It can be hard to place AIA’s Chris Wei. The Hong Kong-born, Canadian- and UK-educated senior VP and chief marketing officer speaks sometimes with a Canadian twang, sometimes with an accent that could be from England’s home counties. “I’m very messed up,” he jokes. “My accent varies depending on whom I’m talking to.”
Such geographical ambivalence fits his current role. In the past year AIA has had to reinvent itself from a proud part of US insurance giant AIG to a standalone Asian brand. Its parent company became a lightning rod for anti-capitalist outrage earlier this year following several US Government bail-outs and a scandal over bonuses.
But Wei, who joined just over a year ago with the financial crisis at its height, insists the experience has been “fantastic”.
“Honestly, it’s been a rollercoaster ride. The amount that we’ve achieved over the last 12 months, in my opinion, has been extraordinary. We’ve taken the opportunity to leverage an extremely strong, traditional brand that’s a household name to many in Asia. To take a brand of that stature, reinvigorate it and reintroduce it as a fresh and vibrant brand is something of a privilege,” he says.
Reports have suggested AIA’s rebranding has been very much centred on distancing itself from its disgraced parent. But Wei says this is not the case. “We are still owned by AIG and we will continue to be part of AIG. But we now have the opportunity to position AIA as a standalone brand, regardless of what else is going on. AIA was already a strong brand in Asia. AIA is already an Asian brand; it’s more about bringing that through with the creative materials that are very focused on our underlying image that we are an Asian company.”
AIA is now moving towards a much more co-ordinated strategy - until recently some markets were branded AIG and some were branded AIA. The company has gone through the most expensive rebranding in its history, and with a couple of exceptions of the Philippines and India, every market is now branded AIA.
This new strategy is less about values and more about providing tools for AIA’s employees to understand how to lift the brand. AIA is also now focused on five brand attributes and behaviours - to be forward-looking, nimble, bold, solid and proactive. “Insurance by definition means you need to be forward-looking. We are helping our customers plan. That’s a big responsibility. It’s a shift away from distribution to really putting the customer at the centre of everything we do.”
The insurance company appointed M&C Saatchi to work on the first phase of its ‘We are AsIA’ rebranding campaign, a corporate positioning effort trumpeting AIA’s 90-year history in Asia. “It’s surprised a lot of people and we’ve received some very positive feedback,” says Wei.
Leo Burnett has developed the next phase of its campaign, which is set to launch in early 2010. “AIA lives in an industry that became detached from everyday society,” says Michael Wood, the agency’s Greater China CEO. “AIA is all about protection, society and community. So the new campaign makes sense. It looks at the brand through a very different lens, with a more human connection.”
The goal is to increase AIA’s visibility using outdoor, print and digital, with PR events also in the works. Social media has not been used yet, but is “something we’re looking at very closely”, says Wei.
Wood adds that this desire to get closer to the consumer is one of the things that marks Wei out from the typical finance marketer. “Chris is a very smart, articulate and charming person - not what you’d expect from a finance person. He doesn’t approach marketing from an academic standpoint.”
That said, Wei is finance through-and-through. His career is made up of spells at finance institutions, including ING and Canadian Bank of Commerce. He admits that the industry has its work cut out recovering from the past 18 months. CSR is certainly part of the solution, and AIA recently launched its ‘Project Smile’ in Thailand that helps children with cleft palate. It also provides fresh drinking water to rural communities.
But Wei is under no illusions about the scale of the task ahead. “There’s been a reduction in the trust that people have in financial institutions; that’s inevitable. That frankly has led us to step up in terms of what we need to do.”
Chris Wei’s CV
2009 Senior vice-president, chief marketing officer and head of Bancassurance and direct marketing, AIA, Hong Kong
2008 Senior vice-president and regional head of Bancassurance, AIA, Hong Kong
2006 Chief executive officer, AIG United Guaranty Insurance (Asia), Hong Kong
2004 Regional head, Asia-Pacific, United Guaranty Corporation, Hong Kong
2002 Chief risk officer, Allstate Canada Group, Canada
2000 Vice-president, Far East Business Development, United Guaranty Corporation, Canada
This article was originally published in 3 December 2009 issue of Media.
