Event Sponsorship and Marketing blog
Overview of the Company:
NTUC Income is the leading insurer and only insurance cooperative company in Singapore that was founded in the 1970s with the sole purpose of providing essential insurance for the people working in the country.
An insurance cooperative company means that
the company is a cooperative entity that has the goal of providing insurance
and is also owned by the people that the company insures. It is a form of mutual insurance.
NTUC Income lives by a mission where by it prioritises
customer’s benefits above profits for its shareholders and aims to maximise value
for customers.
Ever since the
company was founded, it had grown a great deal and had transformed
into this modern financial institution that millions know of today. The NTUC Income that we know today,
is not just the top composite insurer in Singapore, but is
also one of the largest general and health insurers. The company has a wide network of competently
trained staff working for them. NTUC Income owns a total of seven
branches island-wide and had gotten awards for its effective contact centre
which helps to address enquiries, provide information, and recommend suitable
insurance to meet customer’s needs. NTUC Income was
the first insurance company in Asia to have won a major Crystal Mark
initiative, which is an internationally known seal of approval for the clarity
of their contracts and documents. This had provided convenience for many
people, enabling even the less educated people to easily understand documents that
would otherwise have been complicated and confusing.
NTUC Income as a social enterprise, is
different from the other insurance companies as it practices corporate social
responsibility. The company is committed in caring and providing insurance and
protection for all segments of society, regardless of their income and
financial standing. They have different insurances such as ‘Free insurance for lower income
families’, ‘Affordable insurance for the elderly' as
well as ‘Protection tailored to children with special needs’, catered
to serve the groups of people who are usually denied insurance.
Key types of customers /clients:
The key target market of NTUC Income are Singaporeans who are interested in building a better future for themselves conveniently and affordably. The target market can be both young and old, but must at least have a positive and concerned attitude or interest towards planning for their future days, their safety, expenses, savings and investments down the road. They could be regular working adults with families and a say in decision-making, elderly members from the Silver Market, children from low income households who are currently studying, the special needs and disabled people, or even just people who earn low incomes per month. This target segment’s age group is very vast, which is why there are many insurances and programs created to ensure that each age group has an insurance that would best meet and cater to all their needs.
Key target markets
There are more than one key type of
customers and clients that NTUC Income is serving.
The first key type of customers that NTUC Income is serving are the people who are interested in life, health, and protection insurances. This group of customers are working adults living in Singapore who can afford insurance without the additional financial help from programmes or government. Their age most likely falls between 21-50 years old. They can be anybody who belong to either the middle income or high income group who would be able to afford insurance. These customers want to obtain a sense of security and would buy insurances just to have a piece of mind in case something happens to them or to their family members in the future. They would also want to be well-prepared in case they meet any unfavourable circumstances in life.
The second group of customers are people living
in Singapore who owns and drives cars and motor vehicles.
These customers would
be keen to purchase insurance protection due to their understanding that
commuting on the road is dangerous and there are prominent and unavoidable
risks to driving on the road. There could be incidences happening which would
damage the customer’s vehicles, so this group of customers would buy these
insurances to be on the safe side and be well insured and compensated in case
they meet with any car damages or accidence.
The third group of customers are the lowest income families who are living in Singapore.
This group of people are families with young children who are concerned about their health and safety as the other groups, but are unable to afford insurance due to financial difficulties at times of crisis. Each family is likely to be earning an income of at most $1000 a month. This group of customers are the reason why free insurance schemes for lower income families are created. The target customers are also the reason why ‘OrangeAid’, which is an extension of NTUC Income, is created.
OrangeAid aims to help the less privileged
children from the lowest income families gain an equal ground with the other
children by developing and equipping themselves with more skills through
learning opportunities in hope of getting their family out of the poverty
cycle.
The fourth group of customers are the
aging members and elderly members aged between 50-75 years who are currently
living in Singapore and actively planning the days ahead of them. They are
otherwise known as the silver market. This insurance called ‘SilverCare’, is
priced affordably for the silver market to put them at ease and get them ready
and prepared for the near future. It ensures that the elderly and aging members
would be able to pay for medical bills through the coverage from insurance just
by paying low insurance fees that would aid them should they face any
difficulties and troubles about finances due to medical expenses in the future.
The last group of customers would be the
special group of children in Singapore who are diagonised with either autism or
down syndrome. They are people who belongs in the ’15 days to 30 years old’ age
range. This segment of people are always denied insurance from other insurance
companies due to their special condition. NTUC Income’s mission of providing
insurance for all segments of society had allowed this special group to be
aided and insured despite of their disability.
S.W.O.T analysis
Strength
As the only insurance cooperative in
Singapore, NTUC Income has a leverage over other insurance companies in which
they can attract potential customers who are interested in not only to be
insured, but to also be an insurer of an insurance company. This means that if
a potential customer is keen to buy insurance only from an insurance
cooperative company in Singapore, NTUC Income would not have any competition.
