Pacific Marketing

2012 Multicultural Report

ByGlobal Diversity Marketing, Inc.

Disclaimer & Copyrights The contents of this report are based on a combination primary and secondary research and qualitative and quantita-tive assessment of data gather by Global Diversity Marketing and market research strategic partners. Whilst every care has been taken in the preparation of this report, Global Diversity Marketing cannot take responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the third party data used or subsequent conclusion based on that data. This report is property of Pacific Life and Global Diversity Marketing. Frameworks and data/research from strategic partners’ proprietary database and analysis shall remain their property. The content and data found on this report may not be distributed, modified, transmitted, reused, reposted for private, public or commercial purposes, without the express written permission of Global Diversity Marketing Inc. All inquiries should be forwarded to [email protected]

The Changing Face of America

Global Diversity Marketing 1

The Changing Face of AmericaA report prepared by Global Diversity Marketingfor Paci�c Life Insurance CompanyMulticultural Market Initiative

January 2012


Global Diversity Marketing2



Contents

Introduction ................................................................................................................ 5

Executive Summary .................................................................................................. 7

Section 1: The Multicultural Opportunity and Financial Services Challenge .. 9

Call to Action .......................................................................................11

Section 2: Market Segments that Make Sense for Pacific Life ........................... 13

Call to Action ...................................................................................... 17

Section 3: Brand and Product Preferences of the Target Segments .................. 19

Call to Action ....................................................................................... 23

Section 4: Building Multicultural Distribution ................................................... 25

Call to Action ....................................................................................... 33

Section 5: Product Positioning and Packaging .................................................... 35

Call to Action ....................................................................................... 40

Section 6: Summarizing Pacific Life’s Opportunity ........................................... 41

Call to Action ....................................................................................... 43

Appendix .................................................................................................................. 44

Footnotes ................................................................................................................... 48



IntroductionIn September of 2011, Pacific Life (PL) engaged Global Diversity Marketing (GDM) to lead a Multicultural Market Initiative, The Changing Face of America. This initiative, which emerged from Pacific Life’s Growth & Innovation Group, focused on two simple facts and two basic objectives.

Simple Facts

The face of American consumers is rapidly changing as the multi-cultural population grows gradually toward “majority status.”

Despite Pacific Life’s many strengths, its organization, distribution and customers do not yet reflect the Changing Face of America.

Basic Objectives

Using market intelligence and distribution analysis, create specific recommendations to close the “multicultural gap” between the markets Pacific Life serves and its organization, distribution and customer base.

Create a permanent foundation for incremental sales of life insurance and retirement solutions at Pacific Life, by expanding the company’s customer base in selected multicultural segments, in planned steps taken over time.

In November of 2011, GDM presented results of its findings and recommendations to senior members of Pacific Life’s executive team. After methodically reviewing all major multicultural segments that compose the U.S. population, GDM recommended that Pacific Life focus initially on two segments: Chinese Americans and South Asian Americans. We define these as people of:

Chinese ethnicity and/or cultural background •who now reside in the U.S.

South Asian (Asian Indian, Pakistani, or •Bangladeshi) ethnicity and/or cultural

background who now reside in the U.S.

We further recommended that Pacific Life hold “in reserve” for a follow-up initiative, the Hispanic segment of the U.S. population, and a few other Asian American segments.

GDM also recommended that Pacific Life take specific steps, starting in 2012, to achieve the objectives described above. They included:

Making Pacific Life’s organization more aware •of multicultural values, customs and events.

Evaluating Pacific Life’s branding, messaging •and communications through the eyes of multicultural clients and prospects.

Taking targeted, proactive efforts to recruit •more multi-cultural producers. Expanding marketing efforts to reach targeted •multicultural segments in key U.S. metro areas.

Enhancing Pacific Life’s branding, advertising •and collaterals to connect with targeted multicultural segments, and demonstrate the company’s commitment to them.

This report is designed as a follow-up to GDM’s November presentation of analysis and recommendations. It will focus on helping Pacific Life make decisions and take actions to:

Evaluate options for implementing our 1. recommendations; and Create a methodical and successful continuing 2. initiative to pursue multicultural markets, which we feel is the key to long-term success.

Global Diversity Marketing, Inc.Global Diversity Marketing is a management consulting firm of highly qualified professionals with over 100 years of combined experience. We provide creative solutions to help you develop strong relationships with your customers, employees and communities. Our relationship-



driven strategic approach, along with our unique execution model, can benefit any organization with a desire to grow. Our team members bring world-class expertise from leading Fortune 500 companies with an impeccable track record. Our trusted partnership can deliver cost reduction and increased productivity to your customers while providing access to new markets.

The team dedicated to this project brings extensive experience from the financial services industry and has worked on multicultural initiatives for some of the leading companies. Today, multicultural initiatives are on the radar of most major companies; however, many organizations have taken a reactive approach without developing a strategic approach to leverage the multicultural opportunity. The successful best practices show us that companies who have treated this as a business opportunity with a well thought out strategy and a long-term commitment, have benefited from the multicultural markets most.

We have provided market intelligence along with a strategic road map and an independent evaluation to execute the strategy successfully. It is critical that the strategy is implemented by the experts in a timely manner as currently no company owns multicultural markets in the independent distribution. We feel honored to have worked on such a critical project, and hope to see Pacific Life benefit from this opportunity.

Sincerely,

Tariq Khan Founder & CEO Global Diversity Marketing, Inc.

www.globaldiversitymarketing.com





Executive SummaryAfter methodically reviewing all major multicultural segments that compose the U.S. population, GDM recommended that Pacific Life focus initially on two segments – Chinese Americans and South Asian Americans – based on the following primary factors: 1) above-average household incomes, which align with Pacific Life’s customer base; 2) geographic concentration that aligns with Pacific Life’s distribution and markets; 3) estimates of cumulative lifetime spending on insurance and pension products; 4) high levels of education, and a heavy emphasis on the need to educate children; 5) relatively strong saving, investing and insurance-buying habits.

To understand and target these segments, GDM believes it’s important for Pacific Life to understand the reasons why many of them came to the U.S. These reasons include: 1) job offers in the U.S.; 2) attending an educational institute in the U.S.; and 3) connection with family already located in the U.S. These reasons tie into two dominant motivators for these segments that can drive financial relationships and decisions: 1) the opportunity for children to receive a quality education at U.S. colleges, universities or secondary schools; and 2) the opportunity to work for a U.S. company and advance economically. These are upwardly-mobile segments with high aspirations and goals already set for children. They implement their aspirations with strong saving and investing habits, with the Chinese tending to be stronger at saving money and South Asians a bit more experienced at investing.

GDM also evaluated the buying preferences of these two segments, and we concluded: 1) They may shop for financial services online but they prefer to actually buy through face-to-face contact with a representative or agent, preferably one from their own cultures; 2) They favor financial services companies that are “known brands” to them; 3) They are heavily influence by referrals from their own families or cultural communities; and 4) Chinese consumers may need basic financial education material written in their own language. (Most South Asian Americans are fluent in English.)

GDM’s research and report also focused on specific steps Pacific Life can take to capture the leadership position in the financial services industry for building multicultural independent distribution. We recommend that Pacific Life evaluate and then implement a Multicultural Producer Network at Pacific Life, to send a clear signal to the financial services industry that Pacific Life is a company that welcomes multicultural diversity in all facets of its organization – especially distribution. We compared two commitment levels: a full-scale approach and a more gradual phased approach.

Our report then evaluated key evaluation and implementation concepts for this network to be successful for both Life Insurance and the Retirement Solutions

Division of Pacific Life, and across all major distribution channels (banks, independents and wirehouses). Key conclusions included:

For bank distribution• – Pacific Life should reach out to develop new distribution partnerships with banks that cater primarily to multi-ethnic customers.

For independent distribution• – Pacific Life should invite selected independent producers to join the Multicultural Producer Network through targeted direct mail campaigns and seminars. We believe the seminar should be modular and deliverable in different formats.

For wirehouses • – Pacific Life should obtain “buy-in” from senior executives, so they promote targeted direct mail and seminars (similar to independents) internally. Also, Pacific Life should attempt to coordinate with existing multicultural efforts some wirehouses have already created.

Our distribution-related recommendations also covered: 1) proposed benefits of the Multicultural Producer Network, by tier; and 2) hiring or promotion of qualified staff members and wholesalers with special qualifications and skills in multicultural markets.

In the final section of our report, we offered recommendations for product positioning and packaging, to make Pacific Life’s offerings more attractive to multicultural consumers in general, and to the two priority segments specifically. We advocate concepts such as making sure education funds are completed, take care of an extended family, or have enough money to travel home (to Asia) or send money home to relatives. We also suggested that Pacific Life may wish to revisit certain “foundation concepts” in its marketing and communications, in order to reposition them for these multicultural segments. Finally, we included two case studies – one each to suggest how Pacific Life might reposition a life insurance (Accumulator III) and retirement annuity (Select Series VA) product.

In summary: Global Diversity Marketing looks forward to working with Pacific Life further in pursuing this opportunity. We welcome any questions or comments you may have as a result of our project and report.

In the “big picture” of Pacific Life’s long and great tradition, 2040 isn’t very far away. At that point, more than half of the U.S. population will be multicultural – and we believe Pacific Life’s customer base and distribution channels can then be a true-to-life reflection of the Changing Face of America. In fact, the 10 largest U.S. cities are already multicultural majority cities and most of them are Pacific Life’s key markets. A properly executed multicultural strategy offers an incremental 10-20% business growth potential in next 3 to 5 years. This may be the unique growth opportunity for Pacific Life.





