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**Shinhan Life Insurance Ends Two-Year Partnership with Virtual Influencer Rozy Amid Rising Costs **
Shinhan Life Insurance has parted ways with its first advertising model, the virtual human Rozy, after two years. According to industry sources on the 21st, Shinhan Life recently ended its contract with Rozy, who had caused a stir in insurance advertising when the company was launched. Instead, the company selected Park Sung-hoon, who left a strong impression in his role in the drama “The Glory”, as its new advertising model. This new advertising campaign was set to the keyword “PRIDE” to align with the company’s strategic direction, expressing the intrinsic value of insurance that customers can feel when they encounter Shinhan Life.
Shinhan Life’s decision is drawing attention in the insurance industry because Rozy brought a breath of fresh air to insurance advertising with a significant impact. Shinhan Life was a new company born through the merger of Shinhan Life and Orange Life. To appeal to the MZ generation (born between the 1980s and early 2000s) that values personal taste and individualism, the company selected Rozy, the country’s first virtual model, as its advertising model at its launch in 2021.
Rozy is a virtual influencer with a strong following, currently boasting over 150,000 followers on Instagram. Shinhan Life’s first YouTube ad featuring Rozy in 2021 gained over 10 million views in just over 20 days after its release, creating a buzz.
Having successfully built a young and fresh image through Rozy, Shinhan Life even launched an MZ generation-specific life insurance product named after Rozy, an industry first. The product sold over 1,000 policies within a month.
The reason Shinhan Life decided not to renew its contract with Rozy appears to be to strengthen its own brand marketing now that it has established a position in the industry. Indeed, six Shinhan Life employees appeared in the new ad, aiming to sincerely convey the message that the company’s numerous experts are with customers.
Some speculate that a factor in the non-renewal was the increased cost of Rozy, who rose to stardom with Shinhan Life’s advertising. An advertising industry insider said, “The fact that Rozy’s price has significantly increased would have had a major impact. Rozy earned over KRW 1.5 billion (approx $1.3 million) in advertising fees in 2021 alone, and it’s known that the cost had already doubled from the previous year when Shinhan Life renewed the contract in 2022.”
https://biz.chosun.com/stock/finance/2023/06/21/HZLS7KLF35DH7IYUPLRTPJCHE4/
https://biz.chosun.com/stock/finance/2023/06/21/HZLS7KLF35DH7IYUPLRTPJCHE4/