Such geographical ambivalence fits his current role. In the past year AIA has had to reinvent itself from a proud part of US insurance giant AIG to a standalone Asian brand. Its parent company became a lightning rod for anti-capitalist outrage earlier this year following several US Government bail-outs and a scandal over bonuses.
But Wei, who joined just over a year ago with the financial crisis at its height, insists the experience has been “fantastic”.
“Honestly, it’s been a rollercoaster ride. The amount that we’ve achieved over the last 12 months, in my opinion, has been extraordinary. We’ve taken the opportunity to leverage an extremely strong, traditional brand that’s a household name to many in Asia. To take a brand of that stature, reinvigorate it and reintroduce it as a fresh and vibrant brand is something of a privilege,” he says.
Reports have suggested AIA’s rebranding has been very much centred on distancing itself from its disgraced parent. But Wei says this is not the case. “We are still owned by AIG and we will continue to be part of AIG. But we now have the opportunity to position AIA as a standalone brand, regardless of what else is going on. AIA was already a strong brand in Asia. AIA is already an Asian brand; it’s more about bringing that through with the creative materials that are very focused on our underlying image that we are an Asian company.”
AIA is now moving towards a much more co-ordinated strategy - until recently some markets were branded AIG and some were branded AIA. The company has gone through the most expensive rebranding in its history, and with a couple of exceptions of the Philippines and India, every market is now branded AIA.
This new strategy is less about values and more about providing tools for AIA’s employees to understand how to lift the brand. AIA is also now focused on five brand attributes and behaviours - to be forward-looking, nimble, bold, solid and proactive. “Insurance by definition means you need to be forward-looking. We are helping our customers plan. That’s a big responsibility. It’s a shift away from distribution to really putting the customer at the centre of everything we do.”
The insurance company appointed M&C Saatchi to work on the first phase of its ‘We are AsIA’ rebranding campaign, a corporate positioning effort trumpeting AIA’s 90-year history in Asia. “It’s surprised a lot of people and we’ve received some very positive feedback,” says Wei.
Leo Burnett has developed the next phase of its campaign, which is set to launch in early 2010. “AIA lives in an industry that became detached from everyday society,” says Michael Wood, the agency’s Greater China CEO. “AIA is all about protection, society and community. So the new campaign makes sense. It looks at the brand through a very different lens, with a more human connection.”
The goal is to increase AIA’s visibility using outdoor, print and digital, with PR events also in the works. Social media has not been used yet, but is “something we’re looking at very closely”, says Wei.
Wood adds that this desire to get closer to the consumer is one of the things that marks Wei out from the typical finance marketer. “Chris is a very smart, articulate and charming person - not what you’d expect from a finance person. He doesn’t approach marketing from an academic standpoint.”
That said, Wei is finance through-and-through. His career is made up of spells at finance institutions, including ING and Canadian Bank of Commerce. He admits that the industry has its work cut out recovering from the past 18 months. CSR is certainly part of the solution, and AIA recently launched its ‘Project Smile’ in Thailand that helps children with cleft palate. It also provides fresh drinking water to rural communities.
But Wei is under no illusions about the scale of the task ahead. “There’s been a reduction in the trust that people have in financial institutions; that’s inevitable. That frankly has led us to step up in terms of what we need to do.”
Chris Wei’s CV
2009 Senior vice-president, chief marketing officer and head of Bancassurance and direct marketing, AIA, Hong Kong
2008 Senior vice-president and regional head of Bancassurance, AIA, Hong Kong
2006 Chief executive officer, AIG United Guaranty Insurance (Asia), Hong Kong
2004 Regional head, Asia-Pacific, United Guaranty Corporation, Hong Kong
2002 Chief risk officer, Allstate Canada Group, Canada
2000 Vice-president, Far East Business Development, United Guaranty Corporation, Canada
This article was originally published in 3 December 2009 issue of Media.
.jpeg&h=334&w=500&q=100&v=20170226&c=1)
.png&h=334&w=500&q=100&v=20170226&c=1)
.jpeg&h=334&w=500&q=100&v=20170226&c=1)
.jpg&h=334&w=500&q=100&v=20170226&c=1)
.png&h=334&w=500&q=100&v=20170226&c=1)
.jpg&h=268&w=401&q=100&v=20170226&c=1)