MUMBAI: Kanchi Parekh has ascended to vice president marketing at Kotak Mahindra Bank, capping a three-year climb through the private banking heavyweight’s ranks. The April 2025 promotion marks another conquest in her decade-plus march through India’s most competitive financial services sector.
Parekh’s CV reads like a masterclass in brand warfare. Her journey began at Peacock Media (2008-2010), cutting teeth on client management and retail campaigns. A stint at The Indian Express honed her event orchestration skills before the real breakthrough at DHFL, where she managed portfolios worth Rs 89-107 crores whilst delivering a jaw-dropping 458 per cent lift in enquiries and 1,377 per cent increase through direct CRM.
At ItzCash Card, India’s pioneering prepaid card entity, she commanded Rs 6 crores across 65,000 franchisees. Her insurance sector mastery crystallised at Future Generali and HDFC ERGO, where she crafted “always-on” marketing strategies spanning retail, bancassurance, and digital channels. SBI General Insurance elevated her to team lead, polishing her multi-channel expertise.
Kotak clearly spotted a thoroughbred when it hired Parekh as deputy vice president in February 2022. Her swift promotion suggests the investment paid handsome dividends. In an era of soaring customer acquisition costs, having a marketing strategist who navigates B2C and B2B2C channels with equal aplomb is worth its weight in rupees.
Her skill set resembles a marketing Swiss Army knife: campaign management, digital strategy, public relations, employer branding, and analytics—all backed by proven agency management abilities. As India’s financial services sector digitises rapidly, Kotak appears to have secured a marketing general capable of commanding campaigns across every conceivable channel.
For Parekh, vice president represents not just career progression, but validation of a strategy that’s seen her master every major financial vertical whilst building Mumbai’s most versatile marketing reputation.
Mumbai: SBI General Insurance, a leading general insurance company has unveiled a series of three brand films reiterating their core values of “Suraksha” (safety) aur “Bharosa” (trust) Dono. The film aims to boost awareness about insurance by portraying relatable real-life situations. By doing so, the brand seeks to establish a deeper and more meaningful connection with its audience, making the concept of insurance more accessible and relatable to people’s everyday lives.
The brand film features a series of scenarios spanning various non-life insurance product categories i.e., Motor, Health, and SME.
Through an interesting and engaging storytelling format, the films highlight the importance of being prepared for any unforeseen situations that could arise at any point of time in life. The brand film adopts a real-life, humorous tone to highlight these vital insights. E.g. the first Health film depicts a simple carefree picnic day with your family which could suddenly take a U-turn and escalate into an emergency with something as small as choking on a moong phali (peanut), while the second Motor film showcases that another person’s mistake can cause an accident with financial ramifications and the third SME film showcases how having an insurance could give an individual a peace of mind even when one is faced with unexpected obstacles
The objective of the film is to create awareness about SBI General’s diverse product range, catering to various age groups and market segments. This approach helps the audience relate to the scenarios and understand the importance of being adequately insured in different aspects of life.
SBI General Insurance head of marketing and CSR Rathin Lahiri said, “Insurance is a complex category with low consumer penetration. Our brand communication aims to own the category benefits of protection and trust which are the key benefits that the consumer is seeking from leading brands in this category. The insight behind the film is that unexpected situations can arise at any moment, and being prepared with the right insurance plan from a trusted brand can help you live your life with confidence. SBI General Insurance provides you ‘Suraksha aur Bharosa’ which lets you lead your life with confidence.”
The series of three ad films focuses on educating the audience on the benefits of being insured, and the confidence that it gives the consumer and highlights the hassle-free claims process.
The campaign will be integrated across platforms, including digital media, television, and social media channels.
Mumbai: SBI General Insurance has announced the appointment of Kishore Kumar Poludasu as its new managing director & chief executive officer. He was nominated by the parent company, State Bank of India, for the position and has been appointed w.e.f 4 October 2022.
