Tag: Bank

  • Ujjivan SFB makes banking simpler in latest campaign

    Ujjivan SFB makes banking simpler in latest campaign

    MUMBAI: Ujjivan Small Finance Bank (SFB) has unveiled its debut brand campaign on television that attempts to strategically position it as a bank of choice among the target consumer segments using its key service propositions of ‘doorstep account ipening’, ‘paperless banking’ and ‘special service envelope for senior citizens’.

    The commercial that is already live across Kannada and Bengali channels, will progress to a national outreach in the next three weeks.

    Ujjivan’s creative agency DDB Mudra has conceptualised the campaign.

    “Yeh bank to ghar bhi aata hai” (this bank comes to your doorstep) is one of the core messages of the thematic campaign. Ujjivan SFB targets the underserved and unserved segments in urban, semi urban and rural India. Opening a bank account and undertaking transactions at bank branches are considered as a complex and tedious procedure by these customer segments. Ujjivan SFB makes this otherwise cumbersome process fast, seamless and secure using Aadhaar authentication on a biometric enabled handheld device right at customer’s doorstep and an account can be opened in less than 10 minutes.

    Ujjivan SFB chief marketing officer Vijay Balakrishnan says, “We are pleased to unveil the thematic TVC today starting with two of our key markets Karnataka and West Bengal. In the coming weeks, the television commercials’ outreach will be extended nationally thereby reaching our over 3.8 million customers across 24 states in India. Over the next few months, the campaign will leverage a multimedia approach with extensions in print, cinema, outdoor and digital.”

    In this campaign there is a sub message of Ujjivan having transformed into an SFB from its previous avatar of being an NBFC-MFI. Ujjivan also consciously departs from its earlier positioning and tag line of ‘build a better life’ to ‘Bank Better, Live Better’ (Behtar Banking, Behtar Jeevan).

    Besides Hindi, the TVC has been adapted in various vernacular languages: Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam, Marathi, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati and Oriya for widespread reach and connect with the masses.

  • HDFC is India’s most valuable brand: Brandz India top 50 (2016)

    HDFC is India’s most valuable brand: Brandz India top 50 (2016)

    MUMBAI: The third annual BrandZ™ Top 50 Most Valuable Indian Brands ranking released by WPP and Kantar Millward Brown has lot of good and something bad for the marketing industry.

    On the positive side, the total value of India’s most valuable brands has risen by 30 per cent over the last three years, with the top 50 brands now worth $ 90.5 billion from $ 69.6 billion in 2014. But, unlike 2015, which saw an unprecedented growth in terms of brand equity that pushed  the brand value of top 50 brands to USD 92.2billion, 2016 saw a dip of 2 per cent, mostly owing to a decline in brand value of state-owned banks.

    Like last year, the financial sector dominated the top 10 spots accounting for 38 per cent of the top 50s brand value ($ 34.28 billion). HDFC maintained its number one position for the 3rd consecutive year with a brand value of USD 14.4 billion following a 15 per cent growth over the past year. It was followed by Airtel from the telecom sector with a brand value of USD 9.98 billion. State Bank Of India with a brand value of USD 6.352 billion stood at number three. “A brand cannot be built unless each one of us at HDFC Bank believes in it. Fundamentally, a brand is what we stand for in terms of the emotional value and the real value that we want to deliver to the customer. The emotional value is a combination of honesty, trust, integrity and being able to deliver the product at all times to the satisfaction of the customer. The real value is to deliver a differentiated product which changes the life of the customer which we have tried to do in financial services by making it more convenient, ” said HDFC Bank  managing director Aditya Puri.

    Among the new entrants in the top 50 list are airlines Indigo and Jet Airways at 26 and 36 positions respectively, followed by TVS and Reliance at 48 and 50, respectively.

