Getting Bupa fit for modern healthcare audiences

Working in the healthcare sector is important business, and for an agency such as ours, we wanted to get it right, and getting it right meant having difficult conversations about the business of health insurance, and challenging Bupa to face up to a different set of cultural realities that would shape their business moving forward. The world had moved on, and Bupa needed to show that it was moving with it.

Our Challenge

Bupa, once the poster child for innovation and modernity in healthcare, had lost its way. A piece of consultancy research showed that rather than the brand being seen as progressive, innovative, and modern, it was seen as rather dusty, old-fashioned, and guilty of being the insurance company that said ‘no’ when you needed them.

They needed a step change, to create a world that repositioned the brand in a way that was more in-tune with modern healthcare customers.

Our Insight

Bupa was at the wrong end of the conversation about healthcare. They operated at the ‘we fix you when you’re ill’ end of the customer journey, and yet the world was awash with healthcare providers that helped you live a healthy lifestyle, technology that was intentional about helping you stave off illness rather than just cure it. We believed that Bupa needed to change the way it looked at what it did, and to create more moments where it could portray a positive, upbeat message to its customers about them living a healthy and happy life.

Strategy & Approach

We needed something that was emblematic of the brand changing. And this meant creating a movement which was far more about wellness than it was about illness, and that invited the whole country to feel empowered to take control of their own health.

Our Proposition

Feel Great Britain

Solution

‘Feel Great Britain’ gave us a platform on which to unlock a range of communications and activations that brought to life this new, uplifting position. A central, galvanising thought set Bupa on a new path to making the nation feel positive about healthcare, giving them a clear role in helping people take those positive first steps to wellness.

From launching the platform at the Westminster 5K with a range of wellness activities for people to partake, to launching their new Pedometer app through long-form content that announced ‘Chad Strider - the World’s Greatest Walker’ to creating a beautiful animated story for Bupa Dental. 'The Story of The Little Tooth' shows children what happens to their teeth once the the tooth fairy takes them. But even more magical, is that parents can personalise each film so that it features their child.

We worked with the brand to showcase a new, fun, positive face to the brand and help move the business forward with a refreshed sense of modern purpose.