A PROJECT ON LOANS OF PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SETOR BANK A COMPARATIVE STUDY SUBMITTED TO UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI SUBMITTED BY PRTHAMESH GANPAT

SHINDE Roll No. 39 T.Y.B.B.I. (SEM V) (2010-2011) DNYANASADHANA COLLEGE ARTS, COMMERECE, SCIENCE, BMS, BMM, ACCOUNT AND FINANCE, AND BANKING AND INSURANCE, THANE (W) DECLARATION I, MR. PRATHAMESH GANPAT SHINDE. Dnyanasadhana College, Thane . T.Y. BANKNG AND I NSURANCE (SEMESTER Vth) hereby declare that I have completed this project on LOAN S OF PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SECTOR BANK- A COMPARATIVE STUDY in the academic year 20 10-2011. The information submitted is true and original to the best of my knowle dge.

Place: Date:

SIGNATURE MR. PRATHAMESH SHINDE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT A project to successfully conceive merely from a sheer initiative to come into b eing is solely not just the work of mine; but there are many others who contribu te largely. I am indebted to my highly regarded project guide Mrs. AFRIN mam for her immense contribution to my project by invariably guiding me throughout this whole journ ey. This effort would not have been successfully completed without her priceless encouragement, endorsement and helpful suggestion. I owe it to our respected principal Mr.Dr. VISHE I also thanks to the manager of ICICI bank and SBI bank thane branch

(DNYANASADHANA COLLEGE,THANE )

CERTIFICATE This is to certify that MR. PRATHAMESH GANPAT SHINDE of T.Y.B.com (Banking and I nsurance) Semester-v in academic Year 2010-2011 has completed the project on LOAN S OF PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SECTOR BANK- A COMPARATIVE STUDY under the guidance of M rs. AFREEN EKSAMBI Project Guide Principal External Examiner Internal Examiner Course Coordinator

DESIGN OF STUDY SCOPE: The scope and significance of advertising is very great or immense. By advertise ment the market will be expanded now big is beautiful means u produce enmass of goods and release to the international markets and earn profits. Hence it requir es advertisement. But the product or service must have inherent quality . Otherw ise no body will purchase the product. Hence in the global era advertisement is must. Objectives: List out the new products offered by insurance companies; Understand the nature of audience while marketing the products; Know the meaning of and different types of advertising used by the insurance com panies; Appreciate the meaning and importance of advertising in insurance sector; Understand the working and advantages of advertising in insurance sector.

METHODOLOGY In order to conduct the research an appropriate methodology became necessary. In this declaration, secondary data were attempted to be collected and collection of primary data was not possible. The Information are collected from a variety o f discipline and tried to present it in such a form that it becomes easy to expl ain and easily understandable. Each step of Methodology is explained in the foll owing submission step by step according to the secondary data collected. The Methodology for collecting data with the reference to the secondary data was taken from the different published articles, books journals and relevant websit es. The guidance from the project guide was of great help in presenting the proj ect. Thus, the methodology became a preplanned strategy in collecting, editing, tabul ating and interpreting for the research. Source of Secondary data Books on the topic of study were used for the collection of Secondary data. Following newspapers were used :- Times Of India, Economic Times, DNA, Hindustan Times. Visited various websites for collecting the data. CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 INTRODUCTION:Insurance industry has always been a growth-oriented industry globally. On the I ndian scene too, the insurance industry has always recorded noticeable growth vi s--vis other Indian industries. The Triton General Insurance Co. Ltd. was the first general insurance company to

be established in India in 1850, which was a wholly British-owned company. The first general insurance company to be set up by an Indian was Indian Mercantile Insurance Co. Ltd., which was established in 1907. There emerged many a player o n the Indian scene thereafter. The general insurance business was nationalized after the promulgation of Genera l Insurance Business (Nationalization) Act, 1972. The post-nationalization gener al insurance business was undertaken by the General Insurance Corporation of Ind ia (GIC) and its 4 subsidiaries: 1. Oriental Insurance Company Limited; 2. New India Assurance Company Limited; 3. National Insurance Company Limited; and 4. United India Insurance Company Limited. Towards the end of 2000, the relation ceased to exist and the four companies are , at present, operating as independent companies. The Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) was established on 01.09.1956 and had been the sole corporation to write the life insurance business in India. The Indian insurance industry saw a new su n when the Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority (IRDA) invited the appli cations for registration as insurers in August, 2000. With the liberalization an d opening up of the sector to private players, the industry has presented promis ing prospects for the coming future. The transition has also resulted into intro duction of ample opportunities for the professionals including Chartered Account ants. The Indian Insurance industry is featured by the attributes: Low market penetration; Ever-growing middle class component in population. Growth of consumer movement with an increasing demand for better insurance produ cts; Inadequate application of information technology for business. Adequate fillip from the Government in the form of tax incentives to the insured , etc. The industry formations need to keep vigil on these characteristics of the India n market and formulate their strategies to entail maximum contribution to the ou tput of the sector. The Indian life and non-life insurance business accounted fo r merely 0.42 percent of the world's life and non-life business in 1997. The ter m "Insurance Penetration" broadly measures the contribution of the insurance ind ustry in relation to a nation's entire economic productivity. The figure of prem ium vis--vis the GDP of 1999 stood at 0.54 percent for non-life insurance busines s and 1.39 percent for the life insurance business. The term "Insurance Density" reflects the Insurance purchasing power. The insurance sector in India has beco me a full circle from being an open competitive market to nationalization and ba ck to a liberalized market again. Tracing the developments in the Indian insuran ce sector reveals the 360-degree turn witnessed over a period of almost two cent uries. 1.2 HISTORY OF INSURANCE IN INDIA:Insurance in India has its history dating back till 1818, when Oriental Life Ins urance Company was started by Europeans in Kolkata to cater to the needs of Euro pean community. Pre-independent era in India saw discrimination among the life o f foreigners and Indians with higher premiums being charged for the latter. It w as only in the year 1870, Bombay Mutual Life Assurance Society, the first Indian insurance company covered Indian lives at normal rates. At the dawn of the twentieth century, insurance companies started mushrooming up . In the year 1912, the Life Insurance Companies Act, and the Provident Fund Act were passed to regulate the insurance business. The Life Insurance Companies Ac t, 1912 made it necessary that the premium rate tables and periodical valuations of companies should be certified by an actuary. However, the disparage still ex isted as discrimination between Indian and foreign companies. The oldest existin g insurance company in India is National Insurance Company Ltd, which was founde d in 1906 and is doing business even today. The Insurance industry earlier consi sted of only two state insurers: Life Insurers i.e. Life Insurance Corporation o

f India (LIC) and General Insurers i.e. General Insurance Corporation of India ( GIC). GIC had four subsidiary companies. With effect from December 2000, these subsidiaries have been de-linked from pare nt company and made as independent insurance companies: Oriental Insurance Compa ny Limited, New India Assurance Company Limited, National Insurance Company Limi ted and United India Insurance Company Limited. Definition Insurance in its basic form is defined as A contract between two parties whereby one party called insurer undertakes in exchange for a fixed sum called premiums , to pay the other party called insured a fixed amount of money on the happening of a certain event." In simple terms it is a contract between the person who buys Insurance and an In surance company who sold the Policy. By entering into contract the Insurance com pany agrees to pay the Policy holder or his family members a predetermined sum o f money in case of any unfortunate event for a predetermined fixed sum payable w hich is in normal term called Insurance Premiums.

