Editor’s note: When the pandemic hit the country, InLife had to move their face-to-face recruitment programs virtually. But they knew they had to be more creative to stand out, so they launched “Di Ka Para Rito,” not only to find promising financial advisors but to inspire struggling Filipinos, too. Below is their press release.

The Philippines welcomed 2021 with 4 million Filipinos facing employment challenges. It is the highest rate of unemployment problems recorded so far in the country. 

The downturn of the coronavirus crisis has led to multiple industry shutdowns as international and domestic flights remain grounded and restricted, large events and gatherings are strictly avoided, leisure activities put at a minimum, and traveling across the country is still limited.

The new normal

InLife, the oldest Filipino-owned insurance firm that champions itself as a “Filipino-first company,” saw the opportunity to help those going through struggles with unemployment brought about by the pandemic.

“In some industries, job security was compromised,” said InLife’s Recruitment Head, Pipo Esporlas, “and we wanted to reach out immediately to those affected. We partnered with organizations that are faced with the ever-growing challenge to sustain not only their competitive advantage but, more importantly, the safety and well-being of their employees. We know that the opportunity that we offer here in InLife, will not only be a new career that they will enjoy, but will also provide them security in these challenging times.” 

As the impact of the pandemic created a “new normal” way of living and doing business in a bid to curb the spread and to stay safe, the insurance company also turned its recruitment efforts online.

“If there’s one good thing that the pandemic situation taught us, it’s that we can have more potential recruits via alternative sources,” Esporlas shared. “Before, we used to hold our business opportunities forums face-to-face – in hotels or through pocket forums where we get to have maybe 50-100 attendees. When the pandemic started, we immediately shifted to virtual forum runs, and now we are averaging about 600-700 attendees monthly (we even peaked with 1000 attendees in one run). Our new recruits are also now able to sell our products digitally with the help of our various innovations.”

Seeing the challenge to stand out amid a competitive online world and the risk of backlash from a potentially sensitive audience, InLife knew it needed to take a bold step. Through a series of socially disruptive ads that aimed to catch the attention of fresh graduates, young professionals, and even moms and retirees all looking for new career opportunities, InLife made a strong, provoking statement, “Di Ka Para Rito.”

‘Di Ka Para Rito’

The unemployment burden has indeed taken a toll on the lives of many Filipinos as InLife recognizes the reality of what its fellow countrymen are facing. To ease the burden, InLife’s approach to its campaign was a twist that many needed to hear – an anthem song that would bring a message of hope. 

“We recognized the need to be braver in presenting our recruitment campaign. InLife understands the realities that Filipinos face nowadays and by having a socially disruptive approach, where communication will be distinctly InLife and Filipino, we expected that we will be better heard,” Esporlas expressed.

The recruitment campaign kicked off in the middle of February on both Facebook and Instagram, with a slew of bold ad statements against a gradient background – all saying, “Di Ka Para Rito.”

Every ad leads the reader to a chatbot assessment that dares ask them whether they are in it (Para Rito Ako) – or not (Di Ka Para Rito). 

InLife’s taunting string of ad statements was only the beginning. A week into the campaign, they released their “Di Ka Para Rito” music video, featuring 4 key characters that many Filipinos can identify with – a mom, a fresh graduate, a young professional, and a retiree. 

The video showcased each of the characters in an online video call, singing and dancing to a catchy tune with relatable lyrics like, “Unti-unti nang aangat, kayang-kaya ang lahat” and “Win, win, win in life,” leaving viewers LSS-ed for days. 

Winning in life

Despite the uncertainty of the campaign from the beginning, the result exceeded expectations. 

“After rebranding our forums to ‘Winner’s Circle,’ and having supporting social media posts about these forums, we definitely noticed a big spike in our forum attendees. We are now averaging about 600-700 attendees monthly,” Esporlas remarked.

The bold online recruitment effort reached an estimated 1.8 million video views as of writing, helping InLife in its goal to open doors for Filipinos, giving them more opportunities to succeed. 

“Thanks to our ongoing #DiKaParaRito x #WinInLife campaign, we’ve been able to generate thousands of sign-ups from our social media ads monthly. With the regularization of the licensure exams, we are confident we’ll surpass last year’s new Financial Advisor numbers,” Esporlas concluded.

Let’s all get real and #WinInLife by finding out kung “Para Rito Ka.” Visit pararitoinlife.com to learn how you can live a winning life with InLife! – Rappler.com