties diligently, but also risked their lives to protect public health,” Thompson said.

He also added, “At Manulife, people are at the heart of what we do and we pride ourselves on walking with our customers and ensuring that their needs are upheld in every season. We want to thank these everyday heroes for their spirit of sacrifice, and are humbled to extend to them a window to unwind. We hope that this simple act will be an opportunity for our frontline fighters to take time to put them and their families first, even for just a few moments.”

To redeem their admission tickets, healthcare workers simply need to flash their own vocational passes at the Concierge Counter located at level 5 of Jewel for their admission tickets

The campaign is effective from November 25, 2020 to December 25, 2020, and in support of SG Cares Giving Week 2020.