As more and more banks and insurance companies compete to give the ‘good old‘ customer a better plan, Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance Limited (Kotak Life Insurance) seems to have it all chalked out! A new brand campaign has been unveiled, and an investment of over Rs 150-200 million will be directed towards a strategic four-wave plan across various media to promote their fresh proposition.

The campaign has been specifically designed to reflect what they refer to as ‘the new age customer‘ striving to stay ahead of life as a result of an inherent competitive spirit, (illustrated by a toddler), so the new tagline reads "Zindagi se ek kadam aagey."

The company is set to go the whole hog in adopting the four-phased approach. Kicking off the campaign is a TVC, which will be followed closely with print and radio in specific cities - a part of the first phase.

Subsequently, localised advertising will be rolled out on outdoor and in-cinema across 20 cities. In the third phase, the campaign will move onto the internet with banner advertising and direct mailers.

The last phase will see strategic tie-ups for interactive games on websites such as Rediff and Contest2win, as well as through SMSs. Promoting the new concept, the company also plans to play a key sponsorship role for the cricket World Cup ‘07.

Following the phased roll out of the campaign across the country by January next year, the company may even consider setting up a community building phase through a micro-site.

Speaking to Indiantelevision.com on the rationale behind the new brand promise, Kotak Life Insurance senior vice president marketing Rahul Sinha explained that the campaign is in line with three product launches, the first being the Headstart Child Plan to be unveiled in the next few days. This will be followed by two savings related products.

Coming after the TVC, a fresh print campaign backed by the same idea is set to hit news publications within a week. Sinha added that the company was willing to "invest handsomely" on the campaign as it is representative of a more long term position.

The key objective is to familiarise the TG to its new proposition which has now shifted Kotak‘s focus to a much younger group, primarily the middle to high income 28-35 year old married man. Since the prime concern among this group lies in building wealth, the campaign centres around giving the customer the assurance of protection and security.

Previously, products offered from Kotak we aimed at the top and middle management affluent city dweller and therefore, campaigns folllowed logically. Targeted at an age bracket of 35+, the prime concern of this group is mainly ‘wealth maximisation‘.

Sinha opined, "We believe that today‘s consumers are increasingly becoming more aware and discerning, and are actively managing their financial affairs. There is an ever growing need of finding the right financial plan so that he can provide his family a secure and worry free life. Kotak Life Insurance finds itself in a strong position to share its financial planning prowess and pragmatic advice with its consumer, to provide him with that extra edge in life."

The new campaign is based on the premise that life is a race. Not one that determines who finishes first... but a race that resembles a marathon! Taking the child as a reference point, the campaign depicts the varied challenges one is likely to face at different stages in life.

The frame opens with a kid trying to move past a crowd of people on a bridge to reach the starting point of a marathon. The kid cautiously toddles through the crowd and meeting different people along the way. Emoting various feelings, a mix of happy and sad, he finally manages to reach the starting point, but in essence, a step ahead of others.

Currently, this 45 second TVC is being featured across various television channels including general entertainment, news, business, sports and movies.

"We have discovered that a new target group is emerging in small and big towns alike. The customer is looking for protection and our core parameter is advice. The tagline of the campaign resonates with that group," Sinha says.

The creative was handled by O&M, while Ram Madhvani from Equinox Films headed production.

"We are confident that given our new range of products, 39 city reach backed by over 17000 Life Advisors and 300 Corporate Agents, we are in a position to offer our customers good value for money and a power packed product basket backed by a strong and exciting promise," added Sinha.