1.3 SIGNIFICANCE OF INSURANCE:The risks and uncertainties of man have been increasing day- byday in this modem world. Along with this change, the significance of insurance a lso has increased. Insurance becomes an inseparable part of human life. Insuranc e plays important role in the socio-economic prosperity of a country, as it evid ent from the contribution of insurance in various industrial and commercial acti vities. Royce writes that at the present time the importance of insurance h as been considerably increasing. This importance is not only increasing the fulf illment of objectives of certain people or some category of people, but also con tributes towards the socio-economic development of modern social system. There w ill be no exaggeration to say that industrial world without insurance is like a car without shock-absorber. An individual is safe when he is insured against death or accident or any other uncertain loss. It protects the farmer with his crop in the field a gainst ruin by flood, rain, fire, and wind storm, etc. Similarly in the case of businessmen who run industrial or commercial activities. While stating the signi ficance of insurance, Dinsdale writes, "No one can afford to be without insuranc e in this world." While describing the importance of insurance, J.Royee writes, ''Insurance principle comes to be more and more used and useful in modern affair s. Not only does it serve the ends of individuals, it tends more and more both to provide and transform our modern social order. It brings into new s ynthesis not merely pure and applied sciences, but private and public interests. Individual prudence and a large regard for the general welfare, thrift and char ity." The significance or the utility of insurance can be categorized into the followi ng four groups for the convenience of the study: Significance from the individuals/family point of view. Significance from the business point of view Significance from social point of view 1.4 BASIC FUNCTIONS OF THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY:1. Risk Perception and Evaluation:

The fundamental function of an insurer is to provide a cover against the detrime nt caused to the insured due to the happening of certain specified and agreed ev ents. Thus, prior to providing such umbrella through a product, the insurer has to assess the risk involved in the transaction. The insurer has to identify the element of risk prevalent in the concerned industry or a particular unit. The pe rception of risk requires the study of variables through various methods includi ng the application of scientific and statistical techniques and correlation ther eof with the industry or unit under study in light of their basic environmental and infra-structural characteristics. After the identification and categorisatio n of the risks perceived, the probability of happening of the loss-causing event s and the severity of the loss has to be assessed. 2. Designing the Insurance Product: On the basis of the risks perceived, the ins urer develops a product to cover the stipulated risks. While designing an insura nce product, an insurer decides its cost to be charged from the insured in the f orm of premium, reduction thereof in certain cases like not lodging any claim du ring the previous covered period(s), suggesting the implementation of risk-mitig ating measures, etc. The features of a product should be flexible enough to prov ide for the determination of premiums, rebates, additional premiums, etc. depend ing upon the risk benchmarks as determined. 3. Marketing of the Product: The core function of the marketing force of an insurance company is to generate awareness about the insurance products among the target market. But in the India n scenario, where the insurance penetration is too low as compared to the other nations, the marketing force needs to perform the pro-active role in developing an insurance culture. It is through the efficiency of the sales force of an insu rance company that the desirability and the success of a product are determined. In Indian insurance market, the function is, basically performed by the agents. The persons desiring to function as insurance agents have to obtain license to a ct as such from the IRDA or an officer authorised by the Authority in this behal f. The agents approach the prospective buyers and apprise them of the basic feat ures of the products. In order to dispense with the functions, the agents need t o possess adequate knowledge of the insurance industry, products and the modalit ies attached therewith. Further, the marketing personnels should be adequately b acked by the back-office setup. 4. Selling of the Products:The term selling in the context of insurance industry connotes the issuance of policies to the applicant proposer. The non-life insur ance policy basically embodies the covenant between the insurer and the insured wherein the former agrees to indemnify the latter for the loss caused to him on the happening of the certain agreed events up to a specified limit. The life insurance policy generally contains the agreement whereby the insurer a grees to pay to the insured or the beneficiary of the policy an agreed amount on the expiry of the term of the policy or in the event of the death of the insure d respectively. The additional benefits in the shape of Riders viz. Accidental D eath Benefit, Double Sum Assured, Critical Illness benefits, Waiver of Premiums, etc. can also be appended with the policy on the payment of an additional premium. In Indian industry, the function is, generally performed by the insurer. In addi tion, the insurance companies depute their Direct Selling Representatives to loo k after the function. They receive the proposal documents, vet them and issue po licies to the proposers. 5. Management of Portfolio: The management of the portfolio includes the assessment of requirement of funds,

identification of various sources of finance, the evaluation of the sources in the light of their cost, availability, timing, etc., reconciling the features of various sources with the needs of the company and the selection of appropriate conjunction of sources. The insurer possesses huge amount of funds, which need p roper management. The management of the portfolio of an insurance company requires the identifica tion of investment avenues, evaluation thereof and the selection of the most app ropriate mix of alternatives where the funds of the company can be invested. The selection requires the knowledge of finance related functions and techniques ap art from the in-depth know of the patterns of requirement of funds in the compan y as well as in the industry as a whole.

CHAPTER 2 ADVERTISING 2.1 WHAT IS ADVERTISING? Advertising is a non-personal form of promotion that is delivered through select ed media outlets that, under most circumstances, require the marketer to pay for message placement. Advertising has long been viewed as a method of mass promot ion in that a single message can reach a large number of people. But, this mass promotion approach presents problems since many exposed to an advertising messa ge may not be within the marketers target market, and thus, may be an inefficient use of promotional funds. However, this is changing as new advertising technol ogies and the emergence of new media outlets offer more options for targeted adv ertising. Advertising also has a history of being considered a one-way form of marketing c ommunication where the message receiver (i.e., target market) is not in position to immediately respond to the message (e.g., seek more information). This too is changing. For example, in the next few years technologies will be readily av ailable to enable a television viewer to click a button to request more details on a product seen on their favorite TV program. In fact, it is expected that ov er the next 10-20 years advertising will move away from a one-way communication model and become one that is highly interactive. Another characteristic that may change as advertising evolves is the view that a dvertising does not stimulate immediate demand for the product advertised. That is, customers cannot quickly purchase a product they see advertised. But as mo re media outlets allow customers to interact with the messages being delivered t he ability of advertising to quickly stimulate demand will improve. Definition Advertising is the promotion of goods, services, companies and ideas, most often through paid messages. Marketers see advertising as part of an overall promotio nal strategy. Other components of the promotional mix include publicity, public relations, personal selling, and sales promotion. Advertising is bringing a product (or service) to the attention of potential and current customers. Advertising is focused on one particular product or service. Thus, an advertising plan for one product might be very different than that for another product. Advertising is typically done with signs, brochures, commercia ls, direct mailings or e-mail messages, personal contact, etc.

