Thai Life to sponsor films, concerts to raise brand recogniations

“We get good feedback from the strategy, as movie-goers will see our logo in the film we sponsored and it directly registers in customers’ minds,” said Duangduen Kong-kasawad, vice president for corporate communications.
The company’s brand-building drive is aimed not only at boosting sales but also at chiselling the “Thai Life” brand into the minds of customers. The insurer wants to change its conservative Thai character to a more modern image to catch up with consumers’ new lifestyles in the digital era. As the first locally owned insurer in Thailand, the company has operated for 70 years. Now is the time to refresh the brand, she said.
The company also has a policy to support the local movie and other entertainment industries. It sees that Thai directors now have enough capability, creativity and filming technology to compete in the international arena.
The policy will open up more communication channels with customers as well as policyholders. Now is the right time for the company to sponsor more Thai titles, as they have become a popular choice of audiences, Duangduen said.
In 2000, Thai Life became one of the pioneering corporations sponsoring Thai productions with “Bang Ra Chan”, featuring the story of brave villagers fighting against Burmese soldiers invading their community.
However, the company had to stop sponsoring Thai films for a while because of the sluggishness of the insurance industry.
In 2010, it turned to Thai movies again after they were welcomed by markets abroad and won many international awards. The works selected by the company should focus on a Thai theme.
Under the policy, the company backs not only movies but also special concerts, stage plays and musicals. It can pass on any benefits received from those trading partners directly as special privileges to its policyholders through its sales agents.
Agents can cultivate closer relations with policyholders when they can offer them special privileges to match their lifestyles. The customer-centric policy has prompted the company to consider more activities to suit its customers from children through adults, Duangduen said.
“Amid the tougher environment, life insurers don’t compete with other life-insurance companies alone but also banks, which offer a lot of risk insurance via bank counters,” she said.
Thai Life is forging ahead with the development of a Thai-modern blended brand while launching more activities through social media to capture members of the young generation and families. This transformation campaign involves not only products and marketing but also internal management. To that end, the firm will recruit more young employees.