Section 1 The Multicultural Opportunity and Financial Services Challenge Multicultural markets are “on the radar screens” of financial services companies because they represent real growth and opportunity. Since January of 2000, the U.S. population has grown by about 39 million people, from 274.0 million to 312.6 million, according to the U.S. Census.1 Multicultural segments represent an estimated 80% of this growth.

In 1980, less than 20% of the U.S. population was considered “multi-ethnic.” By 2040, Census projects that 50% of the total U.S. population will be multi-ethnic. As shown in Figure 1 below, all of the top 10 U.S. metro areas (by population) already have a multi-ethnic majority population.

Figure 1: Top 10 U.S. Metros with Multiethnic Population

Along with population growth, the incomes and buying power of multicultural segments are expanding. For example, the median income of Chinese households ($69,037) and Asian Indian households ($88,538) has moved well ahead of the total U.S. population ($50,221).2 The total buying power of the U.S. multicultural market, about $2.5 trillion, is greater than all nations in the world below the top five –U.S., China, Japan, India and Germany.3 (For details, see the Appendix of this report.)

Against this backdrop, U.S. financial companies are searching for ways to revive growth in sales and assets under management. As shown in Figure 2, the percentage of U.S. households owning individual life insurance and any life insurance (individual or group) has been in decline for half a century.



Figure 2: Long-Term Decline in U.S. Life Insurance Ownership

Source: Selig Center 2009 Multicultural Report

Although U.S. retirement assets have not experienced a decline, companies are concerned about a shift away from equity mutual funds, which traditionally have had a large share of individual 401(k) and IRA assets. Over the five-year period 2007-11, domestic equity U.S. mutual funds experienced a cumulative net outflow of $333.5 billion, according to the Investment Company Institute.4 An outflow of this magnitude is unprecedented in the 86-year history of U.S. mutual funds.

Multicultural markets, with their built-in sustained growth, are attractive solutions for reversing stagnating sales and assets, and the financial services industry has only begun to scratch the multicultural potential. GDM believes that two major life insurance companies – New York Life and MetLife – have shown leadership in effectively targeting multicultural markets. But both of these companies depend mainly on career (“captive”) distribution, while the industry trend has been toward independent distribution. In our opinion, no life insurance company has yet created an enduring template for developing new multicultural customers and sales through an independent distribution model. This leadership opportunity remains wide open for Pacific Life.

GDM believes that capturing this opportunity will require Pacific Life to step back from some traditional views and assumptions and re-examine them through eyes of multicultural customers. For example, what does a commonly used financial term such as “dollar cost averaging” mean to a person born abroad? To this person, the dollar is a currency – perhaps not yet a synonym for “assets” or “wealth.” An unfamiliar term like “dollar cost averaging” could be confused as meaning a form of currency conversion or a dollar-denominated investment.

In life insurance, industry communications often assumes consumers are familiar with the basic purpose



of life insurance – to protect households against the financial impact of a breadwinner’s death. However, in Asian cultures, family members traditionally assume this responsibility, as well as providing the “retirement plan” for elderly family members.

For Asian consumers living in the U.S., the purpose of life insurance and retirement products should be recast in simpler terms, and perhaps also linked to values that are most important to different cultures, such as: 1) providing for the education of children if a breadwinner should die; or 2) providing for old-age security if children are not able or willing to fulfill traditional responsibilities.

GDM believes that some of our recommendations can be useful to Pacific Life’s mainstream marketing/communication efforts, in addition to having multicultural impact. One example may be to increase communication on why a specific amount of life insurance coverage is necessary and desirable.

According to a 2011 study conducted by LIMRA International, only 41% of consumers said they received a current needs analysis while shopping for life insurance. But 73% of those consumers bought coverage, and the average face amount was $423,000. Among consumers who did not receive a needs analysis, only 49% bought and the average face value was just $215,000.5 For additional details of the study, see Figure 3.

Figure 3: Influences on Consumer Decisions to Buy Life Insurance

Source: 2011 LIMRA Opportunity to Buy Study

Emphasizing that all multicultural consumers receive a needs analysis, prior to purchase, is a good idea for Pacific Life to emphasize. It will help to reinforce the basic purpose of life insurance for those whose native cultures don’t include this product. Also, it’s just as good of an idea for any American consumer, according to LIMRA. Section 1: Call to Action

Look closely at the Pacific Life organization through “multicultural eyes.” Identify concepts and 1. terms that may not be familiar to other cultures, and then find the best ways to translate them for maximum understanding.

Take a leadership role in multicultural consumer education about insurance products and 2. services. Provide in-language and culturally sensitive collateral about the “need and benefit” of the products and services. For example, Pacific Life should highlight the concepts that lead into benefits offered by life insurance and annuities.

Recast the purpose of financial products such as life insurance and retirement plans for other 3. cultures that traditionally have depended on family structures for these needs.

Realize that communications is not only about translating collateral but also understanding 4. cultural needs.





Section 2Market Segments that Make Sense for Pacific Life

In this section, we will explain:

Why GDM recommends that Pacific Life focus initially on cultivating distribution and •consumer relationships in two targeted segments: Chinese Americans and South Asian Americans.

Key characteristics that make these two segments the most attractive, in our opinion. •

GDM began the Pacific Life assignment by evaluation all segments of the multicultural market – i.e., U.S. residents who originally are from a different ethnicity and/or cultural background. They include:

African Americans –• People whose heritage originated in Africa.

Hispanics –• People whose origins in the Hispanic countries of Latin America.

Asians • – People from all Asian countries including China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, South Asia, and the Philippines.

South Asians • – People from India, Pakistan or Bangladesh.

Asian Indians • – People from India or of Indian origin

Asian Pacific Islanders• – Native Hawaiians and Oceanic people.

Hispanics are the largest single segment by population, with 51.2 million people in 2011, according to Geoscape. Chinese and South Asians rank second and third in population among Asians, with 3.3 and 3.2 million, respectively, using the same 2011 data source. Together, Chinese and South Asians account for 44% of the total Asian population (14.7 million) in the U.S.

To prioritize multicultural segments for Pacific Life, GDM evaluated the business case for pursuing each segment on the basis of five primary criteria:

Alignment with Pacific Life’s current customer profile, which is higher in income and 1. educational attainment than the financial services industry average.

Marital status and household size, as an indicator of the need to plan for life insurance needs.2. Potential lifetime buying power for life insurance and retirement products.

Current financial services purchases and ownership patterns.3.

Affordable market entry cost.4.

U.S. Census provides data on the Chinese and Asian Indian populations. GDM estimates that Asian Indians comprise about 80-85% of the total South Asian population in the U.S., with the remainder having cultural roots in Pakistan or Bangladesh. We believe the most current census data on Chinese and Asian Indians is the most useful data for evaluating income, education attainment and household characteristics, as shown in Figure 4 below.



Figure 4: Chinese and Asian Indian Segments Compared to Total U.S. Population

Chinese Asian Indian Total U.S.Median income $69,037 $88,538 $50,221Occupation - % managerial or professional 52.8% 65.4% 35.7%Education – bachelor’s degree or higher 50.8% 69.0% 27.9%% married 57.8% 67.5% 49.3%Avg. household size 2.91 3.07 2.63Median age 35.5 32.0 36.8% own home 62.8% 56.2% 65.9%Of those who own home, % with mortgage 70.0% 83.5% 68.0%% with no health insurance coverage 12.3% 11.8% 15.1%

Source: U.S. Census, 2009

Although the Chinese and Asian Indian segments have some differences (which we will highlight later), both segments have significantly higher household income and education attainment than the total U.S. population. They are more likely to be married and average household size is larger than the total population average. The median age of householders is below the national average. Homeownership rates are just below the national average, and a larger portion of homeowners in these segments have mortgages, which indicate more recent home purchases. The below-average uninsured rate for health insurance indicates the segments’ affluence, financial stability and acceptance of insurance benefits.

63% of South Asians and 47% of Chinese own individual life insurance, compared to 44% for the total U.S. population.6

Pacific Life’s current customer base has annual income of more than $100,000, much higher than the industry average. Figure 5 below shows that there are more than 800,000 Asian households with incomes of $100,000+ concentrated in just seven large U.S. metro areas. (The figure includes all Asians living in the U.S.). Overall, 1.44 million U.S. Asian households earn $100,000 or more compared to 1.66 million U.S. Hispanic households that earn $100,000 or more. In net, the difference between total Asian households and Hispanic households earning over $100,000+ is marginal. The cost of reaching Hispanic households would, of course, be higher than for Asian households.

Figure 5: Concentration of $100,000+ Income Asian Households

New York 216,610San Francisco 231,677Los Angeles 193,272Chicago 59,192Philadelphia 35,637Houston 33,217Dallas 31,038Total 800,643

Source: Global Diversity Marketing

In total, about one of every three Asian households in the U.S. has a household income of $100,000.

All Asian households in the U.S. average spending $8,433 per year on life insurance and pensions (retirement products).7 Because the median age of Chinese and Asian Indian households is below the population average, these households can be expected to generate this spending over a greater remaining life expectancy. Figure 6 compares their cumulative estimated lifetime spending on insurance and pensions with the Hispanic and Non-Hispanic White populations.