    Top 10 most valuable brands here:

    Rank 2016

    Brand

    Category

    Brand value 2016 ($m)

    Rank 2015

    1

    HDFC Bank

    Banks

    14,438

    1

    2

    Airtel

    Telecom Providers

    9,978

    2

    3

    State Bank of India

    Banks

    6,352

    3

    4

    Asian Paints

    Paints

    4,089

    5

    5

    ICICI Bank

    Banks

    3,957

    4

    6

    Bajaj Auto

    Automobiles

    3,403

    6

    7

    Kotak Mahindra Bank

    Banks

    3,333

    9

    8

    Maruti Suzuki

    Automobiles

    2,850

    10

    9

    Hero

    Automobiles

    2,807

    7

    10

    Axis Bank

    Banks

    2,377

    8

    Interestingly, the top four ranks remained unchanged from 2015 rankings, something which The Store WPP, EMEA & Asia CEO David Roth calls an anomaly when juxtaposed against other mature markets or the global ranks.

    “Until recently in China, the top most valuable brand list was dominated by the state-owned Chinese companies, but now they are being taken over by technology and entrepreneurial companies. The global top 100 brands list has also seen some major changes. So yes, India is a bit of an anomaly as a developing state to see the same brands maintaining their positions for the last three years. But, I think it’s a matter of India’s growth and development cycle.”

    But, that says little about the immense competition that each brand faced to retain its position. According to Kantar Millward Brown managing director for south Asia, Dinesh Kapoor, 27 brands had slipped from its last year’s position while seven more brands dropped off the top 50 margin. “Brands required maintaining at least 35 per cent growth in its brand value to be able to hold on to its position,” shared Kapoor.

    Another way in which India drastically differs from the global markets is the absence of the technology brands from the top 50 list. 

    “Be it Global 100 or Asian market giant like China, technology brands have a huge presence in the top most valuable brands list. We see a clear absence of technology brands when it comes to India’s top 50 brands. Although India has been behind the scene of some of the major global technological innovations, it has been more from a service stand point rather than doing it in a branded way. I think there is a lesson to learn in this,” opined Roth. 

    Kapoor feels that the clear absence of Indian tech giants from the list is largely due to the companies not being listed. “You have to consider the methodology that goes into making this ranking. In order for a brand to be eligible for consideration for the list, it needs to be owned by a company listed on a stock exchange in India.  But, most of the tech companies that we speak of aren’t listed. The other big difference from global trends is the retail brands which have a strong presence in the more mature markets, whereas in India, only one retail brand — Reliance Retail —  has made it to the top 50 list.

    The report also warns marketers of the weakened brand loyalty among consumers. Internet penetration has risen sharply as the number of people living in rural areas accessing internet almost doubled over the past year, with almost 69% of urban internet users using the internet every day. This access educates consumers while providing them access to larger diaspora of premium brands available at affordable prices.

    While marketers have a lot to take away from the insight behind BrandZ India top 50 brands report, GroupM south Asia CEO CVL Srinivas shared what agencies can learn from this. “Reports like BrandZ are very useful for us who are in the business of media management for clients. In this age when competition is increasing and consumer’s attention span is decreasing, along with number of policy changes, a consolidated study like this helps us map a better strategy for our clients.  For example, the need for a brand to be present in multiple touch points with a singular communication idea and what it does to the brand’s value is the learning.”

  • HDFC is India’s most valuable brand: Brandz India top 50 (2016)

    HDFC is India’s most valuable brand: Brandz India top 50 (2016)

    MUMBAI: The third annual BrandZ™ Top 50 Most Valuable Indian Brands ranking released by WPP and Kantar Millward Brown has lot of good and something bad for the marketing industry.

    On the positive side, the total value of India’s most valuable brands has risen by 30 per cent over the last three years, with the top 50 brands now worth $ 90.5 billion from $ 69.6 billion in 2014. But, unlike 2015, which saw an unprecedented growth in terms of brand equity that pushed  the brand value of top 50 brands to USD 92.2billion, 2016 saw a dip of 2 per cent, mostly owing to a decline in brand value of state-owned banks.

