Blogs Posted on 2024-09-18

Policy Bazaar Marketing Strategy

In 1996, Bill Gates famously declared "content is king," predicting that much of the internet's value would come from content creation, just as it had in the broadcast industry. His foresight was remarkable. Today, content not only generates revenue but also serves as the key medium through which brands engage with consumers. A perfect example of this is Policybazaar, India’s largest digital insurance marketplace, which has harnessed content marketing to grow its daily web traffic from 45,000 in 2014 to 370,000 by 2020.

Here’s the story of how Policybazaar transformed its marketing strategy.

By 2014, after six years of operations, Policybazaar decided to make content the center of its marketing efforts. Every campaign was centered around building brand recognition. Aman Dhall, Head of Corporate Communications at Policybazaar, shared the company's strategy during a webinar for InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) leaders, highlighting how content and PR played a crucial role in shaping the brand.

Dhall explained that the goal was for Policybazaar to be synonymous with insurance in the consumer's mind. Their past campaigns, such as "Compare Karo" and "Ullu Mat Bano," emphasized the company's commitment to empowering consumers with informed choices in the complex world of insurance.

Policybazaar’s focus on search engine optimization (SEO) was also critical to this transformation. They worked on ensuring that when people searched for insurance, Policybazaar was the first result. The company also leveraged public relations by positioning its experts as trusted voices on insurance issues in the media.

Consumer Connection Through Content

The company’s messaging addressed common consumer concerns. The insurance industry was plagued by agents pushing policies and often misrepresenting them, so Policybazaar set out to solve this problem. Their 2011 "Ullu Banna Achi Baat Nahi" campaign urged consumers to compare insurance products before making a decision. 

In 2015, the company turned a corner in its content strategy by using humor to simplify the complexities of insurance, signing up comedian Kapil Sharma for a television campaign. In 2018, Bollywood star Akshay Kumar joined their campaigns as the character Yamraj, dramatically increasing consumer interest in term insurance. Following this, sales inquiries for term insurance doubled.

Yashish Dahiya, Group CEO and Co-founder of Policybazaar, highlighted the need to educate consumers about the importance of insurance. Over the years, the company has spent over ₹1,500 crore on awareness campaigns to emphasize the role of life insurance as a protective tool rather than an investment.

SEO and PR: The Engines of Growth

While short-term marketing campaigns helped grab attention, Policybazaar relied heavily on SEO and public relations for sustained engagement. As Divesh Yadav, Associate Vice President of Search Engine Marketing, noted, SEO allowed the company to attract significant traffic without substantial spending, and these visits often converted to sales more effectively than other channels. 

In 2015, Policybazaar’s website attracted 500,000 visitors through SEO each month. By 2020, that number had grown to 5.5 million monthly visits, contributing to annual premium collections of ₹350 crore. The content team played a crucial role by producing high-quality, well-researched articles that kept the website fresh and optimized for search engines. 

On the public relations front, Policybazaar initially worked with an agency but decided to bring PR in-house in 2014 to build stronger relationships with the media and provide journalists with timely information and valuable insights. This strategy quickly paid off, as Policybazaar became a go-to source for stories about insurance.

A Unified Message for a Large Audience

Content distribution was crucial in Policybazaar’s strategy. With over 500 products from 50 insurers on the platform, the company had a wealth of material to communicate to consumers. Policybazaar worked hard to ensure that its messaging points aligned with its overall goal of making insurance accessible and understandable to all. 

The company’s primary goal was to shift the perception of insurance from an investment product to a protection tool. SEO and PR proved to be particularly effective in achieving this objective, offering long-term benefits in terms of reputation, credibility, and consumer trust. Unlike advertising, which produces short-lived impacts, SEO and PR allowed Policybazaar to maintain momentum and build a sustainable brand presence.

By working closely with business heads, Policybazaar’s PR team ensured that their outreach efforts met the company’s broader goals. In 2014, Policybazaar’s share-of-voice in media stories around life and health insurance was less than 5%. Today, that figure has grown to over 50% in both tier-1 and tier-2 publications.

For Policybazaar, content has truly become the foundation of its success, proving once again that in the digital age, content remains "king."

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