Integrated Marketing Communication

Case Study

SBI Life Promotes Pension

Schemes

Submitted To: Submitted By:

Prof. Bhattacharya Ashar Nishant

Date: 29th October, 2009 08PMP00744

“Marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest are costs.
Marketing is the distinguishing, unique function of the business."

– Peter Drucker

Integrated Marketing Communications is a simple concept. It ensures that all

forms of communications and messages are carefully linked together. At its
most basic level, Integrated Marketing Communications, or IMC, as we'll call
it, means integrating all the promotional tools, so that they work together in
harmony.
All the communications tools work better if they work together in harmony
rather than in isolation. Their sum is greater than their parts - providing they
speak consistently with one voice all the time, every time.

On the growing significance of below-the-line activities in the insurance

sector, says Ogilvy & Mather India head financial practices Ajay Kakar: “In
the early stage, companies ‘wasted’ money just to make their presence felt.
Today, the time has come to prove what role insurance companies can play
in your life. It’s not only about presence but also about creating relevant
communication.”

SBI used the Integrated Marketing approach because:

➢ Extensive advertising by private players such as ICICI Prudential and

Aviva Life Insurance helped promote pension schemes. But equally,
they made SBI Life’s task that much tougher.
➢ The creative challenge now was to break through the clutter and
create a separate brand identity.
➢ To gain an edge over rivals, Indian life insurance majors are now
chanting a new mantra:’ Integrate mass media advertising with rural,
direct marketing and CRM initiatives’. The accent is clearly on an
‘effective marketing mix’ in the Indian life insurance industry.
➢ In addition, SBI Life laid more emphasis on rural communications in
local languages and direct marketing mode to popularise its products.
➢ Today, insurance companies need to reach out to customers to
develop a personal bond through direct marketing and CRM initiatives.

“The insurance category worldwide is one of the largest brand

spenders. One of the reasons leading to this is that insurance as a
category is sold and not bought.”