e4mTechTalk: Nitin Khanna on Acko’s data-driven creativity in insurance marketing

Acko has emerged as one of India’s most innovative insurance brands, transforming a traditionally staid category into one marked by dynamic storytelling and data-driven precision. In a recent edition of e4m TechTalk, Nitin Khanna, Vice President of Marketing at Acko, shared insights into how the brand combines creativity and technology to engage customers and drive growth. Fresh from Cannes Lions 2025, where Acko’s "Tailor Test" campaign by Leo Burnett Mumbai clinched a Gold Lion in the Creative Data category, Khanna spoke at length about the brand’s philosophy and methods.

Khanna explained that Acko’s creative strategy is deeply rooted in designing campaigns that are native to each digital platform rather than simply repurposing TV commercials. “We look at it in two ways. The attempt is, one, to be true to the platform and, two, to be true to the cohort of customers that we are chasing,” he said. By focusing on what works best for each platform, whether it’s YouTube, Google search, or Connected TV, Acko crafts messaging that feels authentic and compelling to different audience segments.

Central to this approach is Acko’s direct-to-consumer (D2C) business model, which provides the brand with complete ownership of customer relationships. Unlike traditional insurers that rely on intermediaries, Acko has direct access to customer data, allowing it to develop highly personalised campaigns. “Because of the business model itself, we own the relationship with the customer. As a D2C brand, we have direct access to them,” Khanna noted. This access enables Acko to segment users into precise cohorts, such as car owners nearing policy renewal or health insurance prospects requiring more education before making a purchase decision.

Acko uses first-party data to develop targeted creative strategies. A car owner might receive messages priming him for renewal weeks before the policy expiry, while health insurance customers are engaged with educational content to create awareness and guide them along a more considered purchase journey. The goal is to ensure that the messaging not only resonates with the intended audience but also drives action at the right moment.

Artificial intelligence plays a critical role in enhancing these efforts. Acko leverages AI tools like Google’s Performance Max to combine first-party data signals with advanced optimisation capabilities. “We use our first-party data actively to pass more signals onto the Google ecosystem so that the campaign is able to optimize much better,” Khanna said. This integrated approach has resulted in impressive performance uplifts, with some campaigns achieving a 20 to 30 percent increase in conversions, a remarkable outcome for mature categories such as motor insurance.

Khanna emphasized that experimentation and bold decision-making are key pillars of Acko’s marketing philosophy. “Don’t be afraid to experiment,” he advised. Acko has moved beyond traditional targeting methods, such as exact match keywords, and has embraced broader strategies to capture audiences across different stages of the purchase funnel. This willingness to take calculated risks, combined with meticulous creative and data-driven planning, has allowed the brand to balance scale with personalisation effectively.

For Acko, creativity is not limited to big-budget TV commercials but extends to every touchpoint, including search ad copies and funnel-based creative sequencing. The award-winning ‘Tailor Test’ campaign exemplifies this philosophy, blending data insights with storytelling to create a memorable and impactful narrative that resonated with audiences and the global creative community alike.

As video continues to gain prominence, Acko has also invested in Connected TV (CTV) to reach premium urban audiences. In a health insurance campaign focused on top cities, Acko used CTV to build awareness among affluent prospects. “When we were able to couple these audience insights with our CTV planning, we saw like a bit of magic being unlocked,” Khanna shared. The approach resulted in two to three times higher brand search uplift and top-of-funnel queries in targeted cities compared to control markets, demonstrating the effectiveness of blending data intelligence with high-quality storytelling.

Measurement remains a cornerstone of Acko’s strategy. The brand is in the early stages of integrating Google’s Ads Data Hub (ADH) to unify campaign views and improve efficiency. “ADH is still early for us, but we are happy to be among the first in our industry to look at the power of ADH and how that can help us scale efficiently,” Khanna said. Alongside ADH, Acko uses brand query uplift analysis, brand lift studies, and internal performance data to continuously refine and optimize its marketing efforts. This focus ensures that every campaign not only builds awareness but also converts audiences into loyal customers.

Acko’s marketing approach, which combines rigorous data use with fearless creativity, has helped redefine the narrative around insurance in India. With data as its backbone and storytelling as its driving force, Acko is setting a new standard for what insurance marketing can achieve. The success of the "Tailor Test" campaign at Cannes underscores this vision, signaling that the brand is well on its way to reshaping the category on both national and global stages.