2.2 IMPORTANCE OF ADVERTISEMENT:Advertising is one of the most important things present in or society today, lik e an old slogan puts it 'Advertising, your right to choose'. Advertising helps to keep the consumers informed about whatever new products or services are available in the market at their disposal. It helps to spread aware ness about products or services that are of some use to consumer and potential b uyers. The main aim of advertising, many believe is to sell. These are the kind of peop le who vehemently oppose anything that make advertising seem Unethical. Advertis ing on the whole helps business as well as the economy to prosper and makes the consumer aware of the various choices that are available to him. Advertising is of great importance in our world of competition. It is important for both seller and buyer. Even the government cannot do without it. First, of a ll, advertising introduces new products to general public. For example, the publ ic come to know about useful new medicines for some diseases. We often learn abo ut new machines for agriculture and industry for ads. Secondly, advertising introduces different brands of same product. Advertisement tells about qualities of each brand and we can easily select. For example there are three different brands of bicycle produced by same company. Thirdly, government can very profitably advertise its schemes and policies. It c an tell general public what it might do for good of nation. Fourthly, it is through advertisements that we come to know of new service jobs. Qualified people apply for them and get adjusted in life. Fifthly, advertisement is a dependable and effective means of expanding educatio n and of bringing students to educational institutions. Schools, colleges and un iversities advertise their classes, courses, and fees and attract students for a dmission. Advertising can also be harmful. When advertisement misstates qualities of their products, they misguide public. When manufacturers advertise harmful products l ike cigarettes, they do a dis-service. Advertising is useful a\within proper lim its. These limits Cleary are laid down by religion, law and our traditions.

2.3 OBJECTIVES AND FUNCTIONS OF ADVERTISING:The main objective of advertising is to sell something a product, a service or an idea now or in the near future through effective communication. Advertising t ries to influence the behaviour of potential customers in favour of and for the benefits of the advertiser. Besides this the following are the important objecti ves of advertising. 1.} Creation of demand:- Advertisement increases sales and consumption of produc ts by either introducing new articles in the market or by familiarising people w ith the new uses of the old articles. It attracts attention, creates interest an d awareness and arouses and maintains consumer demand. It influences the buying behaviour of the prospective customers. It widens the market for a product. It e

ncourages mass production and enables a businessman to enjoy the advantages of l arge-scale economics. It reduces per unit production and distribution costs. Opt imum utilisation of resources reduces costs and increases profits. 2.} Increases sales:- Advertising helps the dealer in increasing his turnover an d widens the distribution of goods. It creates more business for all by expandin g the markets. Very often the advertising is used to support personal selling by developing recognition and acceptance of the products service. It makes the job of the salesman very simple and easy. It reduces per unit selling costs as the increase in turnover is grater than the increase in selling costs. 3.} Supports Dealers :- Advertising increases the per capita demand for an artic le by constant repetition of the desirable features of the same or by describing uses for articles that might have never been thought of by the people. It creat es awareness about the might of the advertised brands. It secures dealers to the manufacturers. Advertised goods have a ready market and little sales effort is required in their case. Dealers are always willing to stock such goods. 4.) Builds Goodwill:- Advertising builds invaluable goodwill for the seller's ho use or his products. It tries to relate new products to the existing name which might have already established their prestige and goodwill firmly. A business ca n improve its image by well-planned advertising programmes, highlighting the ben efits of buying their products. Advertising helps in building up brand preferenc es and brand loyalties. 5.} Eliminates Middlemen:- It helps in the elimination of the middlemen by secur ing public recognition and acceptance of the advertised brands. A kind of insura nce or protection is obtained against substitution of widely advertised goods by the locally manufactured goods and establishes a direct link between the manufa cturer and the consumer. 6.} Minimizes seasonal fluctuations:- It eliminates seasonal fluctuations and wi ns over the confidence of the customers in the quality of the advertised goods. 7.} Educates consumers :- Advertising educates consumers in better buying by exp laining special features of the products, their functional utility and superiori ty over other competitive products or substitutes. It informs them about the new uses of the products and encourages them to purchase them in large quantities. 8.} Higher standard of living: - Advertising improves the standard of living of the people by stimulating their desire for better living. 2.4 ADVERTISING TECHNIQUES:Advertisers use several recognizable techniques in order to better convince the public to buy a product. These may include: Repetition: Some advertisers concentrate on making sure their product is widely recognized. To that end, they simply attempt to make the name remembered through repetition. Bandwagon: By implying that the product is widely used, advertisers hope to conv ince potential buyers to "get on the bandwagon." Testimonials: Advertisers often attempt to promote the superior quality of their product through the testimony of ordinary users, experts, or both. "Three out o f four dentists recommend..." This approach often involves an appeal to authorit y. Pressure: By attempting to make people choose quickly and without long considera tion, some advertisers hope to make rapid sales: "Buy now, before they're all go ne!" Association: Advertisers often attempt to associate their product with desirable things, in order to make it seem equally desirable. The use of attractive model s, picturesque landscapes, and other similar imagery is common. Advertising slogans. 2.5 ADVERTISING SLOGANS :MetLife - Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Slogans: Have you met life today? Get Met. It Pays. Metropolitan service is as local as Main Streetas close as your pho ne

AXA Insurance

Be life confident. Go Ahead. You Can Rely on Us. New York Life Insurance CompanyMarketing slogan: New York Life. The Company You Keep. Aviva Insurance group, UKAdvertising slogan: Aviva. Taking care of what's important. The ACE Group of Insurance and Reinsurance CompaniesTagline: ACE. Take away the risk and you can do anything. Nicholas Insurance GroupAdvertising slogan: Insuring Your Future Today. Allstate Insurance CompanySlogans: You're In Good Hands With Allstate.

Taglines:

AXA.

2.6 FINDING THE AUDIENCE: WHICH DEMOGRAPHIC ARE YOU? Advertisers target their messages to an audience according to the audience's nee ds. But an advertiser also seeks to determine the audience's characteristics. Th is analysis of observable audience characteristics is called "Demographics" Demographics are composed of data about target audience's sex, age, income level , marital status, geographic location and occupation. These data are observable because they are available to advertising agencies through census data and other sources. Advertising agencies use demographic audience analysis to help adverti sers target their messages. A motorcycle dealer certainly wouldn't want to advertise in a baby magazine, For e.g.; a candy manufacturer probably wouldn't profit from advertising is a di et and exercise magazine. Advertising agencies try to match client's product to a thoroughly defined audience so that each advertising dollar is well spent. Defining the audience is very important, because the goal of advertising is to m arket a product to people who have the desire for the product and the ability to buy the product. Audience analysis tells an advertiser whether there are enough people who can be targeted for a product to make the advertising worth wile.

