Being known is easy, being understood takes sustained effort: Sapna Desai

For health insurance marketers, 2025 was less about visibility and more about earning a deeper understanding. Rising consumer awareness has not automatically translated into consideration, and in a category shaped by trust, vulnerability, and long-term decision-making, brands have been rethinking how they move consumers from knowing to believing. For ManipalCigna Health Insurance, the year became a deliberate exercise in narrowing that gap between awareness and familiarity, performance and brand, technology and empathy.

The brand has tried to sharpen its positioning around being a ‘health insurance expert’, leaning into culturally grounded storytelling and purpose-led communication. Campaigns such as the AI-led Diwali initiative ‘Health Insurance Jiske Paas, Lakshmi Maa Karein Waha Niwaas’ was a part of this shift. At the same time, ManipalCigna recalibrated its media mix, adopting a more integrated, insight-driven approach that combined performance, regional influencer engagement, and omnichannel partnerships to build both demand and trust, especially across tier three and four markets.

Sapna Desai, Chief Marketing Officer, ManipalCigna Health Insurance, outlines the biggest challenges as low health insurance penetration in India, the difficulty of converting general awareness into true familiarity and consideration, and the need to stand out from category sameness through authentic storytelling. She also reflects on the leadership lessons of 2025, the role of AI and data in reshaping marketing priorities, and the skills future marketing teams will need. 

Q. Looking back, what did 2025 teach you about leadership and prioritisation? What would you consider your biggest win in 2025?

2025 reinforced something I have always believed: as marketers, we must be business partners first and communicators second. The year taught me that prioritisation is not about choosing between brand building and performance but about understanding how they fuel each other. We focused on bridging the gap between awareness and familiarity, and that strategic choice delivered meaningful results.

My biggest win was reinforcing brand ManipalCigna as the ‘health insurance expert’ in consumers’ minds. Through innovative campaigns such as our AI-led Diwali initiative ‘Health Insurance Jiske Paas, Lakshmi Maa Karein Waha Niwaas’, we moved beyond being known to being truly understood. The year also reinforced the importance of being authentic and purpose-driven. In a category as emotionally sensitive as health insurance, leadership means staying true to your core while continuously evolving how you show up. That balance became our biggest competitive advantage.

Q. How did your media mix evolve in 2025? Which channels saw the strongest return in driving demand and trust?

In 2025, ManipalCigna Health Insurance evolved its media mix towards a more integrated, insight-led approach, with a sharper focus on where and how customers seek health insurance information. We moved away from a uniform outreach model to one that addresses different customer segments across their awareness, consideration, and purchase journeys.

Digital platforms continued to deliver strong returns in driving both demand and trust. Performance marketing, search, and social media helped us reach customers at key decision points, while content-led collaborations and influencer partnerships played an important role in simplifying health insurance and building credibility. Regional influencer engagement was also critical, particularly as we deepened our presence in tier three and four markets. 

An omnichannel strategy strengthened recall and engagement. For instance, during the Diwali period, our partnership with Zepto enabled us to combine digital visibility with in-home touchpoints across key cities. This integration helped reinforce our brand message, contributing meaningfully to consideration and trust for the brand.

Q. Can you share the three biggest challenges and growth opportunities that ManipalCigna witnessed in 2025?

Challenges:

• Low health insurance penetration: A large section of India still depends on out-of-pocket medical spending, often leading to financial distress. Shifting mindsets to make health insurance a priority purchase rather than an afterthought remains a key challenge.

• Moving from awareness to consideration: While we had awareness, converting that into familiarity and consideration required a strategic shift. People needed to truly understand our value proposition.

• Cutting through category sameness: Health insurance communication is often rational and feature driven. Standing out with authentic, emotionally resonant storytelling while maintaining credibility continues to be challenging.

Growth Opportunities:

• Tier 3-4 market expansion: These markets represent significant growth potential. Our regional campaigns and localised approach are opening up new customer segments.

• Digital and AI transformation: Leveraging AI for content creation, personalisation, and customer experience is driving efficiency while allowing us to scale meaningfully.

• Positive industry narrative building: Initiatives like the GI Council’s “Achha Kiya Insurance Liya” campaign helped shift the broader conversation toward trust, claims settlement, and customer care.

Q. If we zoom in on one campaign or initiative you championed this year? How did it ultimately contribute to business growth or brand equity?

The AI-led Diwali campaign, “Health Insurance Jiske Paas, Lakshmi Maa Karein Waha Niwaas”, was particularly close to my heart because it brought together purpose, technology, and emotion in a very natural way. Diwali is a time when families reflect on protection and well-being, and we wanted to move beyond transactional messaging. By leveraging AI, we created personalised and culturally relevant storytelling without losing the brand’s core voice. The campaign reinforced ManipalCigna’s role as a thoughtful health partner who understands that health protection is deeply personal.