Kishore Kumar Poludasu has been associated with the State Bank of India since 1991 and held several positions with the bank during his tenure. Prior to his current role at SBI General under State Bank Group, he was the deputy managing director, as the country head of State Bank of India, Singapore Operations.
Poludasu is a seasoned BFSI professional with over three decades of experience in commercial banking, including large corporate/infrastructure credit, international banking operations, enterprise management, mergers & consolidation, etc. He has a strong track record of delivering long-term results, emphasising the organisation’s customer-centric culture, and providing value to customers at every touchpoint. The company is today poised for greater growth, and at this juncture, SBI General is vehemently driving focus on assertive strategies, agile processes, strategic partnerships, and right talent management. Poludasu’s experience will be of immense value to this roadmap towards the top.
Prior to joining SBI General, at State Bank of India, he had been involved in key projects and responsibilities which consisted of planning and strategic execution for expansion, driving sales and growth for the bank. Poludasu has also been instrumental in supervising the integration of systems, processes, and human resources during the merger between State Bank of Mysore and SBI. As an officer on special duty (OSD) from the State Bank of India, he was involved in the establishment of the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID), an All India Financial Institution (AIFI), for increased focus on financing and development of India’s infrastructure industry.
Mumbai: SBI General Insurance Company has announced the appointment of Paritosh Tripathi as its new managing director & chief executive officer. He was nominated by the parent company, the State Bank of India for the position. He officially took in-charge of the position from 5 July 2022.
He succeeds P.C. Kandpal, who has been posted as DMD (P&RE) at the corporate center, State Bank of India. He is now in-charge of the SBI General Insurance’s overall business strategy & growth, operations, budgets, and strategic growth.
Tripathi brings with him over 32 years of rich and diverse banking experience. In the first half of his banking career, he had worked primarily in the MSME and mid-corporate segment, whereas in the latter part of his career he primarily worked in International Banking and Bancassurance.
Before joining SBI General Insurance, he was the GM operations, Internal Banking Group with State Bank of India and was also on the Board of Sterling Bank, Nigeria and SBI Canada. From 2017 to 2020, he was Head Bancassurance, firstly with SBI Mutual Fund and then with SBI General Insurance. Prior to that, he was Head FI Relationship (East Asia) in Hong Kong and CEO SBI DIFC Branch in Dubai. Before taking up these international roles, he was with SBI Delhi Circle where he handled various assignments in the bank.
NEW DELHI: Every year in the countdown March 8, brands go all out to woo the ‘fairer sex’, leaving no stone unturned. We are bombarded by a plethora of deals for retail therapy and tempting offers for some actual therapy at spas and salons to pamper women this one day of the year. They vie with one another on who can come up with better revolutionary, trendsetting ad campaigns that can grab more number of eyeballs. This year’s no different and in the run up to the much celebrated International Women’s Day, many brands have launched fresh campaigns to mark the occasion.
Let's take a look on who nailed it and who perhaps missed the mark…
OkCupid – ‘Ijazat Hai’
Online dating app OkCupid has released a digital campaign called Ijazat Hai. We are well into the 21st century and yet a majority of women are still raised to believe they need their partner’s permission to pursue a career, many of them still find themselves having to take ‘permission’ to live their life. The ad tries to break down the stereotype that a woman needs to have anyone’s assent for pursuing her dreams and goals or simply to live her life her way. It throws the spotlight on the supposed ‘benefactors’ in a woman’s life who think they are being liberal, broadminded and progressive by ‘allowing’ the women in their life this ‘privilege’. Whereas by needlessly bragging about it they are in fact actually stripping a woman's agency.
Prega News – #SheIsCompleteInHerself
In our society, where the defining purpose of a woman’s life is becoming a mother, infertility is viewed as a curse. To speak out against this bias, pregnancy test kit brand Prega News has released a new ad featuring actress Mona Singh. The ad has been widely acclaimed as shattering a much needed stereotype of an ideal woman. The ad shows Mona Singh as a doting, dutiful daughter-in-law, getting happy for her younger, pregnant sister-in-law. However, her own infertility casts a shadow over her happiness. The ad then showcases how she is also a super achiever, multitasker and superwoman all rolled into one- who ensures the happiness and needs of everyone around her. The ad tries to convey the message that irrespective of being unable to conceive, she is complete in herself.