2.7 TYPES OF ADVERTISING:Television Advertising It's no surprise that most businesses want to advertise on televisionaccording to the A.C. Nielsen Company, the average American watches four hours of TV each da y, the equivalent of two whole months a yearmaking it the largest media outlet of them all. Other advantages of television advertising include: Ability to reach a greater, more diverse audience Targeted markets can be easily reached by proper ad placement Greater possibility for creativity-ability to incorporate sound, sight, color an d motion to engage consumers Gives product near-instant validity and prestige Because of these valuable benefits, television is one of the most expensive ways to advertise. A spot during primetime hours (8:00 PM until 11:00 PM) can cost 1 0 to 30 times more than a radio spot during drive time! In addition to the cost of buying a spot, other disadvantages of television adve rtising include: Cost of hiring an ad agency to plan and shoot the commercial Cost of running the ad multiple times Consumers have grown to expect interesting, high-quality commercials; anything l ess could actually hurt your business Competition for viewer's attention amid other elements in his or her environment But despite these drawbacks, if you have the budget to incorporate TV advertisin

g in to your marketing practices, most experts agree that it's worth doing. Due to the complex nature of television advertising, you will probably want to c onsult with or hire an agency or representative to help you. Your representative will guide the creative direction of the ad, pinpoint the programs between whic h to run your ad(s), and help you determine whether to run the ad on broadcast t elevision or cable television. When it comes to advertising on television, it's important to shop around and fi nd the best fit for your businessand your budget. Newspaper Advertising When it comes to print ads, newspaper advertising is one of the best ways to adv ertise your agency. Because nearly all households receive a newspaper through a personal subscription or newsstand, newspaper advertising is a great way for you r agency gain consumer recognition. Other advantages of newspaper advertising include: Ability to reach different demographics by placing advertisements in different s ections of the newspaper People expect to see ads in the papersome even look for them Large variety of ad sizes to correspond with various budgets But, like all other mediums of advertising, advertising your insurance business via newspaper does have its disadvantages: Newspapers are generally read once and thrown out Smaller ads can look nonexistent on large pages Ads have to compete for the reader's attention with all other ads on the page Print quality may distort graphics and photos in an unfavorable manner Keeping both the advantages and disadvantages of newspaper advertising in mind w ill help you make better decisions about the ad(s) you wish to list in the paper . As with television advertising, you may wish to consult an ad agency or copywrit er to help you design your ad. The newspaper's ad sales department will probably try to convince you that the paper can do the layout for you or set your ad in a pre-formatted template. Be advised that these "prepackaged" ads are not typica lly catching to the eyewhich won't help bring in new clients. Paying an outside a gency to help you with the ad is likely to be worth the money. Newspaper space is typically sold by the column and inch, which is commonly refe rred to as the "inch rate". The inch rate may well differ from paper to paper, s o be sure to shop around. Keeping the inch rate in mind, you can then decide which ad size you'd like by l ooking at the existing ads in your local paper. Simply measure the length and wi dth of the adif an ad is two columns across and six inches down, it would be a 12 -inch ad. You can then multiply the size of the ad by the inch rate to get an id ea of how much the ad will cost you. Other tips to remember: Because paper circulation is greater on Sundays than the rest of the week, you'l l likely pay more to run your ad on Sundays Always specify what section of the paper in which you'd like your ad to appear Keep ad content short and descriptive Always give a final approval before the ad is run Outdoor Advertising While outdoor advertising used to be contained to large signs and billboards, bu sinesses have expanded outdoor advertising to include benches, electronic signs and public transit systemsgaining popularity as an affordable advertising medium. Unlike television and newspaper advertisements, outdoor advertising is not volu ntary to the consumer. Other benefits of outdoor advertising include: The public can't throw out or turn off outdoor advertising, resulting in a true "captured audience" Frequency is easily achieved by consumers driving or walking by the ad(s) on a r egular basis Proven to boost the effectiveness of other types of advertising, such as print a

ds Truly effective outdoor advertising makes use of bold colors, simple backgrounds and to-the-point text, which can present quite a challenge. Other disadvantages of outdoor advertising include: On average, outdoor advertisements only catch two to three seconds of the consum er's time Messages have to be both concise and interesting to resonate with the consumer i n those fleeting seconds Outdoor advertisements are typically purchased in three-month chunks, which may not be beneficial for short-term advertising needs As with television and print ads, you'll most likely want to consult with or hir e an outside advertising agency to help you build a campaign that best suits you r agency and the products you sell. Radio Advertising According to some advertising experts, radio is one of the most underutilized so urces of media today. Think traditional radio advertising of the early days and the Dabur lal dant manjan jingle comes to mind. For long, the products advertise d on radio were, by and large, those used by the rural folks and were meant for places where there was no electricity. Today, Bihar, Orissa and eastern Uttar Pr adesh are the three radio-intensive areas and the medium is used to sell cycles and Lifebuoy soaps. But since they are on the periphery of the growing consumer class in India, these regions (and therefore radio) do not get much of the ad pi e. Advantages of radio advertising include: Ability to target specific demographics Less expensive form of advertising Informal style creates a relevancy with which consumers can relate. Advertisers benefit from the personal and emotional reactions from listeners Spreads your name and that of your agency throughout the community Disadvantages of radio advertising include: Extensive research needed to compare costs of airtime amongst each radio station in the area Extensive research needed to determine which stations will effectively target de sired markets Limited amount of time to include important information Ad success is dependent on correct timing and station placement Ad scripts are only as good as the person reading them Despite the high number of radio listeners, many listeners change the dial durin g commercials Because of these disadvantages, it's important to recognize the risk involved an d learn how to buy radio time in an effective manner to offset these drawbacks a nd further the success of your agency.