Figure 6: Cumulative Lifetime Spending by Segment

Source: Census 2009, Geoscape 2011, *national figure, ^Asian/PI number only

Why They Came to the U.S.

A large portion of the Chinese and Asian Indian segments consists of either first-generation immigrants (generation 1.0) or young adults of first-generation immigrants (generation 1.5). This means they have only begun to assimilate into the U.S. mainstream, while retaining their original cultures and communities. This contrasts with the Japanese-American segment, the majority of which came to the U.S. several decades ago and have mostly completed assimilation into the mainstream.

In our prioritization process for Pacific Life, a critical question was: Why did people in these segments migrate to the U.S?

The majority of Asian Indians came to the U.S. for

Job offers in the U.S.•

Attending an educational institute in the U.S.•

Connection with family located in the U.S.•

For Chinese Americans, these same reasons for coming to the U.S. are important, and there also are a few others including reunification with family members, adoptions of children, and human rights concerns.

Two motivators are dominant in drawing Asians to reside here: 1) the opportunity to receive a quality education at U.S. colleges, universities or secondary schools; and 2) the opportunity to work for a U.S. company and advance economically.

A typical pattern of the modern era has been for affluent Asian families to send their children to the U.S. for an education, because education is among their most important cultural values and the U.S. is perceived to offer the world’s best university-level educational system. Asian young people educated in the U.S. often are attractive candidates for jobs. They often return to the U.S. to work, after graduating from college and living in their home countries for a period.

Saving and Investing Habits

Along with the Japanese, the Chinese are perhaps the world’s greatest savers, with savings habits ingrained in their mindsets and cultural traditions over generations. According to one survey, Chinese-Americans are more likely to use checking and savings accounts than white Americans. Indian-Americans also are strong savers, although they lag a bit behind the Chinese and White Americans in usage of checking and savings accounts, as shown in Figure 7.



Figure 7: Indian and Chinese Use of Checking/Savings Accounts vs. White Americans

Type of Account % of Indian-Americans Using

% of Chinese-Americans Using

% of White Americans Us-ing

Checking 72% 91% 90%Savings 66% 88% 78%

Source: 2009 PM/ISA Asian American Market Report

As might be expected, banks have become the preferred financial services providers of many Asian-American households, especially in the Chinese segment. Banks are the primary competition that Pacific Life will encounter in earning the loyalty of many Asian-American households, and banks also have the potential to be strong distribution partners for Pacific-Life in the Chinese and Indian segments. This can be a value proposition for Pacific Life to approach existing partners (banks and wirehouses) and offer them access to new multicultural markets. Simultaneously, banks with high Asian customer base may also be good strategic partnership prospects for Pacific Life.

In investments, the pattern is different. Both Indian-Americans and Chinese-Americans lag behind white Americans in usage of mutual funds or stocks and retirement accounts, as shown in Figure 8.

Figure 8: Indian and Chinese Use of Investment Accounts

Type of Account % of Indian-Americans Using


% of White Americans Using

Mutual funds or stocks 42% 28% 54%

401(k) or IRA 48% 45% 66%

College savings plans 23% 21% 23%Source: 2009 PM/ISA Asian American Market Report Note: “College savings plans” in the data above includes custodial accounts, 529 plans, Coverdell IRAs and personal savings earmarked for college.

Indian-Americans are more likely to invest in mutual funds or stocks on their own than Chinese-Americans. In essence, the Chinese save more, and the Indians invest more.

401(k) plans at work have become a gateway through which members of both segments (especially Chinese) gain their first exposure to investing. Both segments have a strong desire to save for children’s college educations, as shown in usage of college savings plans at about the same rate as white Americans.

Both Chinese and Indians are less likely than whites to use financial planners or advisors to choose and manage investments. (One reason is the lack of Asian financial planners representing financial services companies.) Asian consumers tend to look to banks for investment choices and advice at about the same rate as whites, as shown in Figure 9.

Figure 9: Indian and Chinese Sources of Investment Choice and Advice

Source of Investment Choices and Advice

% of Indian-Americans Us-ing


% of White Americans Using

Financial planner or advisor 35% 32% 43%Bank 16% 23% 23%Online 34% 47% 31%Employer 35% 28% 40%


Both Asian segments are more likely to go online for investment choices and advice than whites, and Chinese are especially heavy online users.



Priority Segment SummaryGDM considered all of the factors discussed above, and also a few others, in designating the Chinese and South Asian segments as the best priorities for Pacific Life. These are some of the most important points for Pacific Life to keep in mind.

The multicultural market is diverse, and it’s important for Pacific Life to focus initially on •segments best aligned with its customer profile and distribution. We believe the Chinese and South Asians segments meet these requirements better than others. The Hispanic segment has a larger population but far lower income and educational attainment. After Pacific Life begins to achieve success with Chinese and South Asians, it may wish to consider expanding into the Hispanic and other Asian segments.

Chinese and South Asian households have already begun to develop financial purchasing •habits. Many of them own mortgages, health insurance, homeowner’s insurance and car insurance. Traditionally, their cultures have emphasized that families take care of each other, and young people care for the elderly. The role of life insurance and retirement products may not yet be clearly defined for many households in these segments.

The desire for a quality education is a huge motivator for these segments, and it is one that •Pacific Life can emphasize – especially in marketing life insurance to them.

Asian Americans tend to have household sizes above the U.S. average• for two reasons: 1) They are a bit younger in age, with more children living at home; and 2) They are more likely to welcome elder family members (e.g., parents, aunts or uncles) into the house. Large family size increases financial pressures on breadwinners to care for more people. This theme can be emphasized in both life insurance and retirement product marketing.

Asian Americans recognize that cultural traditions aren’t the same in the U.S. as “back home.”• Older people who live here can’t rely on their children to care for them in retirement. This awareness is growing in many Asian households that have not yet begun to save enough money for retirement. The need to “catch-up” is great, and the motivation to do so is strong.

Section 2: Call to Action

Emphasize in marketing and communication that “your education dreams can come true, even if 1. something happens to you.” Leverage the culture’s strong motivation toward education into life insurance awareness and sales. (GDM believes this message also can resonate with mainstream U.S. audiences.)

Start to change the face of Pacific Life – and make it more multicultural – by emphasizing hiring 2. and recruitment of Chinese and South Asian people in the distribution and sales support staff. Use these people as sounding boards to better understand important values and views of these segments.

Show sensitivity to, and involvement with, these segments. Sponsor or participate in their events. 3. Don’t hold major Pacific Life events during their most important holidays, such as the Chinese New Year, Diwali (Asian Indian, Hindu) or Ramadan (Asian Indian, Muslim). (A list of major holidays and festivals celebrated by Asian-Americans is in the Appendix of this report.)

Leverage the ingrained savings habits of Asian-Americans (especially Chinese) in positioning 4. Pacific Life’s insurance and investment products. Emphasize savings-related product features and benefits.





Section 3Brand and Product Preferences of the Target SegmentsIn this section, GDM summarizes its experience and research into brand and product preferences of the Chinese and South Asian segments.

When Asian people are assimilating slowly into U.S. culture, they tend to show strong loyalty to familiar companies, brands and products, which fall into two categories:

Culturally significant reminders of their heritage. For example, the Chinese are more loyal to brands 1. like AT&T, Avon, HSBC, Macy’s, MetLife, McDonalds, New York Life, Toyota, United Airlines, Verizon, Wal-Mart and others because they continuously advertise in the Chinese market.

Leading brands that have made an effort to make a personal connection with these segments. For 2. example, surveys show that Asian Indians prefer brands such as Citibank, HSBC, Macy’s, MetLife, MoneyGram, New York Life, Pepsi, Sony, State Farm, Toyota, United Airlines, Wal-Mart, Wells Fargo, Western Union and others. In each case, the companies behind these brands have had a long-term commitment to multicultural marketing and advertising.

In the U.S. insurance industry, no firm with independent distribution has yet established a dominant brand among these segments. As part of its research for Pacific Life, GDM conducted a number of qualitative interviews with Pacific Life employees, independent producers, and distribution channels. In each interview, we asked respondents to name a life insurance company that has effectively targeted multicultural markets. Figure 10 summarizes results.

Figure 10: Life Insurance Companies Viewed as Targeting Multicultural Markets

Key Findings…

51Copyright Global Diversity Marketing 2011

Distribution Survey

When Asked About Their Capabilities on MC Markets

• Mind share based on how many times a respondent mentioned a particular competitor as targeting multicultural markets.

• Chart takes into account those competitors partnering with a carrier to providing collateral material and event sponsorships.

• Only those mentioned by one or more participants are listed.

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

ING

State Farm

Farmers

TransAmeric

MetLife

Prudential

AXA

NY Life

Nationwide

Competitor Mind Share

Source: GDM interviews for Pacific Life

Where does Pacific Life fit in terms of current brand awareness among these segments? Our research and experience indicates that there is some awareness of Pacific Life among multicultural participants in the financial trade, including distribution channels. However, it is GDM’s opinion, based on our experience and research, that there is less awareness of Pacific Life among end-user consumers in these segments.

Multicultural Segment Buying PreferencesBuying preferences of multicultural consumers vary across segments in three respects:

Although growing numbers of multicultural consumers go online for financial information and 1. options, most prefer to buy through face-to-face contact with a representative or agent. Hispanics



and Chinese prefer to work with a professional who speaks their language. (Most South Asians in the U.S. speak English and are content to do business in English; however, they also prefer an agent who understands their culture.)