    Like last year, the financial sector dominated the top 10 spots accounting for 38 per cent of the top 50s brand value ($ 34.28 billion). HDFC maintained its number one position for the 3rd consecutive year with a brand value of USD 14.4 billion following a 15 per cent growth over the past year. It was followed by Airtel from the telecom sector with a brand value of USD 9.98 billion. State Bank Of India with a brand value of USD 6.352 billion stood at number three. “A brand cannot be built unless each one of us at HDFC Bank believes in it. Fundamentally, a brand is what we stand for in terms of the emotional value and the real value that we want to deliver to the customer. The emotional value is a combination of honesty, trust, integrity and being able to deliver the product at all times to the satisfaction of the customer. The real value is to deliver a differentiated product which changes the life of the customer which we have tried to do in financial services by making it more convenient, ” said HDFC Bank  managing director Aditya Puri.

    Among the new entrants in the top 50 list are airlines Indigo and Jet Airways at 26 and 36 positions respectively, followed by TVS and Reliance at 48 and 50, respectively.

    Top 10 most valuable brands here:

    Rank 2016

    Brand

    Category

    Brand value 2016 ($m)

    Rank 2015

    1

    HDFC Bank

    Banks

    14,438

    1

    2

    Airtel

    Telecom Providers

    9,978

    2

    3

    State Bank of India

    Banks

    6,352

    3

    4

    Asian Paints

    Paints

    4,089

    5

    5

    ICICI Bank

    Banks

    3,957

    4

    6

    Bajaj Auto

    Automobiles

    3,403

    6

    7

    Kotak Mahindra Bank

    Banks

    3,333

    9

    8

    Maruti Suzuki

    Automobiles

    2,850

    10

    9

    Hero

    Automobiles

    2,807

    7

    10

    Axis Bank

    Banks

    2,377

    8

    Interestingly, the top four ranks remained unchanged from 2015 rankings, something which The Store WPP, EMEA & Asia CEO David Roth calls an anomaly when juxtaposed against other mature markets or the global ranks.

    “Until recently in China, the top most valuable brand list was dominated by the state-owned Chinese companies, but now they are being taken over by technology and entrepreneurial companies. The global top 100 brands list has also seen some major changes. So yes, India is a bit of an anomaly as a developing state to see the same brands maintaining their positions for the last three years. But, I think it’s a matter of India’s growth and development cycle.”

    But, that says little about the immense competition that each brand faced to retain its position. According to Kantar Millward Brown managing director for south Asia, Dinesh Kapoor, 27 brands had slipped from its last year’s position while seven more brands dropped off the top 50 margin. “Brands required maintaining at least 35 per cent growth in its brand value to be able to hold on to its position,” shared Kapoor.

    Another way in which India drastically differs from the global markets is the absence of the technology brands from the top 50 list. 

    “Be it Global 100 or Asian market giant like China, technology brands have a huge presence in the top most valuable brands list. We see a clear absence of technology brands when it comes to India’s top 50 brands. Although India has been behind the scene of some of the major global technological innovations, it has been more from a service stand point rather than doing it in a branded way. I think there is a lesson to learn in this,” opined Roth. 

    Kapoor feels that the clear absence of Indian tech giants from the list is largely due to the companies not being listed. “You have to consider the methodology that goes into making this ranking. In order for a brand to be eligible for consideration for the list, it needs to be owned by a company listed on a stock exchange in India.  But, most of the tech companies that we speak of aren’t listed. The other big difference from global trends is the retail brands which have a strong presence in the more mature markets, whereas in India, only one retail brand — Reliance Retail —  has made it to the top 50 list.

    The report also warns marketers of the weakened brand loyalty among consumers. Internet penetration has risen sharply as the number of people living in rural areas accessing internet almost doubled over the past year, with almost 69% of urban internet users using the internet every day. This access educates consumers while providing them access to larger diaspora of premium brands available at affordable prices.

    While marketers have a lot to take away from the insight behind BrandZ India top 50 brands report, GroupM south Asia CEO CVL Srinivas shared what agencies can learn from this. “Reports like BrandZ are very useful for us who are in the business of media management for clients. In this age when competition is increasing and consumer’s attention span is decreasing, along with number of policy changes, a consolidated study like this helps us map a better strategy for our clients.  For example, the need for a brand to be present in multiple touch points with a singular communication idea and what it does to the brand’s value is the learning.”

  • Banking on social media

    Banking on social media

    MUMBAI: Given the customer centric nature of banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) business, it is evident that banks need to constantly engage with their customers. And what better platform than using the digital medium that gives them the scope to interact with their customers on a regular basis.