2.8 DEFAULTS OF ADVERTISING:The study of advertising provokes three main criticisms, according to Louis C. K auf man, author of essentials of advertising: 1. Advertising adds to the costs of products. Critics of advertising maintain th at advertising like everything that is part of manufacturing a product, is a cos t. Ultimately the consumer pays for the cost of advertising. But the industry ar gues that advertising makes more goods and services available to the consumer, a nd that the resulting competition keeps prices lower. 2. Advertising causes people to buy products they do not need. Most blame advert ising for the sale of specific consumer goods , notably luxury goods , frivolous goods , dangerous goods , shoddy goods , expensive goods that do not differ at all from cheap goods , marginally differentiated products that do not differ sig nificantly from one another, and waste full goods.The advertising industry conte

nds that the ultimate test of any product is the marketplace, and that advertisi ng may stimulate consumers to try a new product or a new brand, but consumers wi ll not continue to buy an unsatisfying product. 3. Advertising reduces competition and thereby fosters monopolies. Critics point to the rising cost of advertising, especially television, which limits which co mpanies can afford to launch a new product or a new campaign. The industry argue s that the advertising is still a very expensive way to let people know about ne w products. "The cost of launching a nationwide of advertising campaign may be f ormidable, "writes Louis C. Kaufman , "but the cost of supporting larger, nation wide scale forces for mass-marketed goods will be greater still. "

CHAPTER 3 ROLE OF ADVERTISING IN INSURANCE 3.1 ROLE OF ADVERTISING IN INSURANCE DEVELOPMENT:It is in this wise that this has become very crucial to focus on how the Nigeria n media, the proverbial fourth estate of the realm could leverage from the conso lidated insurance sub sector for maximum impact. However, it must be mentioned that looking at records since after recapitalizati on in February 2007, statistics have, reported very negligible activities review ing the role of Insurance in the Media. I am more interested in a much more symb iotic relationship that is mutually beneficial. Insurance industry and media interface: It is pertinent to note that the media constantly requires an interface with the insurance firms so that they can understand the insurance activities and repor t appropriately. The image of the insurance industry can be made or marred by ho w the media handles it. A lot of education and training are required for media p ractitioners to achieve effective reporting. Insurance firms should have since a fter the consolidation begun to explore these avenues by investing in the contin ued training of the media people.However the insurance industry of the post-cons olidation era is different in its outlook and is overwhelmingly characterized by financial capacity, top-notch human capital and impressive use of technology to drive the insurance business. Not only so, the post-consolidated insurance indu stry is working very hard to beam its searchlight to discover other areas deserv ing the insurance impact. As the industry continues to grow in size and competen ce, insurers must continue to look at partnering with other sectors and industri es within socio-economic landscape by deploying relevant strategies that will pr ove the immense value the industry that brings to bear on the overall geography of our economy. One of such sectors of the economy is the media. Though an unlikely ally, the media nevertheless must come to be accepted as a vi tal component of society and as such must of necessity by giving all the props t hat will also promote its relevance and continuity and contribution to nation bu

ilding. It is a truism that the media in its many ramifications is growing in sc ope and profitability and is faced with peculiar operational challenges that it alone can no longer manage. Take for example the Nigerian movie/ advertising ind ustry, which is just a convenient example and how it has wielded so much clout i n recent times and is growing at a fabulous rate. Though it may not yet appear that this sector of our economy which is now attrac ting the attention of the rest of the world needs properly crafted insurance cov ering, soon it will become an issue since it is common knowledge that in every e nterprise is imbedded multifarious risk profiles. It is also common knowledge th at the greater and higher the profitability of any industry the greater the atte ndant risks that should normally follow its commercial functions. 3.2 ROLE OF INSURANCE IN ADVERTISING INDUSTRY:Insurance is insurance anywhere. Across the globe, people naturally do not imbib e the culture of insurance unless educated and convinced about the need to prote ct what they have. So, that, Nigerians do not buy insurance is not to say that we are different fro m others, but it is because we have not been exposed adequately to the knowledge and importance of getting ourselves associated with insurance. This awareness is what the Insurance Industry must begin to take more seriously post-consolidation in its collaboration with the media. India for example is one of the countries in the world where insurance has succe eded because frantic efforts were made through awareness campaign to educate the population and market people both poor and rich to see the need for insurance a nd how it affects their individual and group economic growth. Insurance education is indeed of great importance. This is because there is no l imit to knowledge. Insurers even in advanced countries still make out time in st rategic manners to educate the insuring public and potential insurers on what is new, and better approaches to utilize insurance services. The media is a verita ble instrument for various promotion and execution of virtually all of such educ ating programmes. 3.3 ADVERTISING OF INSURANCE INDUSTRY:Highly visible form of marketing communication with the public with these object ives: (1) Encourage agents and brokers to sell insurance company products (2) Predispose customers to be receptive to sales calls (3) Enhance an insurance company's public image (4) Support introduction of new products, and (5) Influence public and legislative opinions on issues of importance to the in surance industry. Product advertising describes particular products and why they would be beneficial. Institutional advertising describes the financial strength and the stability of a company. Depending on target market and size, company ad vertising may be national, local, or cooperative (a joint venture using both com pany and agency dollars).

3.4 ROLE OF ADVERTISING IN MODERN BUSINESS WORLD:Advertising plays a very important role in modern business. Due to excessive spe cialisation, mass production and cut throat competition, advertising has become

an indispensible activity of business. Advertising is growing as the back-bone o f modern national and international marketing. It informs guides and educates th e consumers and protects their interests. It enables them to purchase intelligen tly and raise their standard of living. It introduces new commodities to the peo ple, change their tastes and fashions, improves their knowledge and creates more employment opportunities in the society. Advertising is to a business what motive power is to an industry. It offers bene fits to manufacturers, customers and to the society in general. Advertising not only plays a vital role in promoting our economic growth but it is colorful and diverting aspect of life. Many advertising people do a straightf orward job .They fill an important and constructive role in our society. 1.} Facilitates communication and persuasion:-Advertising provides information t o lakhs of consumers spread over a large marketing area. It acts as line of comm unication between manufacturers and traders on one hand and consumers on the oth er hand. 2.} Importance of being universally recognised:- The constructive role of advert ising in promotion business and in offering better life and welfare to the consu mers and the society at large is universally recognised .Due to large scale prod uction, market competition and need to attract consumers through information and persuasion, advertising is a must. 3.} Facilitates marketing and brings expansion of market:-Advertising brings exp ansion of market by creating new demand for existing new products. It facilitate s large scale production and marketing. In addition it provides information and education to consumers. 4.} Provides mutual benefits:-Advertising helps to give better services and sati sfaction to consumers along with the expansion of business. It is for the benefi t for both the parties. 5.) Raises standard of living:- Advertising raises a standard of living of the p eople. They are given information and guidance regarding goods and services, buy ing decisions and market competition. 6.} Creates employment:- Advertising facilitates the process of economic growth by creating employment opportunities in the field of advertising and also in oth er fields. 7.} Entertain people:-Advertising provides entertainment to people along with in formation and guidance. Radio and T.V. advertising is supplemented by the sponso red programmes that includes serials, like singing competitions and music progra mmes etc. 8.} Stimulates competition:- Advertising stimulates competition amongst the riva l producers. In order to face such competitions different techniques such as dis counts, quality improvement, and product modifications are used. The benefits of competition are always favorable to the consumers.