Multicultural consumers place a high value on working with an agent or rep who understands their 2. cultural heritage.

Multicultural consumers usually prefer to do business with an agent or rep with a similar heritage.3. Figure 11 summarizes these preferences.

Figure 11: Multicultural Consumer Buying Preferences


Key Points:

Brand recognition is critical both at the advisor level and the consumer level. The cost of branding 1. in the Asian segment is much lower than in the mainstream market or Hispanic market.Relationship with the advisor is also crucial, and recommendations of the advisor tend to prevail 2. over product features or price. Pacific Life should focus on developing strong relationship with Asian advisors and offering them marketing tools and support for reaching Asian segments.

Product Preferences of Multicultural Customers

In general, multicultural customers prefer “saving-oriented” relationships and products over “investment-oriented” relationships and products during their early assimilation to the U.S. This preference is driven by several factors, including:

Strong traditions of savings in their native countries and cultures, and (in some cases) lack of •consumer access to investment markets.

The need to save money to create education funds and “catch up” with retirement planning. •

Lack of knowledge about U.S. investment markets and products. •

Lack of relationship with investment professionals.•



According to one survey, 40% of recent first-generation Asian Indians own CDs and 36% own money market accounts. But only 28% participate in IRAs, and only 8% invest in state-sponsored 529 college savings plans. The same survey indicated that 41% of first-generation Asian Indians have no retirement account at all.

Figure 12 summarizes ownership of different types of insurance products by Asian Indians, according to the survey.

Figure 12 – Insurance Ownership among First-Generation Asian Indians

Source: Asian Indians in the U.S.,NAD & iT report, March 2009.

Both the Chinese and South Asian segments are large life insurance buyers. The breadwinners in these households are often “sandwich generation” providers, caring for both children and older parents. They often buy large face amounts of life insurance – enough to insure all of their family commitments. Chinese especially are inclined to buy permanent life insurance, because it appeals to their traditions of saving and protecting family.

Figure 13 summarizes GDM’s experience and research on product preferences of both priority segments.

Figure 13 – Product Preferences of Chinese and South Asian Customers




Decision Making DriversLife insurance involves a unique selling process, in which the decision to purchase an intangible product often is made based on trust and relationship. In multicultural markets, the trust and relationship factor plays an even higher role. The Asian segment works primarily on a referral basis.

Virtually by default, having a Chinese/South Asian advisor call on a prospect from the same culture turns what otherwise might be a cold call into a warm call, because there almost always are shared affiliations or experiences to discuss. In most multicultural segments, a majority of business is done based on referral basis and the same advisor also has the potential to serve a network of family or friends of each primary client. The influence of friends and family members plays an important role in making financial decisions. Whole multicultural communities often have developed traditions of supporting advisors connected to the same community.

Collateral and TranslationTo successfully pursue the Chinese and South Asian segments, how important will it be for Pacific Life to develop or adapt special marketing materials (collateral) with preferred-language translation?

GDM makes the following recommendations:

Chinese market• – Chinese people in the U.S. speak two dialects (Mandarin and Cantonese) that sound different spoken but are written the same. Pacific Life should choose key pieces of basic consumer collateral to be converted for the Chinese market by: 1) making the pieces more culturally relevant – e.g., showing Chinese faces and emphasizing Chinese values such as thrift, education, and respect for elders; and 2) translation into the Chinese language. This basic consumer collateral could emphasize educational messages, such as the role life insurance plays in protecting children and families or why it is important to plan for one’s own retirement, as opposed to relying on family.

South Asian• – The majority of South Asians can understand English, so it is not necessary to translate collateral. However, it is very important to adapt basic consumer collateral, so that it makes a strong personal connection with the culture and values of South Asians. Surveys have shown that the younger segment of this market (under 45) wants to assimilate into the U.S. mainstream, while retaining the best parts of South Asian culture and traditions. Younger South Asians say it is important to be up-to-date on the latest technology, and they like to be the first to try new concepts and devices. They seem somewhat less inhibited than Chinese young people by traditions and parental influence. This may be due, in part, to the fact that India has been a free country and democracy since 1947 while China has remained Communist-controlled, with free thinking and new ideas strongly discouraged. Many South Asians came to America under positive circumstances, to receive an education or pursue a job opportunity. The process of assimilating into U.S. culture is a positive experience and journey for them, and learning about U.S. economic and financial systems and customs is an integral part of that process. Many South Asians believe they will have the freedom to pursue jobs, careers and families in the U.S. Figure 14 highlights some economic and financial values that a majority of South Asians indicated were important in a qualitative survey.



Figure 14: Economic and Financial Values of South Asians

Source: Asian Indians in the U.S.,NAD & iT report March 2009

In developing or adapting communications for South Asians, Pacific Life should be aware that U.S. jargon and lingo does not always translate into their understanding of English, and vice versa.

For example, South Asians might be perplexed by a message that talks about “planning for the home stretch to retirement” because they understand (literally) the words “home” and “stretch” but not the jargon represented by “home stretch.” Because many South Asians converse fluently in English, they can help to identify phrases, jargon or concepts that aren’t clear to their ears or values. Companies that wish to market to them should begin by listening to their feedback.


Assemble a panel of people (perhaps Pacific Life employees) who come from the Chinese and 1. South Asian cultures. Ideally, they should either be first-generation immigrants or strongly involved in their ethnic communities. Ask them to critique marketing materials and client communications through their own eyes and ears, with emphasis on how they could be made clearer.

Develop an action plan for increasing the visibility and meaning of the Pacific Life brand for these 2. multicultural segments.

Be visible as a company at community events and festivals of these segments. Multicultural 3. consumers like to do business with companies that acknowledge their cultural identities.





Section 4Building Multicultural Distribution

GDM has identified an opportunity for Pacific Life to become a leader in multicultural marketing among financial services firms that rely on independent distribution. In this section, we will frame findings and recommendations for building out the company’s multicultural distribution infrastructure including:

Producers who sell both life insurance and retirement products•Independent financial advisors and planners•Independent broker-dealers•Banks•Wirehouses•

We also will discuss our best thinking for increasing the multicultural focus of Pacific Life’s wholesale distribution team – the link between its products and distribution channels.

Competitive Overview

Based on many years of experience with insurance industry multicultural initiatives, we divide the universe of companies into two groups: 1) Captive Companies; and 2) Independent Producers/GAs. Figure 15 summarizes characteristics of these groups, and leading companies in each.

Figure 15: Life Insurance Competitive Overview


If Pacific Life imagines these two groups positioned on a balance, the weight of multicultural marketing success to date tips heavily toward Captive Companies. Captives such as New York Life and MetLife have pursued focused initiatives to recruit multicultural career agents and equip them to work in multicultural markets. Some of these programs have been more successful than others, due mainly to: 1) the commitment of senior executives to the initiative; and 2) long-term vision and persistent efforts to make an impact on multicultural communities and consumers. In no case have captive insurance companies achieved quick success in these markets – mainly because it takes time to build branding and achieve multicultural market awareness and acceptance. However, a few career companies have begun “cracking the code” for success in these markets. The critical components include:



A strong continuing commitment from senior management.•

An understanding that the multicultural market is a business opportunity that requires •long-term commitment and offers long-term growth potential.

A willingness to understand key drivers of financial needs and purchase decisions in •multicultural markets.

Employment policies that recognize the need for cultural diversity and people from •different backgrounds, who speak different languages.

Sensitivity to messages that multicultural consumers find confusing or non-inclusive.•

Distribution (wholesale and retail) that reflects the cultural diversity of the U.S. •consumer market.

Face-to-face selling outreach, including agents or representatives drawn from the •multicultural communities they are serving.

Active continuing participation in community events and organizations that are •important to multicultural segments.

Based on years of experience helping insurance companies develop multicultural initiatives, GDM is convinced that this same formula can work just as well on the Independent Producer/GAs side of the balance as on the Captive Company side. However, it has not yet been tried on the Independent side by a company with adequate commitment, resources and patience. That is Pacific Life’s opportunity in the two priority segments, Chinese and South Asian.

A Multicultural Producer NetworkTo help Pacific Life focus the opportunity and a clear strategy for pursuing it, GDM has proposed creation of a Multicultural Producer Network.

Initially, this network will send a clear signal to the financial services industry that •Pacific Life is a company that welcomes multicultural diversity in all facets of its organization – especially distribution.Eventually, the network will become Pacific Life’s most valuable asset for outreach to •multicultural consumer segments, starting with Chinese and South Asian.

Figure 16 summarizes GDM’s recommended strategic design for how the Multicultural Producer Network will help Pacific Life grow distribution, relationships and sales in both Life Insurance and Retirement Solutions Division (RSD) channels. Figure 16: Design for Building the Multicultural Producer Network




Multicultural Producer Network – Life InsuranceFor purposes of this project, we define a “multicultural insurance producer” as one who generates half or more of total business from multicultural clients. Other characteristics that can help to define multicultural producers include:

Family roots in multicultural markets •

Familiarity with languages other than English •

Marriage into a multicultural family •

Active involvement in multicultural organizations, networks and events•

While Pacific Life clearly understands its distribution channels, our research indicates that:Pacific Life may not have a clear idea of which producers are most active and successful •currently in multicultural markets.

Recruiting new multicultural producers is the straightest-line path for Pacific Life to the •goal of having a customer base that reflects the Changing Face of America.

