Max Bupa puts health in focus with second edition of ‘W­­alk for Health’

Max Bupa Health Insurance has announced the second edition of its ‘Walk for Health’ initiative. The event will take place simultaneously at Mumbai and Delhi on 20 October inviting people from all walks of life and age groups to participate in the two or five-kilometer walk. Campaign India caught up with Sevantika Bhandari, director, marketing Max Bupa Health Insurance, to learn more about the thinking behind the initiative, the TG, and the RoI from the walk.

What is the thinking behind the ‘Walk for Health’ initiative?

With ‘Walk for Health’ we are talking beyond the financial aspect of health insurance. We are in the business of health insurance and we believe in paying every claim that comes our way. However, health insurance business is not just about paying your claims. We are going to help you be healthier and successful which is possible only if you are fit to pursue any goal that you choose. The initiative is an attempt to create long-term sustainable behavioural change in every individual’s life.

Attaining good health is not very complex where people need to undertake radical lifestyle change. On average, each one of us can get exceptionally high health benefits if we do very simple things like walking. Taking this concept forward we organised ‘Walk for Health’ on 4 November last year.

Research shows that by walking, we can actually elongate life. The idea is to create this movement of walking and so we are launching the second edition of the ‘Walk to Health’ on 20 October this year simultaneously in Delhi and Mumbai.

How is the initiative being promoted?

‘Walk for Health’ is a combination of ATL and BTL as we will actually get people walking on ground - it’s about mobilising the crowd. We believe in a 360-degree approach reaching out to audiences where they are available. We have a website www.walkforhealth.in where people can register. We are fairly active on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. There is a partnership with Times Now as well.

Who is the TG for ‘Walk for Health’?

Health insurance can be bought by anyone. Our TG is not just our customers, our agents, nor is it a child or senior citizen. It’s not a particular man or a woman; this is for everybody. That is the beauty of walking. So we want everyone to come and walk with us. We are reaching out to our customers, to our agents, our prospects, people who have liked our Facebook page, the general public, our vendors, our partners and so on. We are saying this is open for everybody, it is free and at Max Bupa we want to initiate a small change. The more lives we can touch, the better it is.

How has the activity grown year on year?

The event in 2012 experienced participation from over 20,000 people. This is the second season of the initiative. We will be happy to share the growth post the activity. But the buzz is so much more this year. To my mind, even if we can make a behavioural change in one person, then I would consider ourselves successful and anything more than one person means we are super successful as behavioural change is the most difficult to accomplish.

What RoI do you see from such events?

Our vision is to make people healthier by walking. So, if you are healthier will Max Bupa get a better return? The answer is no. If our customers are healthier, and they give us positive word of mouth, if people spread the word around, then I believe it has delivered infinite RoI.

Where do you see the property headed in the future?

Health will not improve instantaneously. But if you start walking then you are on the way to a healthy life. Over a time I see this becoming a property that will be as big as New Year’s eve or Valentine’s Day. But we need to give it time.