CHAPTER 4 MARKETING MIX 4.1 MARKETING MIX FOR INSURANCE COMPANIES:The marketing mix is the combination of marketing activities that an organisatio n engages in so as to best meet the needs of its targeted market. The Insurance

business deals in selling services and therefore due weightage in the formation of marketing mix for the Insurance business is needed. The marketing mix include s sub-mixes of the 7 Ps of marketing i.e. the product, its price, place, promotio n, people, process & physical attraction. The above mentioned 7 Ps can be used fo r marketing of Insurance products, in the following manner: 1. PRODUCT: A product means what we produce. If we produce goods, it means tangible product and when we produce or generate services, it means intangible service product. A product is both what a seller has to sell and a buyer has to buy. Thus, an Insu rance company sells services and therefore services are their product. In India, the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) and the General Insuranc e Corporation (GIC) are the two leading companies offering insurance services to the users. Apart from offering life insurance policies, they also offer underwr iting and consulting services. When a person or an organisation buys an Insurance policy from the insurance com pany, he not only buys a policy, but along with it the assistance and advice of the agent, the prestige of the insurance company and the facilities of claims and compensation. 2. PRICING: In the insurance business the pricing decisions are concerned with: i)The premium charged against the policies, ii) Interest charged for defaulting the payment of premium and credit y, and iii)Commission charged for underwriting and consultancy activities.

facilit

With a view of influencing the target market or prospects the formulation of pri cing strategy becomes significant. In a developing country like India where the disposable income in the hands of prospects is low, the pricing decision also go verns the transformation of potential policyholders into actual policyho lders. The strategies may be high or low pricing keeping in view the level or standard of customers or the policyholders. 3. PLACE: This component of the marketing mix is related to two important facets i) Managing the insurance personnel, and ii) Locating a branch. The management of agents and insurance personnel is found significant with the viewpoint of maintaining the norms for offering the services. This is also to pr ocess the services to the end user in such a way that a gap between the services - promised and services offered is bridged over. In a majority of the service ge nerating organizations, such a gap is found existent which has been instrumental in making worse the image problem. Thus the place management of insurance branch offices needs a new vision, distin ct approach and an innovative style. This is essential to make the work place co nducive, attractive and proactive for the generation of efficiency among employe es. The branch managers need professional excellence to make place decisions pro ductive. 4. PROMOTION: The insurance services depend on effective promotional measures. In a country li ke India, the rate of illiteracy is very high and the rural economy has dominanc e in the national economy. It is essential to have both personal and impersonal promotion strategies. In promoting insurance business, the agents and the rural

career agents play an important role. Due attention should be given in selecting the promotional tools for agents and rural career agents and even for the branc h managers and front line staff. They also have to be given proper training in o rder to create impulse buying. Advertising and Publicity, organisation of conferences and seminars, incentive t o policyholders are impersonal communication. Arranging Kirtans, exhibitions, pa rticipation in fairs and festivals, rural wall paintings and publicity drive thr ough the mobile publicity van units would be effective in creating the impulse b uying and the rural prospects would be easily transformed into actual policyholders. 5. PEOPLE: Understanding the customer better allows to design appropriate products. Being a service industry which involves a high level of people interaction, it is very important to use this resource efficiently in order to satisfy customers. Traini ng, development and strong relationships with intermediaries are the key areas t o be kept under consideration. Training the employees, use of IT for efficiency, both at the staff and agent level, is one of the important areas to look into. 6. PROCESS: The process should be customer friendly in insurance industry. The speed and acc uracy of payment is of great importance. The processing method should be easy an d convenient to the customers. Installment schemes should be streamlined to cate r to the ever growing demands of the customers. IT & Data Warehousing will smoot hen the process flow. IT will help in servicing large no. of customers efficiently and bring down over heads. Technology can either complement or supplement the channels of distributi on cost effectively. It can also help to improve customer service levels. The us e of data warehousing management and mining will help to find out the profitabil ity and potential of various customers product segments. 7. PHYSICAL DISTRIBUTION: Distribution is a key determinant of success for all insurance companies. Today, the nationalized insurers have a large reach and presence in India. Building a distribution network is very expensive and time consuming. If the insurers are w illing to take advantage of Indias large population and reach a profitable mass o f customers, then new distribution avenues and alliances will be necessar y. In India also, banks hope to maximize expensive existing networks by selling a r ange of products. It is anticipated that rather than formal ownership arrangemen ts, a loose network of alliance between insurers and banks will emerge, popularl y known as banc assurance. Another innovative distribution channel that could be used are the non-financial organizations. For an example, insurance for consumer items like fridge and TV can be offered at the point of sale. This increases the likelihood of insurance sales. Alliances with manufacturers or retailers of consumer goods will be possi ble and insurance can be one of the various incentives offered. 4.2 MARKETING TIPS FOR ADVERTISING:Which Mediums are best for you? The marketing of your insurance agency is a time consuming and expensive process and it takes an extraordinary amount of effort to coordinate this function. In order to accomplish and gain recognition in this fast and competitive world we l ive in, you will find more companies trying to find ways to increase their brand to gain that competitive edge. You know the old saying, "you have to spend mone y to make money." So don't fall by the wayside. To try and help you determine th e best advertising medium for your insurance business we will help show you the

most common types of marketing and give you an explanation of each. Most importa ntly, before we go into showing you the ways to market your insurance agency you need to think about what your budget is and start from there. As you know, diff erent mediums of advertising all come with a price. Your Target Market: What typ es of vehicles of insurance do you offer? Do you offer health insurance, auto in surance, life insurance, homeowners insurance, etc? What is the age group of you r target market and who exactly are you looking to offer insurance to? These que stions and more you need to determine before opening up your wallet. Below are s ome effective marketing tips for your insurance agency. 1. Block line advertising in industry publications or trade journals: Many compa nies like to advertise in the same areas, so you need to be there. Since insuran ce companies are always looking to find new agents to join their company, they k now that many "insurance agents to be" are reading these particular journals and periodicals. As with television and print ads, you'll most likely want to consu lt with or hire an outside advertising agency to help you build a campaign that best suits your agency and the insurance products you sell. The cost can vary de pending on the kind of style of ad you want to create. A great way to be found i s by having "reverse type" in your ads. Meaning you would have a black backgroun d with white writing, which gives you ad some pop. If you prefer and have the mo ney to do your ad in color, that is even better. Typically the cost of block lin e advertising is very cost effective and you have the freedom to dress up the ad as you wish. 2. Business opportunity advertising: Think of local newspapers such as the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Chicago Tribune, etc. This is a very effective w ay to advertise and market your agency, since your company needs to build brand name recognition. The online version of the Wall Street Journal has over 4.5 mil lion visitors. Now that's a big audience. 3. Television Ads: The most obvious and expensive forms of advertising is the te levision. Americans are glued to the television and you can find plenty of stati stics that will show evidence of that. The average cost of a 30 second commercia l is roughly $350,000. You can find local TV ad spots for much less, so shop aro und. 4. Local Movie Theatres: A local audience and a family type atmosphere is a grea t way for marketing your insurance business. Many types of insurance come into p lay here when you and the family are out watching the movie. Think insure your l ife, insure your auto, insure your health, etc. All these things come into play when parents are out with their kids. Make your ad suited for this audience. Typ ically these ads come up when you are sitting in your seat waiting for the movie to start. The ads you see are effective as people are constantly seeing your na me out there. In 2007 Hollywood drew in over 1.44 billion admissions. 5. Direct Mail Advertising: There are companies out there that will do direct ma il pieces to parts of your geographical area. A 10,000 piece mailing to your tar get audience could cost anywhere from $3,000-$10,000, depending on what company you use. 6. Advertising outdoors: Transit systems, bus benches, neon and electronic signs are becoming a great way for the agent to advertise. This is affordable, unlike television ads. And this targets the exact audience as most insurers provide in surance services to their local area. 7. Stationary advertising: A very great way of advertising is right through your business stationary and supplies. A nice way of showing good faith is to give y our customers a pen with your office name and contact information. Another way o f creating some repeat business is through magnet advertising. They can stick to your refrigerator. This goes a long way especially when people have gatherings for family and friends. You need to constantly be in the spotlight no matter the situation. The cost of stationary and supplies is a fraction of the price you w ill receive down the road from your potential customers. Other items that may ap ply to you could be, coffee cups, calendars, and golf balls, just to name a few.