The Multicultural Producer Network can address both of these issues by:Identifying the company’s current base of multicultural producers, and better •supporting their sales and marketing efforts in targeted markets.

Reaching new producers, who may already have developed financial services •relationships with multicultural clients, and supporting their sales and marketing efforts in targeted markets.

A Simple Growth Example

Let’s do some quick (if simplified) math to show the potential impact on sales growth. We will start with a hypothetical Pacific Life distribution unit of 100 producers, five of whom currently meet the definition of “multicultural.” We’ll make the following assumptions:

Multicultural producers sell the same number of insurance policies, at the same average •face amount, as other producers.

The average producer sells 20 life insurance policies per year at an average face amount •of $300,000.

70% of the total business that multicultural producers do is with multicultural clients. •

Figure 17 illustrates the total annual production (policies and new face amount) for all 100 producers and the five multicultural (MC) producers.

Figure 17: Before the Multicultural Producer Network

100 Produc-ers

5 MC Pro-ducers

MC Sales @ 70%

MC Sales % of Total

Policies 2,000 100 70 3.5%New Face Amount ($s in millions) $600 $30 $21 3.5%




In this hypothetical example, about 3.5% of the hypothetical unit’s business is coming from multicultural segments.

There are three major goals of GDM’s Multicultural Producer Network proposal:

Make Pacific Life’s current multicultural producers more successful by helping them do a 1. better job serving targeted segments in their market. We assume that their loyalty to Pacific Life, as opposed to other life insurance carriers, will increase due to the value of the Network.

Increase multicultural awareness and sales among Pacific Life’s existing distributors who are 2. not now doing much business with the targeted segments. We believe the Network will help to make mainstream producers more aware that there are multicultural opportunities they can tap in their markets. Also, we think these producers will aspire to participate in the Network and its value-add services, so they will work harder to cultivate multicultural opportunities. They will, effectively, earn their place in the Network.

Recruit new producers who already have some momentum in multicultural markets.3. For this purpose, “recruit” means that these producers will be contracted to sell Pacific Life’s products and place a significant share of their total life sales with Pacific Life.

After some time, let’s assume that the Multicultural Producer Network creates these changes within the hypothetical 100-producer distribution unit:

The five existing multicultural producers increase their production from 20 to 25 policies per year, •because they are more productive in tapping opportunities in targeted segments. Their average policy size increases from $300,000 to $400,000, in part because the Chinese and South Asian segments are more affluent than the mainstream and tend to buy larger face amounts than the mainstream.

Five producers (among the 100) who were not previously identified as multicultural qualify to join •the Network, and their production increases to 25 policies per year @ $400,000 per policy.

Pacific Life recruits to the unit 10 new multicultural producers, each of whom produces 25 policies •per year @ $400,000 face amount.

The percentage of each multicultural producer’s business (in multicultural segments) increases •from 70% to 75%.

Let’s see hypothetically, in Figure 18, how business volume and the mix of business would change.

Figure 18: After the Multicultural Producer Network

110 Produc-ers 20 MC Producers MC Sales @

75%MC Sales % of Total

Policies 2,300 500 375 16.3%

New Face Amount ($Million) $740 $200 $150 20.3%

Policies: Increase Over Before 300 400 305 12.8%

Policies: % Increase 13.0% 400.0% 435.7%

FA: Increase Over “Before” $140 $170 $129 16.8%

FA: % Increase 23.3% 566.7% 614.3% Source: Global Diversity Marketing



In this hypothetical example, the Multicultural Producer Network helps to create a change of:

13.0% in total (distribution unit) production of policies and 23.3% in total production by •face amount.

400.0% in MC producer policies and 566.7% in MC producer face amount. •

435.7% in MC policies and 614.3% in MC face amount.•

Perhaps most importantly, MC sales as a percent of distribution unit total increases from 3.5% of policies and face amount to 16.3% of policies and 20.3% of face amount. This change would represent a successful step for Pacific Life toward the goal of having its customer base better reflect the Changing Face of America, as the U.S. moves toward a multicultural majority around the year 2040.

Multicultural Producer Network – Retirement Solutions Division (in RSD)

For RSD, the Multicultural Producer Network would be executed through existing distribution partners in three channels:

Banks (financial institutions)1. Independent producers2. Wirehouses3.

GDM believes Pacific Life’s emphasis should be on selectivity – choosing current distribution partners that meet one or more of these criteria:

Customer base in areas with large concentrations of multicultural people – especially 1. Chinese and South Asian.

Existing relationships with multicultural customers, and some momentum in growing 2. these relationships.

Corporate branding that is recognized and meaningful to multicultural people. 3.

A meaningful percentage of multicultural employees or sales representatives. 4.

Stated desire to increase business in multicultural segments.5.

Banks

Pacific Life should reach out to develop new distribution partnerships with banks that cater primarily to multi-ethnic customers. For example, the largest Chinatowns in the U.S. are located in San Francisco and New York, and several banks have become strong financial institutions within these communities. Affiliating with these banks to market retirement products could greatly increase Pacific Life’s profile in the U.S. Chinese market.

IndependentsGDM believes many independent producers of retirement products are searching for concepts, collaterals and community-involvement campaigns to connect with multicultural prospects in their markets. For example, a financial planner who wants to connect with a Chinese business owner may not have a way to explain the basic benefits of an IRA or SEP in the prospect’s own language, with cultural sensitivity. We recommend that Pacific Life invite selected independent producers to join the Multicultural Producer Network through targeted direct mail campaigns and seminars. The content of the seminars can include:



Understanding your multicultural market opportunity•

Aligning multicultural market needs with your business model•

How to modify your mainstream messages for multicultural clients – especially in retirement and •education planning services

Multicultural marketing support services offered by Pacific Life•

We suggest that Pacific Life develop a modular seminar that could be delivered in formats ranging from one hour up to a full day in length. Seminar content can be tailored to emphasize insurance needs, retirement planning, or a combination of both. At least one seminar presenter should have multicultural roots. Pacific Life should attempt to profile each attendee to determine his/her: 1) multicultural roots or skills; 2) current production in multicultural markets; and 3) desire to expand production in multicultural markets.

The seminars could help to identify potential candidates for a Pacific Life Multicultural Producer Advisory Board. This board, which might consist of 6-8 producers, would help Pacific Life refine and expand marketing messages and tools for multicultural markets. GDM recommends that at least one member of the team have Chinese roots and at least one other member should have South Asian roots. The board might meet in quarterly conference calls and once annually in person – perhaps in connection with a Pacific Life producer recognition event.

Wirehouses

Pacific Life’s approach to the wirehouses should be similar to independents, with two exceptions:

The goal is to obtain “buy-in” from senior executives of selected wirehouses, so they will 1. promote the program “top-down” in their organizations.

Several wirehouses have begun to develop their own multicultural initiatives, and Pacific Life 2. should attempt to coordinate with existing efforts.

In GDM’s experience, wirehouses are interested in cultivating both priority Asian segments (Chinese and South Asian) for these reasons:

Average household incomes above the U.S. average1.

Strong traditions of thrift and savings2.

Opportunities to reach Asian business leaders and owners3.

Asians’ need for “gap-filling education” on investing and retirement planning4.

Asians’ preference for buying investment and retirement products through face-to-face 5. personal contact

Benefits of the Multicultural Producer Network

GDM has identified options for developing the Multicultural Producer Network at Pacific Life. They include:

A full-scale approach1. to recruiting and retaining insurance producers who are active in multicultural markets; or

A phased approach2. focusing on banks, independent producers and wirehouses.

Also, GDM has identified an opportunity to offer producers different levels of participation in the Multicultural Producer Network, such as:



Platinum • – For the top-tier of producers who are very loyalty to Pacific Life and very active in multicultural markets. Suggested qualification levels are $100,000 in annual life premium (Pacific Life products) or $1 million in total RSD sales.

Elite• – Suggested qualification levels are $75,000 in annual life premium or $750,000 in total RSD sales.

Preferred • – This level could be open to any producer who is interested in expanding multicultural market activity by participating in the network. Suggested qualification levels are $25,000 in annual life premium or $250,000 in total RSD sales.

Figure 19 arrays some of the benefits that could be offered to network members, by level.

Figure 19: Network Member Benefits by Level


Although Pacific Life may choose to offer different types of Network member benefits than those shown above, we advocate keeping four objectives in mind in the Network’s design:

Objective #1• – Make Pacific Life more visible to producers as a company that cares about multicultural segments and wants to reach multicultural consumers.

Objective #2• – Identify producers who are active, involved or interested in multicultural markets, as well as attractive candidates for increasing activity and production.

Objective #3• – Offer useful services and benefits that will help Network members work more productively in multicultural markets, specifically by: targeting prospecting efforts more effectively; working closely with community-based organizations and events; communicating more effectively with multicultural consumers; and showing sensitivity for diverse cultures and people who were not born in the U.S.

Objective #4• – Create open channels for multicultural producers to provide continuing feedback to Pacific Life for improving the network and enhancing or expanding the multicultural initiative.



Benefits of the Network for Pacific Life

GDM has developed a production model to illustrate the potential increase in life insurance and RSD business that can be driven by the Multicultural Producer Network. For the full-scale approach, the illustration is based on recruiting 200 new multicultural producers at different average production levels. Results are shown in Figure 20.