It owns many branches throughout the country and has a huge influence over
Singaporeans.
Weakness
NTUC Income aims to provide insurance for
all segments of people living in Singapore. This will lead to the company not
being able to have an in-depth focus for each of segment. Compared to the other
insurance companies which has lesser target segment groups to focus on, NTUC
Income would have more rooms for improvements. Due to NTUC Income’s regular
sponsorship to a wide range of events and programmes, they might not be able to
compensate their customers as much as the competing companies.
Opportunities
NTUC Income is gaining more awareness in
Singapore. Due to its wide recognition in the country, it can easily find
sponsors if needed and would be able to get chosen easily as a sponsor at events.
Also, because of the many different insurances that they sell, they have many
opportunities to improve and work on the insurance services catered for each
segment to create an even bigger response and satisfaction for the customers.
Threats
A main threat NTUC Income might face is
that other competing insurance companies might start coming up with elderly
friendly insurance or start providing insurances for special needs children which
would steal the company’s customers away especially if it can provide more
benefits than NTUC Income’s current program. Also, if other insurance companies
create affordable insurances with a larger age range, it would win customers
over from NTUC Income. For example, the special group of children who has
either autism or down syndrome is eligible for the special NTUC Income insurance
only if they are 15 days to 30 years old. If other companies like AIA comes up
with a similar insurance plan that is affordable and is eligible for people
aged 15 days to 40 years old, they would be successful in getting NTUC Income’s
special needs customers.
The competitors
However, in the aspect of just being an
insurance company which is competing with the other insurance companies in the
country, NTUC Income would face quite an extensive amount of competition
considering the number of insurance companies existing in the country.
Besides NTUC Income, other very successful
insurance companies in Singapore includes AIA, Great Eastern, Prudential, and
Manulife.
Great Eastern founded in
the 1908s, is the oldest and most established life insurance group in both Singapore
and Malaysia. It has a total of more than S$60 billion in assets and a total
number of about 4.7 million policyholders as well as three successful
distribution channels.
The Group also operates in
Indonesia and Brunei and has a presence in China as well as a representative
office in Myanmar. They were named Life Insurance Company of the Year at the
Asia Insurance Industry Awards in 2011 and 2013, by Asia Insurance Review.
Great Eastern Life
Assurance Company Limited has been assigned the financial strength and counterparty
credit ratings of 'AA-' by Standard & Poor's since 2010, one of the highest
among Asian life insurance companies.
Manulife has a heritage
that started way back since 1887, with more than 125 years of customer serving
experience. Throughout the years, they have developed a strong presence in not
just the U.S and Canada, but also in Asian countries such as Singapore, China,
and Japan. Manulife received the Contact Centre of the Year Award for the third
consecutive year in 2015 at the Customer Relationship Excellence Awards, and
had also received its first Crystal Mark certification just a few years back.
AIA being the second largest life insurer in the world was founded in Asia since 1931 and is present in 17 other markets across the Asia-Pacific region besides Singapore. Some examples are Korea, China, India, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, and Macau.
The company provides protection to people across the
region with a total sum assured of over US$1 Trillion. They have won numerous
awards, such as the Reader's Digest
Trusted Brand 2017 (Gold Award) and the Best Employee Insurance Provider
Award for the 11th Consecutive Year.
Prudential, as one of the top
life insurance company in Singapore, had been serving Singapore for more than
85 years. The company not only brings financial solutions to customers, but
also offers products in the aspect of Protection, Savings and
Investment. Prudential
has S$31.5 billion funds under management and was awarded an AA Financial Strength Rating by leading
credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s. They were also awarded with the People
Developer Award by SPRING Singapore.Past sponsorship involvement
NTUC Income had sponsored many events and programs throughout the years,
but there were three sponsorship involvements that were more publicised.
NTUC Income had
sponsored the NTUC Income Kite Festival from 2009 all the way to year 2014 for
six consecutive years. The event would successfully attract huge numbers of
crowd each year, with an increasing number of interested participants every year. 
The kite festival celebrates the ancient art, and promotes family bonding as well as to bring people from all walks of life together through kite making and kite flying.
NTUC Income sponsored an amount of at least $750,000 over a duration of
five years for the Montfort Challenge Programme, which is run by the
Assumption Pathway School (APS). The launch of their sponsorship of the
programme started in 2010, with the aim of benefiting at least 250 students
from APS in that year.
It is a unique confidence and character building
programme created to
broaden the learning options for academically less-inclined
students through sports and adventure, overseas service learning trips,
performing arts, and other activities. The programme aims to boost the
student’s skills and allow them to achieve personal successes and contribute
positively back to the community despite all the setbacks and difficult times
they had faced. Besides sponsoring for the programme, NTUC Income also paid for
all of the expenses incurred for its 35 staff who were given time off work to
volunteer and lead training sessions to help students get prepared for the
challenges.
Current sponsorship involvement
NTUC Income is currently sponsoring the Dyslexia Association of Singapore. It is both a silver sponsor, and a corporate partner for the association.
