2022 Winners & Shortlists

LAST WORDS INSURANCE

BrandNASCO
Product/ServiceNASCO INSURANCE
EntrantTBWA\RAAD Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
CategoryMarket Disruption
Idea Creation TBWA\RAAD Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Media Placement OMD Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Why is this work relevant for Creative Strategy?

No one enjoys thinking about death. ‘Last Words Insurance’ shifted the conversation. It allowed people to look beyond the administrative and legal complexities, and think about what they wanted to say to the people they love when the time comes. It created a deep shift in how insurance agents approached the sales conversation about life insurance, driving a 35% increase in opt-ins and a 67% increase in policy inquiries. Despite the painful topic, +85% of customers felt very positive about the initiative and sign-ups keep pouring in.

Background

At age 71, Arthur Conan Doyle, who wrote the Sherlock Holmes stories, was having a heart attack in his garden. He turned to his wife and said, “You are wonderful,” then clutched his chest and died. He was lucky. Not only did he die at a ripe old age but he was able to share a meaningful thought with a loved one before leaving this world. It would take an incredible turn of events for each of us to be this lucky. Unless we plan for it. NASCO is a leading insurance agent in the Middle East region and their core business is essentially all about facing the reality of life’s risks and building protection and readiness for when the worst happens. Death is really the worst that can happen in the world of insurance, and it is why life insurance is such a central product to protecting one’s family.

The Interpretation of the Challenge (30% of vote)

Life insurance offers financial protection and helps to de-risk our lives. However, in the Gulf countries, life insurance uptake is low, accounting for just 0.21% of GDP, versus an average of 4.5% in OECD countries. Each inhabitant of the GCC spends just over $60 per year on life insurance, compared to an average of about $1,800 annually in OECD countries. This situation puts everyone at a higher risk and boosting life insurance uptake would be a win-win situation. The challenge is this: there is a big deficit in awareness, in understanding and in incentive. Gulf societies often expect the government to step in and help when a family is faced with financial peril after a loved one’s loss. This collectivist mindset doesn’t connect with today’s realities and government’s limited action. How could NASCO change this dynamic and give a personal incentive for people to act now and take life insurance?

The Insight / Breakthrough Thinking (30% of vote)

There is a lot left unsaid in our lives. “Thank-you” and “I love you”. Grateful messages of a life well-spent. Maybe even truths that we didn’t find the courage to face. The moment of death often becomes a time for important words to be uttered. Words that our loved ones will carry with them as we disappear from the world. But death is unexpected. As they say “You could be hit by a bus tomorrow” and then your loved ones would be left bereft of last words. Even when death is planned and comes in a bed surrounded by loved ones – those words often left for too late, when we lack the physical strength, and even the lung capacity, for long utterances. Could life insurance be about more than financial safety but ensure also that what needs to be said is said, no matter how death comes?

The Creative Idea (20% of vote)

Last words matter. And as an insurance company, we wanted to use technology to help provide closure. Introducing “Last Words Insurance” – a free of charge add-on to every life insurance policy which customers could choose to take or not. Customers who opted in were invited to record their last words for their loved ones in a studio and these videos were safely stored in NASCO’s secure Cloud. For every video, an NFT was created, linked and owned by the policy beneficiary. These confidential NFTs are not visible to the public, and have no commercial value, only to be released when the policy is claimed. The NASCO sales team was able to have more profound and meaningful conversations with their customers – talking about the impact of death not just from a financial perspective but also an emotional one.

The Outcome / Results (20% of vote)

No one enjoys thinking about one’s death. We need to consider palliative care, organ donation, funeral directives and life insurance policies. ‘Last Words Insurance’ shifted this conversation. It allowed people to look beyond the administrative and legal complexities, and think about what they wanted to say to the people they love. It created a deep shift in how insurance agents approached the sales conversation about life insurance, driving a 35% increase in opt-ins and a 67% increase in policy inquiries. Despite the painful topic, +85% of customers felt very positive about the initiative and sign ups keep pouring in. More than anything, the ‘Last Words Insurance’ will allow families to find closure, to heal from the loss with more peace thanks to both; the financial support of the life insurance and the important words shared from beyond the grave by their loved ones.

Please tell us how disruption in your market place inspired the work

Life insurance uptake is low in the Gulf, accounting for just 0.21% of GDP, versus an average of 4.5% in OECD countries. Insurance offers protection and helps de-risk our lives, but there is a big deficit in awareness and incentive. Gulf societies often expect the government to step in when a family is faced with financial peril after life loss. NASCO changed this dynamic and gave a personal incentive for people to act now. It deeply shifted how agents approached the sales conversation about life insurance, driving a 35% increase in opt-ins and a 67% increase in inquiries.

Credits

Name Company Role
Walid Kanaan TBWA\RAAD Chief Creative Officer
Joe Lahham TBWA\RAAD Managing Director
Jennifer Fischer TBWA\RAAD Chief Innovation Officer
Alex Pineda TBWA\RAAD Executive Creative Director
Jim Robbins TBWA\RAAD Executive Creative Director
Sandeep Fernandes TBWA\RAAD Creative Director
Sumanth Wilkins TBWA\RAAD Associate Creative Director
Rijin Kunnath TBWA\RAAD Design
Leo Paul TBWA\RAAD Design
Jose-Paolo Rayco TBWA\RAAD Content
Mehwish Rafi TBWA\RAAD Planning Director
Fadi Debian TBWA\RAAD Client Servicing
Romy Abdelnour TBWA\RAAD PR & Communications
Zain Mir TBWA\RAAD Front End Developer
Ezzat Habra TBWA\RAAD Traffic
Naveen Madurakariyan TBWA\RAAD Traffic
Saleh Ghazal OMD UAE Media Placement
Paoula Abou Sleimane OMD Media Placement
Mohammad Abdel Razzak OMD Media Placement
Gabriel Salame OMD Media Placement
Gina Maayeh OMD Media Placement
Links
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