Softlogic Life wins ‘Brand of the Year’ at Effies 2019

From left (seated): Softlogic Life Head of Marketing Kavi Rajapaksha, Managing Director Iftikar Ahamed, Softlogic Group Chairman Ashok Pathirage, Softlogic Holdings Group Director – Marketing Desiree Karunaratne and Softlogic Retail Holdings E-Commerce Chief Operating Officer Nuwan Widyapathige 

From left (standing): Softlogic Life Brand Development Senior Manager Chamindri Pilimatalauwe, Marketing Operations Senior Manager Roshan Sooriyaarachchi, Marketing Communications Manager Isuru Suharshana, Creative Designer Pasan Ranathunga and CSR and Sustainability Assistant Manager Gayanie Dayarathne

Creating history at the most prestigious award ceremony for the local marketing fraternity, Sri Lanka’s number one health insurer, Softlogic Life Insurance PLC became the youngest Sri Lankan brand and the only insurance brand in Sri Lanka to walk away with the coveted ‘Brand of the Year’ award at the recently concluded Effie Awards 2019. Held at Water’s Edge Battaramulla, Softlogic Life dazzled the gala awards night by bagging a total of five awards — two Golds, one Silver, and two Finalists, making it the only Sri Lankan brand in history to win two gold awards in a single year. 

Beating some of the leading brands in the country, Softlogic Life won the ‘Brand of the Year’ award for their unique ‘Leda Leda’ campaign that changed the perception of insurance in the country and became the most talked about piece of communication last year for its creativity, effectiveness, execution quality, and engaging value. 

The winning campaign was deemed Gold quality by the jury panel whose selection criterion was creative and effective advertising. The ‘Brand of the Year’ award makes Softlogic Life the only Sri Lankan financial services brand ever to win this accolade at an Effie Awards. 

The other awards won by Softlogic Life at Effies 2019 were two Gold awards in the ‘David vs. Goliath’ and ‘Insurance’ categories, the Silver award in the ‘Use of Influencers’ category, and two Finalists awards in the ‘Corporate Reputation’ and ‘Media Partnership’ categories. With these history-defining wins, Softlogic Life now joins an elite circle of brands that have won Gold awards; only 10 Gold awards have been awarded so far since Effie Awards’ inception in Sri Lanka. Expressing his views about this historic achievement, Softlogic Life Managing Director Iftikar Ahamed said, “A three-year-old life insurance brand winning not only five awards, which included two Golds, but the prestigious ‘Brand of the Year’ award at the Effies is an unprecedented achievement for all of us at Softlogic Life. Effies are the global benchmark of effectiveness in marketing communication, and it is a great honour for us to be recognised at such a platform. I would like to congratulate our Marketing Team on this remarkable achievement; these awards resonate the commitment and the tireless effort they have put into executing innovative, engaging campaigns, driven by powerful local insights to reshape the country’s insurance landscape towards a better and more prosperous future for all Sri Lankans.”

The judging process of the Effie Awards is considered to be very stringent as judges are asked to evaluate specific criteria in scoring each marketing case’s overall effectiveness and provide four separate scores analysing particular attributes of the work. The four criteria are strategic communications, challenge and objectives, bringing the idea to life (includes the creative and media strategies and the work itself), and results. The Effie juries are comprised of some of the eminent and most experienced business leaders who evaluate the entries on all aspects of each campaign’s effectiveness. 

Softlogic Life Head of Marketing Kavi Rajapaksha said: “We are thrilled to win this coveted award within just three years of launching our brand. From the inception, we have been keen on driving the higher purpose of enhancing the quality of Sri Lankan lives versus just marketing products or services. We were brave enough to go against accepted industry norms and produce positive, relevant, engaging communication instead of the usual negative, fear-mongering commercials to inspire people to live happy, healthy lives. We are very happy to lead this much-needed change in the way the life insurance industry communicated and engaged the public. This is a true testament to the fact that when you pursue excellence, success follows.”

Known as one of the most prestigious awards in the marketing and advertising industry, the Effie Awards recognise any and all forms of marketing communication that contribute towards the success of a brand. Launched by the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM) in 2008 in collaboration with the Global Effies, the Effie awards has transformed the local advertising fraternity into a creative force in the region, empowering them to effectively communicate the core values and deliver invaluable results for a particular brand.