The description of the ad reads, "Infertility affects every one in six couples in India and the circumstances around them make them suffer in silence. This Women's Day, let's speak up about infertility issues – and make this world a better place for people battling infertility. Prega News urges you to celebrate every woman for who she is because #SheIsCompleteInHerself.” Which is all very great, except that it is precisely what the ad does not do – “celebrate every woman for who she is.” By showing that only a woman who puts everyone’s needs and happiness above her own deserves her family’s love and acceptance, it is sadly reinforcing other stereotypes while trying to break down one. If only the brand had been bold enough to show an ordinary, everyday woman to send out this crucial message it would have made it much more effective. Aren’t we women tired of these tropes associated with us, with society constantly trying to either undermine us or else then place us on a pedestal? Can we live a normal life without sky-high societal expectations binding us down please?
Sugar Cosmetics- #EveryWomanIsAWonderWoman
Something along these lines is what beauty brand Sugar Cosmetics is trying to convey. Through their #EveryWomanIsAWonderWoman digital campaign it urges all women to stay beautifully fearless, while encouraging them to embrace and love everything about themselves, this Women's Day. Its recognises the fact that women are often self-conscious. In the growing age of social media where everyone looks up to someone who has a perfect body, or a beautiful smile, or a bold personality; they are led to believe that they may not be good enough. While we may always be happy to embrace the things we love about ourselves; we tend to shy away from the things we feel that might appear as a flaw. However, nobody is perfect and we are all the best version of ourselves.
The brand says, “When it comes to looking for a Wonder Woman in your life, you don't have to look too far; because you’re a Wonder Woman yourself, we all are. This Woman’s Day, don’t just embrace who you are, but the journey that led you to become who you are. Embrace the scars, the struggles, the defeats and the wins; because everything you are, is everything you are meant to be. Let beauty have no boundaries and rules.”
To this end, the brand aims to engage with approximately 8,000+ influencers to create maximum reach and engagement on this campaign by sharing what they’ve come to accept about themselves and embrace going forward. The posts would read as- “I embrace ________ I am a Wonder Woman!” The influencers will go on and encourage their followers to also participate and join the campaign to celebrate all the wonderful women. In lines with this theme, Sugar Cosmetics has also launched a limited edition range of mini liquid lipstick sets with names like Fearless, Fighter, Invincible and Adventurous.
MTV India – ‘There’s more to a girl’s life than Shaadi’
While there’s enough and more inspiration to be had from these Women’s Say campaigns, here is one which caught our eye for its quirky humour quotient. The digital campaign by MTV India sends out this message loud and clear: “There’s more to a girl’s life than Shaadi”. The ad is set in the future – in the year 2071 in outer space, perhaps so that the message is not just heard here on earth but also resounds across the universe. It features a female astronaut connecting with her mom back on earth from a spaceship. She talks about the ordeal she underwent to survive, while she discovered an alternate planet for earthlings to inhabit in the future. After patiently hearing her through, her mom hilariously has just one question to ask of her at the end of it, “Shaadi kab karogi beta? (When will you get married, dear?)”
The ad ends with the message, “Kuch toh society kahegi, society ka kaam hain taane dena. But this womens day just say #AawaazNahiAaRahi and move on.” Badass.
Co-working spaces brand WeWork’s campaign on International Women’s Day calls out patronising or discriminatory conversations that every woman has been subjected to at some point in their professional journey at their workplaces. The ad starts off with the words “Feel like you’ve heard this before?” and goes on to feature an audio track playing out all the usual dialogues a working woman usually comes across. Which goes to show that despite all the progress women have made in their life and career how certain typecasts and biases still haven't changed across the world. The video is a reflection of the society we have grown up in and the stereotypes women have been subjected to in the workspace. “Let’s take a moment to challenge these biases and work towards an inclusive space,” the ad says.
