Sun Life’s “Under the Sun” and Manulife’s “Growth with Quality” get Asian advisors psyched up to sell.
A Canadian advisor visiting a Sun Life or Manulife town hall in Asia could be forgiven for thinking they’d been transported to a cult meeting.
From Manila to Bangkok, thousands of life-insurance agents use internal gatherings to sing songs they have written reaffirming their dedication to selling their companies’ policies.
Insurers in at least half a dozen countries rely on the tunes, which range from rock to folk-style, to get agents pysched up before they call on potential clients.
“It is quite unique to Asia from what I have seen,” Kim Fleming, a Manulife vice president and regional head for agencies in Asia said to the Wall Street Journal.
He likened the singing to sports fans passionately chanting their support for their team.
“When I came here, I remember the first meeting I was in. It was an important meeting, and everyone broke out in song and I am like ‘what is going on here?”
In Indonesia, agents for Manulife Financial Corp. , one of Canada’s biggest life-insurance firms, sing a tune that exhorts the team to “take a step with confidence, move your feet, evoke a new spirit, with Manulife,” to build a prosperous nation. The lyrics of “Growth with Quality” have agents belt out “One team, one dream, and one spirit, Manulife for your future.”
What sets these corporate songs apart from examples in other industries, are the fervor and gusto behind the life-insurance songs in Asia, which are often the initiative of sales staff, take music as a motivational tool to a new level, say executives.
Analysts say the singing agents are a reflection of the competitive culture around insurance in Asia. The region is a target of most global players because sales are slowing in developed markets.
Among the insurers in Asia whose agents sing are Prudential, AIA, China’s Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. of China Ltd. and Sun Life Financial Inc., Canada’s third-largest insurance company by assets.
In the Philippines and Hong Kong, agents at Sun Life sing a song titled ‘Under the Sun,” with a chorus that goes: “Shine on, shine on; Experience the Sun, Life is brighter under the Sun, Come on, come on, Experience the Sun, Life is brighter under the Sun.”
“To me it is quite unique here,” Kevin Strain, Sun Life’s president for Asia, said to the Wall Street Journal of the singing agents. “I never, ever saw it in North America and I have never seen it in Europe, I have only seen it in Asia.”
From Manila to Bangkok, thousands of life-insurance agents use internal gatherings to sing songs they have written reaffirming their dedication to selling their companies’ policies.
Insurers in at least half a dozen countries rely on the tunes, which range from rock to folk-style, to get agents pysched up before they call on potential clients.
“It is quite unique to Asia from what I have seen,” Kim Fleming, a Manulife vice president and regional head for agencies in Asia said to the Wall Street Journal.
He likened the singing to sports fans passionately chanting their support for their team.
“When I came here, I remember the first meeting I was in. It was an important meeting, and everyone broke out in song and I am like ‘what is going on here?”
In Indonesia, agents for Manulife Financial Corp. , one of Canada’s biggest life-insurance firms, sing a tune that exhorts the team to “take a step with confidence, move your feet, evoke a new spirit, with Manulife,” to build a prosperous nation. The lyrics of “Growth with Quality” have agents belt out “One team, one dream, and one spirit, Manulife for your future.”
What sets these corporate songs apart from examples in other industries, are the fervor and gusto behind the life-insurance songs in Asia, which are often the initiative of sales staff, take music as a motivational tool to a new level, say executives.
Analysts say the singing agents are a reflection of the competitive culture around insurance in Asia. The region is a target of most global players because sales are slowing in developed markets.
Among the insurers in Asia whose agents sing are Prudential, AIA, China’s Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. of China Ltd. and Sun Life Financial Inc., Canada’s third-largest insurance company by assets.
In the Philippines and Hong Kong, agents at Sun Life sing a song titled ‘Under the Sun,” with a chorus that goes: “Shine on, shine on; Experience the Sun, Life is brighter under the Sun, Come on, come on, Experience the Sun, Life is brighter under the Sun.”
“To me it is quite unique here,” Kevin Strain, Sun Life’s president for Asia, said to the Wall Street Journal of the singing agents. “I never, ever saw it in North America and I have never seen it in Europe, I have only seen it in Asia.”
