Brand Prudentialife

In a Creative Marketing Communications essay, Henry Kissinger said that “Knowledge is the art of finding the balance between the current reality and a vision.” Amid the crisis that rocked the pre-need industry, Prudentialife’s management is not only looking at present reality and just “re-create@28.” It has a sense of where it is going, even with the dwindling of a once growing industry, and what is likely to develop among the major players and competitors.

Vision and Reality

The Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) campaign of Prudentialife for the past four years is rooted in the idea of balancing reality and the corporate vision “to continue to be the leading pre-need and financial services company, committed to secure the good life for the Filipino family.”

Thus, in the face of real concerns such as the unfavorable external conditions hounding the industry. Prudentialife has turned into a service provider focused on excellent products and customer service with Prudentialife Market Resources, Inc. (PMRC) as the unified marketing force. With this positioning, Prudentialife continues to develop an IMC campaign that clearly projects how the company exactly stands -- a stable and trusted service company.

Positioning and Branding

It is said that competitiveness is tied up to positioning and branding. A brand describes a kind of value or equity built within a business. It is what people thinks about a company or its name – what they believe it promises.

For Prudentialife, its “Madonna and Child” logo has become an icon of service nationwide. One solid proof was when the Kapamilya Campaign (2003-2004) bagged the “Best Established Service Brand Campaign” Silver Award in the 2005 1st Marketing Communications Effectiveness Award. Prudentialife was cited because of its leadership in the industry and the “Kapamilya Spirit” behind the brand - espousing the importance of the warmth and care that the family spirit gives.

Moving forward, Prudentialife leads the pack with a market share of 24.58% in the January-June SEC pre-need rankings. Competitiveness is measured not only by market share but also by mindshare. This has always prompted Prudentialife to take a much more integrated approach to Marketing Communications. By reviewing market and competitive conditions, CORCOM has crafted a non-traditional way of increasing awareness and mindshare of the Prudentialife brand in 2006 through Advertising, Media Partnerships and CSR Activities.

The developments in the pre-need industry has challenged everyone at Prudentialife to work harder and think of new ways of doing business. And the need to turn all “communications touch-points” into opportunities to reinforce the Prudentialife brand became more glaring, be it through advertising, direct marketing, public relations or events and promotions.

Advertising

The IMC strategy for Prudentialife in 2006 is glued together by a powerful idea of Hope or Pag-asa. With the company’s thrust to Re-create@28,” the “Buhay Ang Pag-asa” message had a unique treatment in every medium with the “PAGASA” MTV shown in various TV programs supported by print, radio and collaterals. The creative multi-media executions were strategically timed during the April Prudentialakbay in Boracay and the 28th Foundation Activities in May. The third wave campaign for the year was launched in October-November to sustain the “Buhay ang Pag-asa” theme.

Media Partnerships

In all its key corporate events, Prudentialife had put to advantage its good relationship with media-partners in Advertising which lead to its effective brand—building strategy for increased awareness. To help Prudentialife stand out as a stable and trustworthy company amid the negative publicity that ruined the pre-need industry’s image, the company launched its Campaign in center spread (full-color) print ads and advertorials in major dailies, aired 30-sec. commercials on both TV and radio with spot buys in highly rated shows and programs.

CSR Activities

Public Relations is still used nowadays to promote brands, create a certain image and established goodwill, partnerships and reputation. Prudentialife has expanded its PR efforts through its CSR activities in building partnerships with respected organizations in cooperation with the Prudentialife Foundation, Inc. These CSR activities provided opportunities to pitch noteworthy stories about the company and its products and initiate public service events and media tie-ups.