Client: AXA Global Healthcare

From Hong Kong to the UAE: Making global headlines for AXA Global Healthcare – everywhere that matters 

60+

pieces of global coverage 

450k+

estimated coverage views

124

backlinks

AXA Global Healthcare is a world leader in premium private medical insurance, trusted by individuals and businesses around the globe. Known for protecting people living and working abroad, it’s a brand with serious international clout.  

When the brand set its sights on growth in new regions, we were brought asked to help deliver border-crossing coverage. The brief? To build brand fame among expats in the UK, UAE and Hong Kong. 

With a story rooted in care, connection and cross-border insight, this wasn’t just a PR push - it was a campaign built to travel. 

  • You've got 4 months to improve brand awareness across three continents. No advertising budget, just PR. What do you do?

    Because that's exactly what AXA Global Healthcare asked us. We needed to spotlight two brand new services. Their virtual care service, basically a doctor in your pocket available 24 hours a day, and AXA’s mind health self-check tool. Really great products, but only if you know that they exist. And therein lies the problem.

    Brand awareness for their services is really low. So we fire up the ‘storymaking machine’.

    We commission research speaking to experts in the UK, UAE, and Hong Kong, looking at real habits, real problems, producing real data stories that we know journalists cannot resist. 

    What we found is just more evidence that men are really bad at this adulting stuff.

    We found that UK men are three times more likely than women to wait until symptoms are severe before seeking help. In fact, we found that men are more likely to spend hours under the bonnet of a car fixing that annoying rattle, but won't spare 10 minutes to book a doctor's appointment to check the warning signs from their own body. We are nothing but predictable.

    But like I said, data stories work and journalists ate it up. We packaged the research differently for each market with local angles making it easy for journalists to find the story that mattered to their readers.Then boom, 60 global pieces of coverage and counting in outlets across the UAE, Hong Kong, and the UK, nearly half a million combined reach in targeted local media, and over 100 earned backlinks to the AXA Global Healthcare website and services.

    If experts weren't aware of access global healthcare before, then they certainly know them a little better now.

    Huh - it’s the AXA online doctor. God, that was quick. Hey, Doc. Yeah, same problem. It’s stuck again!

The brief

Expats face plenty of pressures. Accessing healthcare shouldn’t be one of them. AXA Global Healthcare wanted to spotlight its Virtual Care Services and Mind Health self-check tool. 

With the dual challenge of making news out of a functional product, plus needing to reach three distinct audiences with a single brand message, we had to find the common thread. Then weave in cultural nuance that would be relevant, local, and real.  

Illustration of a young man sitting on a sofa with a laptop, in a living room with a potted plant, a wall art, and a coffee table with a cup, promoting AXA's Mind Health Self-check app.
AXA Online doctor service. Access a network of over 2000 experienced doctors worldwide. Get a quote online or let us call you.

Human-focused, data-driven 

We started with what makes headlines tick: insight. A media audit confirmed our hunch — men’s health was under-reported, under-discussed, and often under-prioritised. (With the option to follow up later on with a women’s health angle.) 

To get under the skin of what really matters to people living in the UK, UAE and Hong Kong, we teamed up with a research agency to survey men and women across all three regions.  

The results were undeniable: men were consistently more likely to fix their car or phone than seek help for their mental or physical health. 

A simple insight, with universal relevance. 

A woman practicing yoga outdoors on a city street, performing a deep lunge pose with her hands behind her head, with modern buildings and palm trees in the background.

The results:

A local-global fame PR campaign built to move. 

 With culturally tailored press releases, professional translations in Arabic and Traditional Chinese, and carefully curated outreach to both national media and men’s lifestyle titles, we made sure this story had legs. 

All together: 

  • 60 global pieces of coverage (and counting) 

  • 441k combined reach (estimated coverage views) 

  • 124 earned backlinks to AXA Global Healthcare website (with SEO value baked in) 

Many of PR hits are in leading national news outlets such as the Khajeel Times (UAE), Yorkshire Evening Post (UK print) and AM730 (Hong Kong), as well as high profile lifestyle publications like Time Out Hong Kong.  

Key takeouts:

The audience is highly specific so this wasn’t about reach for reach’s sake. It was about building relevance and recognition – with a story that travelled across borders, but landed close to home. 

Looking for a touch of fame to raise your brand profile?

Let’s talk. 

hello@wearebottle.com