Situation: In Asia, the concept of ‘me-time’ and self-care are looked down on, unlike the West. AXA wanted to position its health care offerings as one that understood the pressures of the modern world; that health goes beyond simply physical health.

Brief: The target audience is the “Sandwich Generation”, those taking care of their children and their parents. They were often “caught in the middle” and overwhelmed by the pressure to both be better individually, but also to improve their family’s situation in life and serve them better. These responsibilities have become prioritised over themselves.

Objective: AXA needed to redefine what health meant so that consumers would see AXA as the most understanding and relevant healthcare partner. We needed to normalise the concept that self-care is healthcare, because once you can take care of yourself, then can you take care of those around you.

When it comes to health & wellness, Asia’s overworked sandwich generation needs a partner, not a preacher. Instead of overwhelming them with one-way, didactic communications, what if we could turn every AXA media touchpoint into an act of care and healing? We partnered with colour scientists from Tokyo Polytechnic University, renowned artist Yoshirotten and sound therapy engineers to create ‘Art Care’ – a sensory series of bite-sized eye, breathing and stretching exercises that soothe body and mind using the science of shape, colour and sound. Soft blues help with mental fatigue, red is associated with energy and blood circulation, yellows create a sense of warmth. Located in high-stress, high-traffic areas (from the busiest CBDs to the nosiest social platforms), the Art Care series enables tangible, effortless moments of ‘me time’ in our audience’s hectic lives across hundreds of media touchpoints in Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand and the Philippines.

Target audience: AXA targetted the Sandwich Generation, those who feel stuck in the middle and overwhelmed by the pressure to take care of their children and parents. 90% have worked longer hours once they have had a multi-generational home. And 77% feel they are trapped and have no personal life.

Approach: Using data, we understood where the busiest and most overwhelming times of day and locations our audience would be and targeted them with our Art Care exercises. In the busiest and most overwhelming Central Business Districts in the Phillippines, Hong Kong and Thailand, AXA dedicated their Digital OOH media spaces to make caring for yourself more accessible. And to normalise the importance of self-care, we created a public space where thousands of people can see others looking after themselves. Geo-targetted online banners and social media ads were used to target our audience during stressful working hours.

In Thailand, the Philippines and Hong Kong, we placed Art Care exercises in the most stressful working districts. Geo-targeted ads helped people relax during the peak of peak hours. We put eye exercises to help drivers stay alert in locations where 3-4 hour traffic jams are normal. And when you’re overwhelmed with work, we reminded people to take a 30-sec breather. Lastly, to normalise the importance of self-care, we created a public space where thousands of people can see others looking after themselves. This became a weekend must-go escape for people in Hong Kong. Broadcasted every day for 3 months, 120 Digital OOH led the Art Care exercises, as well as digital banners and pre-roll videos broadcasted on YouTube, Facebook and popular news channels, TV and category-first highway DOOH in Manila.

By making Art Care accessible to Asians, AXA achived +32 pts in brand uplift and 8% boost in awareness and overall health consideration as a brand.

Furthermore:

100+ media reports

Over 6M impressions

At least a 98% completion rate (from YouTube and Facebook viewership data)