United Overseas Bank & BBH Singapore, “Fortune Cat”

(Image and video courtesy of BBH Singapore & UOB)As a global commerce hub, Singapore is home to many thriving small businesses. And while owners are heavily invested in the success of their businesses, many opt out of investing in vital business insurance.

United Overseas Bank (UOB), one of Singapore’s leading banks, saw an opportunity to relate more deeply to their customers and increase sales of business insurance policies.

UOB and BBH Singapore partnered to create the “Fortune Cat” campaign, which went on to win a Gold Effie in the Business-to-Business category at the 2018 Effie Awards Singapore competition.

We asked the team behind this Effie-winning work to share their story. Read on below to learn how they transformed a strong local insight into real behavior change.

Tell us a bit about your Effie-winning effort, “Fortune Cat.” What were your business objectives for this effort?  

We had one clear objective: to increase the take up rate for UOB’s insurance policies for small and medium sized businesses (“SMEs”).

UOB is the market leader in banking for SMEs in Singapore with a 40% share. And while UOB offered a wide range of solutions from banking to insurance tailored specifically to their needs, the number of businesses taking up insurance products was very low.

This came as no surprise as business insurance has a history of poor take-up amongst SMEs; it is seen as an unnecessary expense, especially for cash strapped ones.

What was your strategic insight, and how did you arrive at it?

Looking at UOB’s customer base, we found that majority of the businesses were run by Asian business owners, with a deep rooted set of Chinese cultural beliefs they associated with their businesses, namely Feng Shui.

Feng Shui is a set of ancient Chinese beliefs that summon good luck, harmony and prosperity. Feng means “wind” and Shui means “water.” In Chinese culture, wind and water are associated with good health, thus good Feng Shui means good fortune.

Many of these Chinese business owners believe that good Feng Shui brings prosperity and luck to their businesses. They go to great lengths to participate in auspicious customs to make sure that they are maximising their chance of prosperity.

We then made the leap that like Feng Shui, which was there to bring good fortune to business, insurance was complementary in that it provided protection during less fortunate circumstances. They were connected in the way that they both brought increased prosperity to business, albeit in very different circumstances.

It became obvious to us that we needed to position business insurance in the same mindset as all things auspicious, lucky, prosperous to complement the importance of Feng Shui.

What was your big idea? How did you bring your idea to life?

We showed the complementary nature of Feng Shui and business insurance through the story of a business owner starting a small business. The owner installs more and more fortune cats* as his business prospers, until one day an unforeseen mishap occurs.

*Fortune Cats are also known as Maneki Neko in Japanese, which means “beckoning cat.” The cat has its paws raised up as if it’s waving in good fortune for its owners.

Fittingly at the end, we sign off with: “Feng Shui can bring your business good fortune, but insurance can help protect it. Cover all your bases with UOB Business Insurance.”

In the form of a Facebook Canvas ad, we also created multiple endings for the story – each with a different unforeseen mishap like a fire, workplace injury and burglary. For each mishap, we showed that UOB Business Insurance would have had it covered because of its comprehensive cover.

What was your biggest challenge in bringing this effort to life? How were you able to overcome that challenge?

For a tactical business insurance campaign super-targeting only 200,000 business owners, we had to convince the wider team that it was worth the extra investment in a well-produced film that could really connect with the audience through story-telling.

Ultimately, it was the strength of the underlying insight that everyone rallied around which allowed us to justify the investment needed.

How did you measure the effectiveness of this effort? Were there any surprises?

Simply: UOB grew its business insurance policy leads four-fold in the year following the campaign.

Is there anything else we should know about “Fortune Cat”?

Rather than using traditional communications, we went with a digital video solution so that we could target a very niche audience. In a landscape that is inundated with digital and programmatic marketing, the results demonstrate the enduring power of video advertising, especially when founded on a strong cultural insight, and with the product at the heart of the message.

Please provide a response to at least one of the below:
In one sentence, what is the best advice you can offer marketers today?

Despite the changing landscape of marketing towards content and digital, one fundamental that always remains for marketers – insight.

BBH Singapore
BBH Singapore has held the UOB account since 2014. The agency was responsible for the rebranding of the  Regional Bank and long standing “Right By You” campaign. BBH and UOB picked up a Gold award for Sustained Success (Private Bank) and Business to Business (Business Banking – Fortune Cat) at the recent Effies Awards in Singapore.

UOB
Karen Seet, Senior Vice President
Head of Private Bank, Business Banking & Travel Marketing
Group Retail Marketing

Read the full case study here >