In advertising, brand building is learnt hands on

Anisha Motwani, Director and Chief Marketing Officer of Max New York Life Insurance, spent 15 years in advertising, working at agencies such as Leo Burnett, Mudra, McCann Erickson and Euro RSCG before crossing over to the corporate world. Her first stint there was at General Motors, where as Director – Marketing, she designed the strategy for the launch of five car brands. She then moved to Max New York Life in 2007 and is credited with making a difference to the way insurance is marketed in India. She was responsible for the Karo Zyada ka Irada tagline and spearheaded the Igenius scholarship initiative, a parent-child engagement activity to support all-round child development.

Much awarded as a marketer, Motwani is also a passionate writer and blogs at http://brandbuzzar.blogspot.in/. A graduate from Sophiya College, Ajmer, she studied management at the University of Rajasthan. She is on the advisory board of Asia Brand Congress & Global Youth Forum.

My most memorable marketing initiative

This would definitely be the ‘ Karo Zyada Ka Irada ’ campaign for Max New York Life. We decided to adopt a challenger brand strategy, based on an ambition to own a differentiated position in the market place with innovative marketing programmes. We took life insurance to a higher level – financial planning for a better future.

Life insurance has traditionally been sold on the plank of duty and responsibility. It has been about ‘ jeevan, zindagi and suraksha ’. But a resurgent India was rewriting the rules of living in its mission to create, indulge and celebrate. Earnings, savings, investment and consumption were the force multipliers that would feed this virtuous cycle of need and want as people moved from denial to desire. That was the basis of the ‘ Karo Zyada Ka Irada ’ campaign. It was an integrated launch across multiple consumer touch points. Its efficacy was proved with the brand awareness moving upwards by 25 points in just 18 months.

My first product launch

My first product launch was Nestle Polo with its ‘Mint with a hole’ campaign. I was working with Mudra then. The creative duo of Freddie Birdie and Naved Akhtar was behind the idea. We had a wonderful client in Nestle which was very appreciative and approved almost all innovations on the campaign. The campaign won every possible award across categories. It won the ‘Campaign of the Year’ award and was instrumental in Mudra winning the A&M ‘Agency of the year’ award.

A setback I have learnt from

For me it was not a setback. It was a learning. I had once walked out of a job because it was not good enough, without having one in hand. Even though I emerged stronger from that experience, looking back I think I would have done it differently. The initial tendency is to deal with these situations head-on but one needs to delve deeper and take a careful step.

My marketing idol

Shah Rukh Khan in a recent interview spoke about the amount of effort he puts into marketing his projects. His marketing efforts both on screen and off screen including his film promotion, TV shows and stage events have made him a larger-than-life persona, one that the masses love. A large amount of his success can be directly attributed to the widespread marketing efforts he embarks on for any of his projects. Who hasn’t seen the promos of Don, Ra.One and Kaun Banega Crorepati in their various avatars including traditional media, merchandising, online and road shows? Being one of the top grossing and most bankable stars is no mean feat.

Where I get my insights from

Life is nothing but a set of experiences. And I gain my insights from these life experiences. If one can observe experiences just like any object then one would get a new perspective to learning.

Insights are a result of observation and curiosity. Some insights also originate from a point of frustration, a pain point or a problem statement. One needs to have an insatiable hunger and morbid curiosity to get under the skin of the customer to unearth powerful insights.

Powerful insights can only be imbibed by a keen observer of life, aided by good questioning.

How B-school has helped in my career

B-school helped me streamline my thought process. I specialised in marketing in MBA. And the two years I spent in B-school helped me develop the basics of business methodology. It gave me a perspective of how each area in marketing, from brand management to creative aspects, worked. There was immense learning through the case studies and basic theories that prepared me to face challenges on the ground.

How advertising has influenced my marketing career

Advertising is a great learning ground where the fundamentals of brand are taught. Brand building is learnt hands on, it does not happen in any other place. Working across multiple categories and consumer types helps in absorbing diverse information, understanding how the consumer mind functions and most importantly why? Advertising sharpens strategic thinking capability and helps develop creative appreciation.

Marketing insurance, automobiles

Life insurance is the ‘business of life’ and not finance. It touches the most memorable and emotional milestones of one’s life from marriage, to child birth to children’s education, and so on. People also have to be prepared for sudden accidents and eventualities. At each stage there is a different need that arises. The marketing strategy, therefore, has to emanate from a deeper understanding of this entire journey.

Automobiles, however, are related to ‘lifestyle’. As and when one upgrades one’s lifestyle, the needs and wants change. And hence changes the aspiration for a new car. The strategy here is more focused on positioning the product that fits into customer’s lifestyles.

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