Figure 20: Multicultural Producer Network, Production Increase Model (Full-Scale Approach)


In summary, the model shows a potential production increase by the Network’s fifth year of:

$121.9 million in life insurance sales (premium) in 5 years•

$975 million in RSD sales in 5 years•

GDM’s model also includes:

An illustration of five-year revenue growth potential under the • phased approach.

A comparison of revenue potential under both the full-scale and phrased approaches.•

An estimate of expenses to launch and support the Network in the first five years, under both •the full-scale and phased approaches

In terms of benefits for Pacific Life, increased production and revenue is just one side of the coin. The other side is the incalculable benefit of brand expansion. GDM’s research suggests that Pacific Life’s brand: 1) is not yet very strong in multicultural markets; and 2) is somewhat stronger among multicultural producers (professionals) than consumers.

By 2040, half of the U.S. population will be multicultural. That year is about one generation away, and it often takes a generation to turn a weak or unknown brand into a strong one. GDM believes that Pacific Life may have several viable strategies available for increasing and expanding its brand among multicultural segments, although exploring them in-depth is beyond the scope of this project. However, we believe the development of the Multicultural Producer Network is among the best ways for Pacific Life to begin building brand momentum in these markets.



Staff and Wholesalers

In parallel to development of the Multicultural Producer Network, it’s important for Pacific Life to increase efforts to hire or promote qualified staff members and wholesalers with special qualifications and skills in multicultural markets. It is logical that a wholesaler who covers a market like San Francisco or New York and speaks Chinese (or at least understands nuances of the Asian community) will have a competitive edge in identifying and cultivating relationships with Asian agents and sales reps. In addition, having a Chinese (or South Asian) face present, representing Pacific Life, at industry meetings can send a powerful message to potential recruits: “Pacific Life wants your business and will help you grow it.”

Across the U.S., a debate is raging over whether multicultural candidates deserve special treatment in educational or employment opportunities. We don’t believe Pacific Life needs to deeply engage in this debate to fulfill the goal of hiring or promoting qualified multicultural staff members and wholesalers. Instead, we believe the emphasis should be on qualifications, such as the following:

Fluent ability to speak a language such as Chinese or Spanish.•

Time spent living, studying or traveling abroad – to deepen understanding of other people and •cultures.

Previous work experience (in or out of financial services) that required contact with multicultural •consumers and communications with them.

Work experience or study focused on increasing knowledge of other cultures.•

Personal values and views that emphasize diversity. •

GDM can help Pacific Life develop manager training and tools for identifying and emphasizing these qualifications, and others like them.


Create communications for the financial trade on effective techniques for cultivating Chinese and 1. South Asian consumers. These communications could be ghost-written under the bylines of Pacific Life executives, posted on the company’s producer Web site, and placed in trade media. They would help to raise the profile of Pacific Life as a multicultural-focused company.

Create a “diversity hiring” workshop for Pacific Life managers. The workshop could emphasize: 1) 2. the company’s goal of better reflecting the changing face of America; 2) benefits of a more culturally diverse company and sales force; 3) recognizing and eliminating hiring practices that weed out qualified multicultural applicants; 4) techniques for connecting with multicultural applicants, such as discussing their traditions and holidays.

Identify the most productive multicultural wholesalers working in life insurance and retirement 3. markets. Let them know that Pacific Life is a company that welcomes their talents.

Identify and form affiliations with leading organizations and networks that are active in the Chinese 4. and South Asian segments such as the Chinese and South Asian agents associations and Chambers of Commerce.

Offer a unique value proposition to strategic partners (banks and wirehouses) by giving them access 5. to new growing segments.





Section 5Product Positioning and Packaging

Pacific Life is known for competitive products that are often preferred by highly selective independent agents and sales representatives. The questions that GDM will raise and attempt to answer in this section include:

Can these same products be positioned and packaged in the same way for Chinese and South •Asian segments?

Or should Pacific Life consider some changes? If so, what are they?•To answer those questions, imagine a scenario in which a life insurance agent goes into a Chinese prospect’s household and begins talking about “permanent life insurance.” Not being familiar with this term, the Chinese person gets out an English dictionary and learns that “permanent” means “existing perpetually, everlasting.” Immediately, the customer becomes confused about why insurance is necessary for someone who expects to live a “permanent life.”

The agent clarifies that it is the insurance coverage (not the lifetime) that is permanent. The Chinese customer says yes, this is similar to our cultural tradition of paying tribute to deceased ancestors each year, during our Ghost Festival. Not being familiar with this tradition or festival, the agent brushes it off and goes on to talk about cash value, loans and withdrawals.

Although no one side is to blame for lack of communication between cultures, an important “connection opportunity” has been missed. The agent could use the Chinese “ancestral worship” tradition to position permanent life insurance in a different way that relates to what the prospect already knows and believes. For example: “Your ancestors will pay tribute to the good deeds you have done in your lifetime, including making plans for your family and your own retirement.”

We offer this example to emphasize the need for refocusing and rethinking all Pacific Life products through different eyes – those of the Chinese and South Asian people and their cultures. Although the two segments are different in some ways, they are similar in several key drivers that affect product positioning and packaging decisions:

A strong emphasis on educating young people, to give them knowledge and skills necessary to •take care of their own families.

A “large-family” tradition in which young people take care of elderly parents (and perhaps •other relatives). For Asian people now living in the U.S., this tradition is fragmenting. Young Asian adults who are raising families in the U.S. no longer expect their own children to care for them.

A need to “catch up” with retirement savings, because planning for one’s own retirement has •become a greater priority in the U.S. than in the person’s traditional culture.

A need for basic education on how U.S.-centric financial products and concepts work. Many •products and terms that are somewhat familiar to U.S. consumers (e.g., IRA, 401k, and 529 plans) are not yet familiar to many people in these segments. The same is true of some basic concepts used by the life insurance industry, such as “estate planning” and “cash value.”

Product Repositioning RecommendationsGDM believes the key to increasing Pacific Life’s sales of permanent life insurance products in the targeted multicultural segments is to “go back to basics.” Don’t assume these consumers understand how permanent life insurance works or the needs it meets. Instead, identify the protection-related needs that are most important to each consumer, which may include:

Making sure an education fund for children or grandchildren is completed •



Taking care of an extended family, including elderly parents•

Having enough money to travel back and forth between the U.S. and native country•

Having money to send back home to support family. (About 25% of Asian-Americans have sent •money orders outside the U.S. within a given six-month period.)

Although retirement planning is an important objective for many consumers in these segments, some still have not “crossed the bridge” to accept the concept of a self-sufficient retirement. They were raised on the concept that families take care of the elderly, and it’s still embedded in their value systems. So, it’s best to establish the need for personal retirement planning before tying retirement savings (e.g., life insurance cash value) into the permanent life insurance sale.

Going back to basics also means emphasizing education, delivered in clear, simple English terms or (where necessary) the consumer’s own language. Some financial services companies have followed an expensive, unnecessary path of translating libraries of product communications, forms and disclosures for multicultural consumers. GDM believes Pacific Life can make significant sales gains by:

Translating a few key consumer education pieces into Chinese; and1.

Looking at many other consumer communications with an eye toward simplifying language and 2. concepts. This simplification – looking through the eyes, listening through the ears, of multicultural consumers – will also help Pacific Life connect better with some mainstream consumers who need basic financial education, especially young people and many women.

Clarifying Foundation Concepts

GDM believes a few “foundation concepts” that are somewhat familiar to mainstream Americans are far less well known by multicultural segments. They include:

Estate planning• – Many Chinese and South Asian consumers, including some affluent business owners, are not aware of the U.S. federal estate tax. They don’t understand that assets they may own in another country, such as a home in China or India, can be taxed after their deaths by the U.S. Government. They also don’t know that their life insurance can be part of the estate.

Disability and long-term care• – In Asian cultures, people who become sick or injured often become responsible for their own families. The idea that government benefits or personal insurance can fill this gap may be unfamiliar, and even foreign.

Retirement plans for women• – For some Chinese and South Asian consumers, one indication of affluence is that women do not need to work in regular jobs. A retirement dream of a successful South Asian son often is “to have enough money to support my mother, so she doesn’t need to work later in life.” In some cases, later in life can be age 50 or even 45. GDM believes IRA ownership is far more prevalent among U.S. Chinese and South Asian men than women, which creates a huge potential gender gap for Pacific Life to fill. However, cultural sensitivity, patience and education will be important in addressing this opportunity.

Borrowing money• – Traditionally, money lending has not been a mainstream consumer industry in China or South Asia. Most consumers in Asia are not conditioned to borrow money to finance everyday purchases, and borrowing cost has been very expensive, when credit is available. Although China and India both are rapidly increasing their GDP per capita, they still rank among near the bottom in credit cards per capita with fewer than 5 cards per hundred people. (For comparison, the U.S. has about 250 cards per hundred people.)

When Asians move to the U.S., they may quickly establish credit-using habits. For example, one survey found that two-thirds of Asian Americans have at least two credit cards.8 Another survey indicated



that 78% of Asian-Americans own at least one major credit card and 59% own debit cards.9 Indian-Americans are more likely to use all types of credit than Chinese-Americans, as shown in Figure 21. Figure 21: Use of Credit by Indian-Americans and Chinese Americans

Type of Loan % of Indian-Americans Using

% of Chinese Americans Using

Home mortgage 48% 30%Car loan 31% 18%Business loans 14% 2%Personal loans 20% 17%


In some cases, new Asian immigrants have not fully understood implications of all the credit they are accessing in the U.S., leading to over-indebtedness, home foreclosures and bankruptcies. Stresses have emerged over debt between the “old-generation” value of not borrowing and the “new-generation” value of accessing credit easily. Key point: The concept of borrowing money in a permanent life insurance policy or against a retirement plan balance may be controversial or complex for these markets to grasp.