We complemented the creative with an integrated execution. Along with digital and outdoor activations, our partnership with Zepto helped take the message directly into people’s homes. 

Q. What did your campaign investments focus on this year? How do you ensure that such top-of-funnel efforts convert efficiently into business outcomes (leads, conversions, retention)? What’s your view on balancing awareness vs. performance?

Our campaign investments focused on consistently building the “health insurance expert” positioning across all touchpoints. Purpose and authenticity guided our messaging, ensuring it reflected who we are and how we show up in moments that matter.

We ensure alignment across product campaigns, acquisition efforts, and customer experience. Different channels play different roles in the funnel, but all are connected by a clear value proposition.

We closely track how awareness builds familiarity, familiarity drives consideration, and consideration converts into preference, purchase, and retention. Customer experience across the journey is critical, as that ultimately drives lifetime value.

Q. In what ways did 2025 accelerate your use of data, automation, or AI in marketing? What would you do differently next year? What capability did your marketing organisation build this year that now gives you a competitive edge?

2025 was a year of accelerated AI adoption across our marketing function. We focused on upskilling teams and experimenting with new tools. Content creation became faster and more cost-efficient, especially for regional and personalised communication. Search and discovery are also evolving rapidly. AI no longer just indexes content, it interprets it. Large language models (LLM) are becoming key stakeholders in brand discovery, and we are building capabilities to optimise how we show up across platforms, content, and conversations.

From a customer experience perspective, we are using chatbots and agent AI models to enhance responsiveness while preserving empathy. Next year, I would invest even more in understanding how AI is reshaping consumer behaviour and brand discovery, while building stronger proprietary data assets.

Q. With AI shifting the expectations from CMOs, how have you evolved as a marketing leader and what do you see as the CMO’s irreplaceable role?

AI has shifted expectations, but it has enhanced rather than diminished the CMO’s role. Continuous learning has become non-negotiable, and staying curious is now a leadership requirement.

The CMO’s irreplaceable role rests on three pillars. First, being the voice of the customer. Second, providing strategic vision and cultural intelligence that technology cannot replicate. Third, anchoring the brand in purpose and authenticity, especially in moments that matter most.

Q. The agency landscape has seen consolidation, churn and a talent reset. What’s your advice for agencies in 2026 and what are they still getting wrong about winning trust and business? What are you asking from agencies today that you weren’t three years ago?

Agencies need to operate as true business partners, not just creative vendors. Those who understand business objectives, speak the language of growth, and connect creativity to outcomes are the ones winning trust.

Today, I expect stronger tech savviness, particularly around AI and automation, deeper data fluency, and a clear linkage between creative decisions and business impact. Cultural agility across tier one and tier three markets is also critical. The agencies succeeding today are those that challenge our thinking, move at speed, and demonstrate measurable impact.

Q. What skillsets will be most crucial for marketing talent over the next 3 years?

First is tech savviness combined with continuous learning. Knowing tools matters, but the ability to keep learning matters even more. Second is data and analytics fluency. Marketers must be able to interpret data, derive insights, and translate them into strategic decisions. Third is strong business acumen. Marketing talent must understand P&L impact, customer lifetime value, and growth drivers. Marketing can no longer function purely as a communications role.

Q. Looking ahead, what is your single biggest marketing resolution for 2026? Could you walk me through the trends you expect in the coming year?

My biggest resolution for 2026 is to deepen familiarity, not just awareness. Being known is easy, being understood takes sustained effort.

Brand discovery will increasingly happen beyond owned platforms, through conversations, communities, and organic content. AI-led personalisation will grow, but empathy-led storytelling will remain essential. The future belongs to brands that listen well, respond thoughtfully, and stay human while scaling intelligently.

Q. BFSI marketing has undergone a dramatic shift in the last five years — from rational value propositions to more emotionally intuitive brand storytelling. Looking ahead to 2030, how do you see the messaging and tonality of the sector evolving further? And within that future landscape, what place do you want ManipalCigna Health Insurance to hold in the consumer’s mind?

By 2030, I believe BFSI will move beyond emotional storytelling to what I would call experiential partnership. Health insurance brands will shift from being service providers to genuine life partners. Messaging will focus less on features and more on demonstrating real experiences of care and support.

Consumers are increasingly informed and empowered. While technology will enable deeper personalisation, authenticity and human connection will matter even more. Brands that combine tech-enabled efficiency with empathy will lead.

I want ManipalCigna to be synonymous with a trusted expert health insurance partner. Not just a health insurer you think of during claims, but a partner you rely on when making important health and well-being decisions.

Q. And finally, by the end of 2026, what will success look like for ManipalCigna’s marketing function?

Success will mean being a true growth partner to the business. A marketing function that drives demand, builds trust, and enhances customer experience collaboratively across the organisation.

It will also reflect in stronger brand familiarity, higher-quality conversations, and more informed customers. Internally, success means a confident, curious, future-ready team that is data comfortable, open to experimentation, and grounded in purpose.