How AIA is changing behavior through communication

When Stuart Spencer returned to AIA eight years ago, his goal was not just to sell policies. He came with the ambition of changing the way the entire insurance industry communicates with the public.

"I really wanted to change this perception, not just about AIA, but about the whole industry," he said in a talk titled The Power of Purpose at Campaign 360, a marketing industry conference held in Singapore at the end of May. Stuart sees the industry as having been stuck on fear-based messages for too long. "The industry has been talking about death, disease, fire and brimstone . I've always believed that approach is wrong. Ridiculous, in fact. And I wanted to do something about  that."

Asia's challenge: richer, not healthier

In Asia, life and health insurance has long been marketed with an emphasis on risk and uncertainty. But Stuart sees the region now facing a different challenge: rapid economic growth has been accompanied by a surge in non-communicable diseases such as hypertension and diabetes. Problems that are entirely preventable.

"Asia is getting wealthier, but absolutely not healthier," he said. "Lifestyle diseases like heart attacks,   stroke, cancer, diabetes account for about 80% of all disease diagnoses in Asia. Almost all of them are preventable."

With this background, Stuart led the transformation of AIA's strategy to become not only an insurance provider, but also a partner in healthy living. The company's purpose is now centered on a commitment to help people live Healthier, Longer and Better Lives". It is not   a tagline, but a key strategic direction.

"Our purpose influences the decisions we make as an enterprise every day . It's embedded in everything we do," Stuart explains.

AIA Vitality: Incentives for healthy living

One of the key initiatives in this transformation is AIA Vitality, a behavior-based platform that rewards customers for living a healthy lifestyle. From recording daily steps, regular health checks, to healthier shopping patterns.

"Vitality rewards customers who make sustainable healthy choices. The model is simple: recognize your health, improve it, and get rewarded," Stuart explains. The approach is based on technology and behavioral science, with the principle that people need  nudges and incentives for sustained behaviour change.

The impact is tangible. AIA recorded visible improvements in health indicators such as BMI, LDL cholesterol, and blood pressure among program participants in various countries.

"This is the real impact we're delivering, not just better health, but also enabled us to think much bigger."

One Billion: From consumer to social movement

In 2022, AIA launched the One Billion initiative with the ambitious target of reaching one billion people in Asia to inspire positive action on health. Stuart emphasized that this is not a PR campaign or annual report, but a long-term social commitment.

"As of today, we have reached more than 500 million people. And we are optimistic that we can reach one billion," he said. Interestingly, many of them are not and probably never will be AIA customers. But according to Stuart, that's not a problem.

"We believe this is the right thing to do.."

Changing the health narrative: It's not about six-packs

AIA also found that one of the main obstacles in building a healthy lifestyle is the image of health that has been circulating in society. An image that is narrow, exclusive, and often unrealistic. In internal research, 80% of respondents reported wanting to live a healthy life, but more than half felt unable to do so.

"Imagine, a lot of people feel like they want to be healthier, but don't feel like they can.," says Stuart.

AIA has responded to this by launching Rethink Healthy, a new brand platform that challenges outdated stereotypes surrounding wellness. For Stuart, wellness is not about the ideal body, green juice, or the six a.m. gym.

"They're all unrealistic standards that scare, exclude, and ultimately make people feel inadequate," she said. "We want to free people from the narrow narratives shaped by society and marketers like us."

The AIA campaign now features more inclusive and down-to-earth representations, including figures that visually challenge healthy lifestyle stereotypes.

From schools to stadiums

In addition to communication, AIA also builds brand ecosystems through long-term partnerships.

"Football is the biggest spectator sport in Asia. Through our partnership with Tottenham Hotspur, more than 120,000 children have been involved in football camps," Stuart explained. At the school level, AIA is active in thousands of schools and wants to ensure the next generation will be healthier than the current generation.

Business grows through purpose.

Interestingly, this purpose-driven approach has not only had a social impact but has also resulted in solid business performance. "In the last three years, we've made a cumulative operating profit of almost US$20 billion and returned more than US$18 billion to shareholders," Stuart says. AIA is now the number one brand in its category, both in terms of customers and distribution partner trust.

But for Stuart, those numbers are just a consequence of a strategy rooted in genuine intention and long-term commitment.

"We are a long-term company that thinks long-term. And I invite all of you to declare your purpose," he said at the end of the session. “Put your health and wellness first, before anything else, including work. And never allow yourself to be exclusively defined by what’s on your business card.”