Product Repositioning Recommendations

GDM’s recommendations for repositioning existing Pacific Life products for these markets include:

Simple, repeatable sales processes• – Where cultural and language barriers exist, simplicity sells! In life insurance sales, the emphasis should be placed on needs analysis, and agents should make a personal recommendation on the most appropriate amount of coverage. The analysis will help to draw out needs such as a desire to send children to top universities or help parents through retirement. Wholesalers can be trained to coach producers on the repeatable steps in each basic sales process. (This recommendation also can have value in Pacific Life’s mainstream markets.)

Emphasize larger face amounts • – GDM’s research indicates that Asian consumers and business owners in the U.S. have the capacity and desire to purchase life insurance in face amounts above the mainstream average. Pacific Life’s product materials and sales processes should emphasize cost-efficiencies and tax advantages for buying large face amounts.

Emphasize basic education• – Asian consumers and business owners appreciate companies that take the time to fill in their knowledge gaps with basic education. Educational programs targeted at Chinese and South Asian segments could produce a high return-on-investment for Pacific Life. Because Asians have diverse knowledge gaps and personal interests, the same programs could combine education on education planning, retirement planning and estate planning.

Product Repackaging – Life Insurance Case StudyGDM does not believe Pacific Life needs to create any new products specifically for multicultural segments at this time. But opportunities may exist to repackage existing products, to better align with purchasing needs and habits of these segments. For example, in its Indexed Universal Life product, Accumulator III, Pacific Life currently highlights these benefits:

“Benefit from • market-paced growth potential, up to current Growth Caps.

Prevent loss of principal and lock-in • gains with guaranteed minimum rates.” (Boldface added for emphasis.)



These benefits could be perceived by some Asian consumers as being part of a stock market investment, not an insurance policy with a guaranteed (minimum) annual interest rate. Since many Asians in the U.S. have a stronger propensity to save than to invest, this could be confusing or demotivating. A simpler focus on earning a guaranteed minimum interest rate, with potential for a higher interest rate, might work better.

One of the indexed options in this product is linked to the Chinese Hang Seng stock market index, but the reference may not be easy for consumers to find, and the option is only one-third of an international basket. Pacific Life might wish to repackage the product to offer full linkage (100%) to the Hang Seng, and also a 100% linkage to the Sensex, India’s comparable market index. (Indian people tend to follow and participate in their domestic stock market with greater interest than Chinese people do in theirs, in part because India is a hotbed for new tech-focused public companies.)

The visual theme of the consumer brochure for Accumulator III emphasizes young people enjoying recreational activities in nature (surfing). This might not connect to Asian sensibilities as well as a visual theme that shows young people studying, tinkering with computers, doing laboratory experiments, attending class in college, etc. The contrast is depicted in Figure 22.

Figure 22: Contrasting Imagery for Accumulator III


Juxtaposing these sets of images helps to show an interesting difference in values and aspirations. The current imagery is successful for Pacific Life in the mainstream because it emphasizes values that affluent mainstream parents aspire to offer their children: health, vigor, nature, recreation. But these values are not directly related to pursuing useful knowledge and skills that children will need for success in a competitive world. Mainstream parents have achieved this goal, and it’s subliminally implicit that their children will, too.

GDM believes Asian parents don’t respond as well to subliminally implicit messaging, in part because they don’t relate to it or understand it. A nearly universal belief is that Asian parents must instill the values



of education and knowledge/skill procurement in children. This is true even among U.S.-assimilated and affluent Asians. Even if parents have fought hard and won the economic competition, they don’t assume their children will, too. In this regard, Asian parents are somewhat like the generation of American parents that emerged after World War II, with a hunger for upward generational mobility.

Much attention is being paid to the superior math/science educations that Asian students are receiving, both in native countries and in the U.S. Yet, not enough attention is being paid, by the media or financial services industry, to the powerful underlying values of parents, which demand and drive academic excellence.

This mini-case study suggests several ways Pacific Life could consider repackaging Accumulator III for the two priority segments. But it also suggests how the same repackaging might help to reach segments of the mainstream market in which Pacific Life has untapped potential, such as: 1) savers who need what Accumulator III offers but don’t want stock market exposure; 2) women who don’t understand the complicated jargon often associated with IUL; and 3) today’s parents who are “going retro” – i.e., back toward a post-World War II mindset in the values they want to instill – perhaps in part because they want their children to compete with the Chinese and Indian children).

Product Repackaging – Retirement Case StudyWe have highlighted below some key positioning copy for Pacific Life’s Select series of variable annuity retirement products. Boldface has been added for emphasis.

“A variable annuity, a • contract between you and an insurance company, can be an important part of a long-term retirement strategy. It’s the only investment that can provide lifetime income and death benefits as well as the ability to transfer among investment options tax-free.

A variable annuity offers you the potential to • outpace inflation as you grow your assets.”

Here are some possible repackaging ideas:Several consultants who specialize in Chinese minds and markets have made a convincing case that the concept of “contract” means different things in China and the West. One of them is Greg Bissky of Treasure Mountain Consulting (www.treasuremountain.com). Here is a segment from his YouTube video Wearing Chinese Glasses: Chinese Ideas of Contracts, located at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fSWEUhaJ94&feature=relmfu (The three-minute video is worth viewing.)

“When you think Chinese business relationships, don’t think contract – think marriage. If you know how to make a marriage work in the West, you know how to do business with the Chinese…What’s the difference between a marriage and a contract? A marriage is meant to be forever, whereas a contract has a set period of time. When you make a business relationship with the Chinese, they don’t want to know – in five years maybe we’ll re-negotiate and choose another partner. They want to know you’re going to be their partner for the long-term. A marriage is meant to be mutual benefit, and how do we achieve mutual benefit? Through mutual compromise. In the West, a contract defines the terms and we don’t change the terms once it’s signed. In China a marriage is fluid. Sometimes, I work to benefit my partner. Sometimes my partner works to benefit me. It’s a win-win situation.” Within this wisdom, there are two possible repackaging ideas. One is to de-emphasize the word “contract” itself, perhaps substituting “agreement.” The second is to emphasize the flexible, changing nature of the agreement, and how that works for the mutual benefit of Pacific Life and its customers.

For Asian consumers, with their emphasis on savings and thrift, perhaps the emphasis on investing •in variable annuities should be downplayed, and greater emphasis should be put on: 1) using VAs as effective retirement savings programs; and 2) the opportunity to receive a guaranteed retirement income. GDM believes an effective repackaging idea for these segments could be to put more



emphasis on a guaranteed Fixed Account Option (FAO). As Asians become comfortable with Pacific Life’s product through the FAO, they then could try their toes in the water of riskier investments.

Viewing terms such as “outpace inflation” through the eyes of people for whom English may be a •second language can be useful. The term has become part of financial jargon, with a meaning that is not always clear even to English speakers. For example, does the term mean: 1) earning a rate or return higher than the rate of inflation; or 2) increasing the purchasing power of an asset? In variable annuities, they can be different.

More importantly perhaps, the term implies U.S. rates of inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index. This may not be clear to people from other cultures, in part because CPI may not be the “inflation” that is most familiar to them. From 1969 through 2010, the average inflation rate in India was 8.0%.10 In recent years, inflation has been two to three times as high in China as in the U.S.

Variable annuities are a financial product that is almost always sold with agent/rep assistance, usually through face-to-face contact. Over time, agents and representatives have developed “sales grooves” that works for them to explain VA benefits and close sales. Selling to multicultural prospects forces advisors to re-evaluate their grooves through different eyes and values. This can be a healthy process for increasing VA sales, not only in multicultural segments but also in the mainstream.


Look at selected Pacific Life products (e.g., Accumulator III) through the eyes of Asian-Americans 1. in the priority segments. Consider forming a focus group to provide feedback and ideas on how to improve product positioning and marketing.

Consider advertising Pacific Life (as a corporate brand) and also selected products on leading media 2. consumed by Indian-Americans or Chinese-Americans. A list of these media is in the Appendix of this report.

Emphasize the savings features of Pacific Life products more for these segments. They have 3. ingrained savings habits that can lead into investing over time.

Evaluate whether life insurance underwriting processes inadvertently discriminate against Asian-4. Americans. For example, it is common for Asian-Americans to travel outside the U.S. (typically back to their home countries) often and perhaps for extended periods. Foreign travel should not be used as underwriting criteria because it can be discriminatory.



Section 6Summarizing Pacific Life’s Opportunity

As a result of this project and prior evaluation, Pacific Life has identified multicultural markets as a top business opportunity for future growth in life insurance and retirement services. Pacific Life sees and accepts the same attractive qualities in multicultural markets as other financial services firms, including:

The highest rates of population and income growth in the U.S.•

An opportunity to reverse a multi-decade decline in the percent of households owning •individual life insurance

Market that currently are underserved by the insurance and retirement services industries•

Market segments that are not yet owned by any leading insurance carrier, especially those •emphasizing independent distribution

In this project and report, GDM has attempted to add value for Pacific Life in these key ways:

Segment focus• – We have evaluated and prioritized all possible multicultural segments that Pacific Life can pursue. In this process, we have aligned characteristics of each segment with Pacific Life’s current customer profile and current distribution. As a result, we recommend an initial focus on the Chinese and South Asian segments, which account for about 44% of all Asian-Americans.