Possible objectives for its participation
NTUC’s
objective for its participation in sponsorship activities is to promote its
practice in corporate social responsibility while having the aim to raise
awareness for the company’s objectives and initiatives. By sponsoring in
activities which aligns with the company’s goals and values, the company’s
image and profile is enhanced. This will gain the company more popularity which
would help them gain a larger customer base in Singapore.
Sponsorship Recommendation and Justification
People’s
ideas, thoughts and lifestyle had been slowly evolving over the years.
Nowadays, there had been a rise in the number of health-conscious people who are seeking healthier lifestyles, and being more actively involved in planning for the future.
As an insurance company, which sells life and health insurance, NTUC Income would want to sponsor events that highlight the importance of health and being forward looking.
Nowadays, there had been a rise in the number of health-conscious people who are seeking healthier lifestyles, and being more actively involved in planning for the future.
As an insurance company, which sells life and health insurance, NTUC Income would want to sponsor events that highlight the importance of health and being forward looking.
NTUC
Income can sponsor events such as baby fairs.
The reason is that parents in the age group of 21-50 years old who can afford insurance, will visit baby fairs to buy products for their child.
From the fair, parents would notice that NTUC Income is a sponsor of the event and feel aware and pleased that the company is involved in a fair that concerns the needs of their child.
Then, if the parents ever decides to get health and life insurances for their child, they will think of NTUC Income before other insurances company because of its sponsorship involvement with the baby fair that that has left a positive image in their mind, where no other insurance company participated in.
The reason is that parents in the age group of 21-50 years old who can afford insurance, will visit baby fairs to buy products for their child.
From the fair, parents would notice that NTUC Income is a sponsor of the event and feel aware and pleased that the company is involved in a fair that concerns the needs of their child.
Then, if the parents ever decides to get health and life insurances for their child, they will think of NTUC Income before other insurances company because of its sponsorship involvement with the baby fair that that has left a positive image in their mind, where no other insurance company participated in.
Besides
baby fair, NTUC Income can sponsor health exhibitions, fund-raising events,
cars and motorbike exhibitions, family-bonding events, as well as programs that
highlight the importance of social corporate responsibility.
Sponsoring
health exhibitions not only shows customers that NTUC Income is a supporter of
a healthy lifestyle like them, but also cares enough about the event and people
to be a sponsor and play its part to enable the success of the event. This
enhances people’s image of NTUC Income and raises the company’s popularity and
awareness.Fund-raising events align with the company’s involvement in practicing social corporate responsibility. People who are aware of NTUC Income’s practice will have an enhanced image of the company. For people who are unaware and unclear about what NTUC Income does, they will get the opportunity to either study or unconsciously form a positive image of the company in their mind.
If
NTUC Income sponsors motorbikes and car exhibitions, they are getting the
chance to directly reach out to potential buyers to buy the company’s motor and
car insurance for their vehicles. This would enable NTUC Income to capture a
larger market of customers compared to the other insurance company since it has
the chance to reach out to the customers first. 
Last but not least, NTUC Income can sponsor events that are catered mainly for the special group of children diagnosed with autism and down syndrome. By sponsoring this event that other insurance company would not have because they do not provide insurance for this group of target customers, it would be the most effective way to convey the message that it practices corporate social responsibility.
Sources:
Orange Aid 2012 Report. (n.d.). Retrieved May 21, 2017, from http://www.income.com.sg/orangeaid/annual-reports/2012-orangeaid-annual-report?ext=.pdf
(n.d.). Retrieved May 20, 2017, from http://www.aia.com.sg/en/about-aia.html
(n.d.). Retrieved May 19 , 2017, from http://www.manulife.com/
(n.d.). Retrieved May 19, 2017, from https://www.prudential.com.sg/en/our-company/
G. S. (2011, July 26). NTUC Income achieves new heights with Kite Festival. Retrieved May 20, 2017, from https://www.ntuc.org.sg/wps/portal/up2/home/searchresultsdetails?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/Content_Library/NTUC/Home/About%20NTUC/Newsroom/News%20Highlights/29a8b98047ba361ab223fa8ea86250d5
NTUC Income contributes $60,000 to support Mok Ying Ren’s quest to participate in 2016 Olympic Games. (2014, November 30). Retrieved May 20 , 2017, from http://www.income.com.sg/about-us/press-releases/ntuc-income-contributes-60,000-to-support-mok-yin
Our sponsors champion chart. (n.d.). Retrieved May 22, 2017, from http://www.das.org.sg/embrace-dyslexia/champions-chart/our-sponsors
Silvercare Insurance. (n.d.). Retrieved May 19 , 2017, from http://www.income.com.sg/insurance/specialised-care-insurance/silvercare-insurance
Corporate Social Responsibility. (n.d.). Retrieved May 22 , 2017, from http://www.income.com.sg/about-us/corporate-social-responsibility
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