    It is no surprise to see the banking sector using popular outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and YouTube to connect with their customers and attract new ones.
    Here‘s how two BFSI entities – SBI Life Insurance and HDFC Bank use social media

    “The digital platform is an opportunity for us. However, to unlock its potential to the maximum, it makes sense to view the possibilities holistically, rather than confining it to merely a function or limiting the scope to a single dimension. We use the digital space for customer acquisition, brand building, service and distribution,” says SBI Life Insurance vice president and head-brand corporate communication and cross sell Chandramohan Mehra.

    SBI Life Insurance which initially followed a strategy of having differentiated content on Facebook and Twitter, now with its increasing fan base is transforming it into a holistic channel. “We are now stretching the scope of social media presence to promote and facilitate online product purchase, customer education and employee and distributor recruitment,” informs Mehra.

    SBI Life is the only life insurance company to have a website in nine Indian languages. “This enables customers to understand our products and services in language they are most comfortable with, before taking a well-informed decision,” he adds. And the company is using its social media presence to draw in potential and existing customers to its own website to keep them informed about developments, products and offerings.

    The insurance company is involved in creating video content in the area of customer education and services, specifically for online visitors. “We have developed apps and games including a virtual life insurance crossword, contests on facebook, e-life insurance dictionary and tax calculator. With increasing penetration of smart phones, we have intensified our efforts on developing apps that will be relevant to both internal and external audiences,” reveals Mehra.

    The use of digital media has helped companies to collect sizable amount of data about the customer‘s needs. The challenge, however, is to make sense of it. “Based on web analytics, integrated with social customer relationship management, one of the possibilities that exists is reaching out to the relevant audience, with targeted message at the right place and time,” Mehra opines.

    SBI Life Insurance creates content for YouTube which caters to varied audiences. “While prospective customers are served through viral ads and educational videos, for existing customers we have service related videos. We engage our employees and potential agents through testimonial videos and the general public through content pertaining to awards and recent recognitions bagged by SBI Life,” informs Mehra. SBI Life Insurance, which currently has 626,272 likes (at the time of writing) on its Facebook page, feels the fans on Facebook are irrelevant if it doesn‘t engage them.

    Engagement score is one of the key metrics we closely follow and we have one of the best engagement scores in the BFSI,” says Mehra. The insurance company has launched many exciting online campaigns. “In light of the Uttarakhand tragic event, we have started speedy claim assistance on our Facebook page. This is one of our initiatives through which we are trying to reach out to our existing customers,” he informs.

    HDFC Bank also engages its customers across social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, Linkedin, Google Plus, Pinterest and Foursquare. “We use updates, offers, financial awareness tips and monthly contests and applications to interact with customers on regular basis,” says a senior official from HDFC Bank. HDFC Bank currently has over 1.5 million fans on Facebook and a total of over 15,000 followers on Twitter handles.

    HDFC Bank gives financial awareness tips and hosts monthly contests to interact with customers

    “Given the customer centric nature of business, we have to ensure that we are present where our customers are and they are present on social media, voicing their views, opinions and engaging with others,” he adds. The bank posts a variety of content on various digital platforms including financial trivia, quizzes, opinion polls, offers on credit and debit cards, bank news, information about their products and services and comments around personal finance, etc.

    “Impressions are generated when viewers see and react to these posts. Updates are created specific to the kind of platform being used for communication,” reveals the senior official.

    “We use digital media to monitor customer feedback, address customer queries/complaints, communicate our products and services and derive insights on them from customers, educate customers, increase financial awareness and also do location based targeting of offers,” he adds.

    HDFC Bank, through its various social networking platforms tracks, identifies and responds to various issues highlighted by customers online. “We are one of the few banks in India which allows users to post on our Facebook page and have been recognised as the most responsive brand on Facebook in India,” he informs.

    The bank has tailored its digital content to help customers learn about their products (including offers and deals), knowledge on managing their finances and gain insights on the economy and finance.

    The digital bug has crawled into the banking sector. With the changing financial paradigm, banks have found an easy way to stay connected to its customers.