8. Website Advertising: Let's face it, if you do not have a web-site for your bu siness you really need to think about getting one and fast. With today's fast pa ced society coupled with advanced technologies, a website tells customer about y ou and it a quick and easy reference for customers looking for quotes of any typ e of insurance such as, homeowners insurance, auto insurance, life insurance and many others. You can easily create a one page webs-site simply with your contac t information and maybe a short story about yourself within your community. If a re willing to take that extra step and create additional pages, you may want to hire a professional, but for now if you don't have a website, create one. Even i f you have to write it down on paper, at least you have it for a reference. 9. Online advertising: Companies offer zip code exclusive advertising and lead r ights such as InsureMyHouse.com and InsureMyLife.org, which gives you unique exp osure on the web. They offer a local insurance agent directory for their sites v isitors. As more and more people are using the internet and searching for insura nce, it has become increasingly important in today's society to be advertising o n the internet. 75 percent of households have access to the internet. This is a cost effective way to gain exposure on a national and local level. Once you see the benefits of each advertising medium, stick with what works. Sta y within your budget and find the best approach. Finding the best option for you is going to be trial and error, but it will be the difference in building your agency.

CHAPTER 5 SWOT ANALYSIS The best way to do a SWOT analysis is to take a single piece of pa per and divided it into four quadrants using a single vertical and horizontal li ne. The top two quadrants are Strengths and Weaknesses. The bottom two quadrants are Opportunities and Threats. Strengths List all the firm's strengths in the top left box. The strength must be unique. If most competitors offer quality service, then that is a necessity not a streng th. One of the strengths that a business owner may take for granted might be som ething that customers would value and that the competition doesn't have or do. B rainstorm first and edit later. Write down words that characterize the business. Weakness In the top right box list weaknessesthings the firm does not have, cannot do at a ll or does poorly. This is the time for brutal honesty, but also a time for real ism. Consider this from an internal and external basis. Do outsiders perceive we aknesses that the firm does not see? Are competitors doing anything better? It i s best to be realistic now, and face any unpleasant truths as soon as possible. Opportunities The lower left box is for opportunities. Look at the strengths and weakness and

evaluate if they can be leveraged into opportunities. List what the marketplace is not doing. Add items that the marketplace seems to need and which the busines s could perhaps provide. Think in terms of what would benefit clientscheaper, eas ier, more convenient, faster. Threats No organization is immune to threats. These could be internal, such as falling p roductivity. Or they could be external, such as changes in the direction of the insurance companies. What obstacles currently exist? Is changing technology thre atening the firm's position? Carrying out this analysis will often be illuminati ngboth in terms of pointing out what needs to be done, and in putting problems in to perspective. List the items that could make the business obsolete or wipe it out in the lower right box.

CHAPTER 6 RECENT SCENARIO OF ADVERTISING IN INSURANCE INSURANCE SECTOR ADVERTISING IN THE YEAR 2006:-

A high 27 per cent share of ad volumes garnered by Insurance sector in Banking/F inance/ Investment industry on TV in the year 2006. 005. 47 per cent rise in ad volumes of Insurance sector on TV in the year 2006 over 2

Nearly 90 per cent share of ad volumes garnered by 'Life Insurance' products on TV in year 2006 Q1 saw the maximum ads of Insurance sector on TV in the years 2005-2006. High ad volumes of Insurance sector contributed by Hindi News channels.

Private players dominated advertising with 81 per cent share on TV in year 2006. 'HDFC Standard Life Insurance' topped the advertisers list on TV.

CHAPTER 7 CONCLUSION 7.1 FUTURE OF ADVERTISING:Global advertising Advertising has gone through five major stages of development: domestic, export, international, multi-national, and global. For global advertisers, there are fo ur, potentially competing, business objectives that must be balanced when develo ping worldwide advertising: building a brand while speaking with one voice, deve loping economies of scale in the creative process, maximising local effectivenes s of ads, and increasing the companys speed of implementation. Born from the evol utionary stages of global marketing are the three primary and fundamentally diff erent approaches to the development of global advertising executions: exporting executions, producing local executions, and importing ideas that travel. Advertising research is key to determining the success of an ad in any country o r region. The ability to identify which elements and/or moments of an ad that co ntributes to its success is how economies of scale are maximised. Once one knows what works in an ad, that idea or ideas can be imported by any other market. Ma rket research measures, such as Flow of Attention, Flow of Emotion and branding moments provide insight into what is working in an ad in any country or region b ecause the measures are based on the visual, not verbal, elements of the ad. 7.2 CHANGING TRENDS:With the dawn of the Internet came many new advertising opportunities. Popup, Fl ash, banner, Popunder, advergaming, and email advertisements (the last often bei ng a form of spam) are now commonplace. The ability to record shows on digital video recorders (such as TiVo) allow user s to record the programs for later viewing, enabling them to fast forward throug h commercials. Additionally, as more seasons of pre-recorded box sets are offere d for sale of television programs; fewer people watch the shows on TV. However, the fact that these sets are sold, means the company will receive additional pro fits from the sales of these sets. To counter this effect, many advertisers have opted for product placement on TV shows like Survivor. Particularly since the rise of "entertaining" advertising, some people may like an advertisement enough to wish to watch it later or show a friend. In general, the advertising community has not yet made this easy, although some have used th e Internet to widely distribute their ads to anyone willing to see or hear them. Another significant trend regarding future of advertising is the growing importa nce of the niche market using niche or targeted ads. Also brought about by the I nternet and the theory of The Long Tail, advertisers will have an increasing abi lity to reach specific audiences. In the past, the most efficient way to deliver a message was to blanket the largest mass market audience possible. However, us age tracking, customer profiles and the growing popularity of niche content brou ght about by everything from blogs to social networking sites, provide advertise rs with audiences that are smaller but much better defined, leading to ads that are more relevant to viewers and more effective for companies' marketing product s. Among others, Comcast Spotlight is one such advertiser employing this method in their video on demand menus. These advertisements are targeted to a specific group and can be viewed by anyone wishing to find out more about a particular bu siness or practice at any time, right from their home. This causes the viewer to become proactive and actually choose what advertisements they want to view. In the realm of advertising agencies, continued industry diversification has see n observers note that big global clients don't need big global agencies any more. This trend is reflected by the growth of non-traditional agencies in various glo bal markets, such as Canadian business TAXI and SMART in Australia and has been referred to as "a revolution in the ad world". In freelance advertising, companies hold public competitions to create ads for t