Important segment characteristics• – We have identified key characteristics of the Chinese and South Asian segments that are important to achieving Pacific Life’s goals. These segments are younger, more affluent, and better educated than the U.S. mainstream. They have slightly larger households due to more children and also extended families (e.g., elderly parents) under the same roof. Although they are assimilating rapidly into U.S. societies, they retain many affinities with original cultural values

Creating relationships • – We emphasize that consumers in these segments want to do business with financial companies with strong, familiar brands. The best way to enhance branding in these segments is by recognizing their cultures and participating in their communities. It’s important to create communications that acknowledge the cultures and values of these segments, and for the Chinese segment this includes in-language versions of key consumer marketing pieces. Basic education about key financial concepts is a key to creating new consumer relationships.

Sales drivers• – In multicultural markets, key drivers of financial product sales may be different than in the mainstream. Some financial concepts and terms that are embedded in the mainstream’s consciousness are not yet familiar to multicultural markets. Traditional concepts of retirement are different, and education of children is a powerfully important (and nearly universal) goal. Opportunities exist to tie life insurance sales into goals of protecting large (or extended) families and assuring that educational goals are met.

Distribution growth• – Pursuing the Multicultural Producer Network, as proposed by GDM, will help Pacific Life increase visibility among multicultural producers and within the industry. It also has strong potential to increase overall life insurance and retirement solutions sales, while raising the average size of life insurance policies sold. We believe it is the strongest “first step” Pacific Life can take toward the goal of making its customer base and distribution channels better reflect the changing face of America.

Product Repositioning and Repackaging• – Pacific Life may be able to enhance its quality product menu by reviewing and rethinking them through multicultural eyes. In some cases, this may



result in repositioning how products are communicated or sold. In other cases, small changes in product specifications may be able to produce large and positive impacts on multicultural consumers. Some of these changes may also carry over into mainstream market benefits and sales growth.

In summary, we make one final and very important recommendation to Pacific Life that encompasses many others highlighted in this report:

Make it as easy as possible for multicultural consumers and distributors to do business with you.

Based on extensive experience working with leading U.S. life insurance companies in multicultural markets, GDM has observed a pattern that presents clear opportunity for Pacific Life. Companies such as Nationwide and ING have focused on cultivating multicultural independent distributors and making it easier for them to bring in their multicultural clients. Other companies – led by MetLife and New York Life – have focused on reaching out to multicultural consumers.

Within the mix of leading U.S. life insurance companies, we rate Pacific Life’s current multicultural competitive positioning as above average for independent distributors and about average for consumers. In general, the Pacific Life brand is better recognized by and more meaningful to independent distributors than consumers.

By deliberately pursuing the multicultural market and recommendations in this report, we believe Pacific Life can become the clear life insurance leader in “making it easy to do business” for both independent distributors and consumers. This opportunity is summarized on the competitive positioning grid shown in Figure 23.

Figure 23 – Ease of Doing Business, Competitive Positioning Grid

Global Diversity Marketing looks forward to working with Pacific Life further in pursuing this opportunity. We welcome any questions or comments you may have as a result of our project and report.

In the “big picture” of Pacific Life’s long and great tradition, 2040 isn’t very far away. At that point, more than half of the U.S. population will be multicultural – and Pacific Life’s customer base and distribution channels will be a true-to-life reflection of the Changing Face of America.




Make a commitment to pursue selected multicultural markets – from the top of Pacific Life all the 1. way through the company. Having a permanent commitment to this effort, with senior management buy-in, is critically important to success.

Continue to draw upon the expertise, experience and resources of Global Diversity Marketing or 2. similar firms in this initiative.

Time is of essence. The opportunity to become a leader will not stick around for too long. Pacific 3. life can have a first mover advantage in the multicultural market in the independent distribution provided they leverage the opportunity in the near future. This may provide Pacific Life the opportunity to be a leader through a unique approach.



AppendixThe project’s objectives and methodology are described below.

As part of the research supporting the Changing Face of America project, Global Diversity Marketing conducted 23 interviews with participants representing three groups: 1) Pacific Life independent producers and brokers; 2) Pacific Life employees; and 3) wirehouses, banks and broker dealers. The interview subjects are identified below.

Key Findings: Wholesalers

Multicultural is a critical business opportunity that is not being fully leveraged •

PL marketing material does not cater to multicultural customers and has limited ability to •attract MC producers

Some competitors have attracted multicultural producers through concentrated recruiting •efforts and have retained them with multi-year training

Most MC producers know PL but are not doing business with PL •

PL needs to develop training and sales content to attract multicultural producers•

Key Findings: Current Distribution

Multicultural growth is big, and PL should take advantage of the opportunity•

PL needs culturally branded sales material, similar to competition •

Several producers are engaged in multicultural markets on a regional level, but few •distribution partners have a corporate infrastructure to support multicultural markets

Multicultural market knowledge and training supplemented with PL marketing material can •be critical to expansion in multicultural segments

An insurance company with a focus on the multicultural segments can be a good strategic •partner

Most distribution partners do not have an established multicultural effort•



Key Findings: Potential Distribution

There is a huge appetite for multicultural support from insurance companies focusing on •independent distribution

Most support is provided through culturally-branded material – not all marketing material •is useful

Most insurance companies have a reactive approach to the multicultural markets•

There is a need for extended support – e.g., seminars, recruiting and branding•

Multicultural producers see branding in the multicultural markets as one of the most •important factors

The U.S. Multicultural Market, Ranked by GDP

In the aggregate, the U.S. multicultural market has GDP of about $2.5 trillion, which is larger than all but four of the world’s countries.



Common Multicultural Market Practices of Different ChannelsGDM has years of experience developing multicultural market initiatives for diverse distribution channels. The schematic below summarizes common practices by channel.

Holidays and Festivals That Are Important to Asian-Americans

Lunar New Year

Also referred to as the Spring Festival, Chinese New Year, Têt in Vietnam, Seollal in Korea and •sometimes as the Lantern Festival (although not to be confused with the Moon Festival).

Begins on the first day of the first lunar month – typically falls in Jan/Feb timeframe.•

One of the most important festivals/holidays in China, Korea, Vietnam and other countries •where the Chinese have had influence.

The color red is used in many of the decorations, new clothing is worn and red packets are •usually given to children. These red packets contain money and sometimes gold coins.



Lanterns are hung everywhere, traditionally red and oval in shape.•

In the days preceding celebrations, families clean their homes. It is believed that cleaning •sweeps away bad luck and makes the homes ready for good luck.

Fireworks are an integral part of Lunar New Year festivities.•

Moon Festival

Also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival.•

Held when the moon is at its fullest and brightest to celebrate the abundance of summer’s •harvest and the end of the agricultural year, typically in August.

The moon represents fullness and prosperity in life.•

The traditional food of the festival by many Asians is mooncake.•

Celebrated by many East Asians including Chinese, Japanese, Koreans and Vietnamese.•

Diwali

Also spelled Deepawali and referred to as “The Festival of Light.”•

A major Indian and Nepalese festive holiday, although celebrations vary across different •regions.

Lamps signify the victory of good over evil. The Hindu Goddess of Wealth is thanked on this •day and everyone prays for a good year ahead.

Typically occurs in late October/early November – on the day of the new moon.•

People wear new clothes, decorate their homes with an abundance of lights, shoot fireworks •and give out sweets and gifts. Religious rituals accompany the celebrations.

Diwali is celebrated in Indian communities across the U.S.•

EID ul-Fitr

A three-day celebration of the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting. While Eid •means festivity, Fitr stands for breaking the fast. Together, the term is symbolical of breaking of the fasting period.

The day is usually celebrated on the first day of the Islamic month of Shawwal. In some •countries, the festive occasion is celebrated with great pomp and show. Kids and adults indulge in offering prayers to the Almighty, seeking blessing. Other countries celebrate in a quiet manner.

Primary Religions of Asian People

Segment Primary Religions

Chinese Buddhist, Confucian, Christian, Muslim, Taoist

Filipino Christian (90% Catholic), Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish

S. Asian Hindu, Muslim, Jain, Buddhist, Christian, Jewish

Japanese Shinto, Buddhist, some Christian

Korean Christian (Protestant), Buddhist

Vietnamese Christian (Catholic), Buddhist



Footnotes National Population Projections, December 2011, U.S. Census Bureau.1.

Geoscape 2011. 2.

GDP figures from CIA Factbook 2010, World Bank, Multicultural Buying Power figures from the 3. Selig Center 2010

Estimated Long-Term Mutual Fund Flows, 1/4/12, Investment Company Institute at: 4. www.ici.org/info/flows_data_2011.xls

LIMRA International press release, 11/28/11, at: 5. www.limra.com/newscenter/NewsArchive/ArchiveDetails.aspx?prid=213

Selig Center 2009 Multicultural Report. Check source, slides 21 and 43.6.

Census 2009, Geoscape 2011.7.

FINRA Investor Education Foundation, 8. Financial Capability in the United States, December 2009.

2009 PM/ISA Asian American Market Report.9.

Trading Economics.com at: 10. http://www.tradingeconomics.com/india/inflation-cpi

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