heir product, the best one of which is chosen for widespread distribution with a prize given to the winner(s). During the 2007 Super Bowl, PepsiCo held such a c ontest for the creation of a 30-second television ad for the Doritos brand of ch ips, offering a cash prize to the winner. Chevrolet held a similar competition f or their Tahoe line of SUVs. This type of advertising, however, is still in its infancy. It may ultimately decrease the importance of advertising agencies by cr eating a niche for independent freelancers. 7.3 TELE ADVERTISING AS A BOON TO INSURANCE SECTOR:CHINTAMANI, the mascot of the middle class, has become a household name. Even ki ds are demanding toys modeled around his scraggly old figure. Thanks to him, ICI CI Prudential now enjoys a brand recall of 92 per cent next to LIC's 97 per cent , according to AC Nielsen's Brand track 7 studies out last year. Insurance brand building has certainly come a long way. Financial service advertising has tradi tionally been tactical. It usually just imparts information, given the complexit y of the products. With the liberalization of the insurance market in 2000, building a separate ins urance brand with a towering public sector unit like LIC that held 100 per cent of the market share proved to be an urgent as well as a daunting task. Awareness of the brand was the first goal that had to be met. Rohit Mull, Vice-president (Marketing), Tata AIG, says, "Insurance buying involves a high degree of involve ment. At the outset, people were not aware that Tata had forayed into the insura nce business. Awareness had to be driven to a level where it culminates in a tra nsaction. It is unlike some FMCG companies like Coke and Pepsi where marketing h as to be driven only to the extent of preference." Insurance agents demanded that the companies support them by advertising. People they are selling to should at the very least know that the brand they are selli ng really exists. Initially, all advertising by private insurers ended up reinfo rcing the LIC brand image as the PSU was still synonymous with life insurance. Historically, print was the traditional choice for the medium of advertising. Th e break with tradition came when ICICI Prudential arguably became the first priv ate insurance company to recognize and harness the power of TV advertising, with its 'Sindoor1 campaign in 2001. Then came its retirement solutions campaign wit h the tagline Retire from work, not life/ The second campaign saw ICICI Prudential getting into product-specific advertisi ng. With Chintamani, insurance advertising got a new treatment. Sujit Ganguli, H ead (Marketing), ICICI Prudential, says, "Chintamani is a very interesting chara cter. The claymation (clay animation), particularly, breaks from the clutter. To add to it, the jingle is also very catchy." Now, most private players have 50-70 per cent of their ad spend skewed in favour of television. Marketing budgets have been soaring for the past three years. Re portedly, on a budget of Rs 5.8 crore for February 2005 alone, ICICI Prudential' s "Retirement solutions campaign* was the highest spending brand, pipping severa l HLL brands to the post. The fact that insurance selling activity reaches a pea k around March also needs to be taken into account. The advertising has been spread across mass as well as niche TV channels. S.Mura lidharan, Chief Marketing Officer, SBI Life, says, "We have advertised in 10 lan guages. We chose TV because its footprint is quite large. The visual is always m ore effective and more universal. Print advertising is a two-level abstraction, in terms of language and in terms of the thought." The campaigns have also tapped several ideas associated with insurance; an alter native to LIC's 'Mr. Sharma', which harped on the idea of protecting your family against the wage earner's death. The current campaigns are less dark and HDFC S tandard Life, for instance, uses the idea of'self respect* as its platform. M. S uresh, General Manager (Sales), says, "While selling insurance, it does not work if you remind people of their imminent death. Instead of selling insurance by o ffering protection and safety, we use the platform of self-respect." The TV ad f eatures multiple relationships those between husband and wife, father and son, g randfather and grandson. The family members refuse help from each other because

they have their 'self-respect.' The print ads use the characters from the televi sion ad to extend the idea of the campaign. The press ad is, however, packed wit h more information about the products. Tata AIGVbov planting a sapling that grow s into a tree* works on the idea of planning ahead. The company also uses brand ambassadors. Says Mull, "We have two ambassadors - Naseeruddin Shah for Nirvana Pension and Harsha Bhogle for Maha Life. Both ambassadors connote credibility an d respect. Harsha, for instance, signifies being an IIM Ahmedabad product, a 'nu mbers* guy and so on.*' Kotak Mahindra's Old Mutual Life campaign saw the focus shift to print and outdo or once its TV campaign fell flat. "We decided on a more outdoor-and print-heavy marketing strategy. It was felt that people needed to be provided with informat ion rather than be hit with visuals. Press ads and outdoor ads serve that purpos e,*1 says Rahul Sinha, Vice-President (Marketing), Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Lif e. Kotak uses catch phrases with a twist in all its hoardings. Lines like "Eat your cake and have it too" or "Bulls you win, bears you win*' have been used in its outdoor campaigns to explain its equity-linked products. Kotak and SBI Life use the same brand colours and logo as the mother brand. As m uch as 20 per cent of Kotak's business comes from bancassurance. "We call it the "6=1" approach. The line "Think Investment, think Kotak" applies to the bank, t he insurance wing as well as the mutual fund. We are trying to project a traditi onal Indian brand with the same core values," says Sinha. SBI Life has 63 per cent business coming from bancassurance. So, its advertiseme nts are directed towards telling people that they can buy insurance from the ban k. "Advertising, therefore, consists of branch merchandising. Its more about poi nt-of-purchase sort of advertising," says Muralidharan. "SBI Life's TV campaigns have been more for the non-bank customers. The tone of our ad was more corporat e and less about products," he adds. It is Television that is proving to be new vehicle to carry the insurance busine ss.