Voltas beko – “ghar sabki zimmedaari bhi sabki honi chahiye”
This digital commercial is conceptualised by Voltas Beko and Momspresso, a leading platform providing content for the multi-faceted mothers of today. The digital video #GharSabkaZimmedariSabki is an attempt to debunk the age old beliefs that women are solely responsible for looking after every aspect of the household- whether she be a homemaker or working woman. The refreshing message sent out is that if the home belongs to everyone, so does the household responsibilities it entails.
SBI General Insurance – #BringingWomenBackToWork
While it’s nice and "feelgood" to see brands put in so much effort to woo women, it is even more heartening when they go a step further to actually make a difference in their lives. By stepping into their world and trying to understand the problems they face. A tiny step along these lines has been taken by SBI General Insurance, one of India’s leading general insurance companies. To reiterate its commitment to diversity and inclusion in the workplace, SBI General has launched its #BringingWomenBackToWork initiative. This initiative is a step to encourage and hire women looking to rebuild and resume their careers after a break.
SBI General Insurance CHRO Sharad Dhakkate says, “With #BringingWomenBackToWork initiative, we aim to provide women a platform to facilitate their journey towards their career goals which they may have put on hold for various reasons. We believe that this initiative will create opportunities as well as enable us to augment our workforce and grow from strength to strength. We are glad to have received an overwhelming response of over 200 applications in response to our social media campaign #BringingWomenBackToWork.”
NEW DELHI: SBI General Insurance announced the launch of its new corporate brand identity with redesigned logo and the tagline. The identity change comes at a time when the company has completed a decade of operations and is upgrading its service offerings to suit all customers.
The new visual identity is designed to convey SBIG’s future-ready services to an evolving consumer consisting of traditionalist and modernist. The traditionalist customers are those who value trust, loyalty, value for money and integrity, whereas modernist look for flexibility and future-readiness.
The entire logo represents swipeable buttons to cue the digital age and through the use of gradient, future-readiness is denoted. Besides, inspired by parent brand’s SBI Yono, SBIG has used the purple colour indicating youthfulness, wisdom and devotion. Parent name – SBI – is retained which continues to reinforce trust and security. The word ‘general’ is in lowercase to represent uniformity. A curvier typeface to show agility & youth has been used and ‘general’ emphasized.
In the tagline, ‘Suraksha and Bharosa, dono’ – ‘Suraksha’ (protection) reinstates SBI General Insurance’s promise to customers to protect them in times of need. ‘Bharosa’ (trust) represents the faith customers have in the parent brand, SBI.
SBI General Insurance MD and CEO Pushan Mahapatra said, “We take pride in having the parentage of SBI, and indeed, it is our privilege to carry forward the strong legacy of trust and security.
The insurance category in India is riddled with fear and insecurity. To address this well and live up to our brand that resonates with “trust”, we have derived the tagline – Security and Trust, both which in Hindi reads as – Suraksha and Bharosa, Dono.”
He added, “We are honoured with the faith that our customers have shown in us. With our new logo, we reinstate and reassure them that we are ready to serve their growing needs of services with new-age processes and services.”
SBI General Insurance head brand and corporate communications Shefali Khalsa said, “SBI General as a brand has immense affinity and resonance to trust. Last Dec’19, SBIG completed a decade of catering this trust and insurance solutions to its customers. This new identity launch is the new avatar of SBIG, so to say SBIG 2.0 Version. The new brand identity and the ‘swipe’ in the logo as element resonates the new digital approach. While retaining the legacy of our brand’s parentage, the new look and feel of the brand are to convey our progress and readiness in this digital age.”
“An identity change is an important milestone, especially as SBI General Insurance completed a decade of operations recently” added Khalsa.
Rediffusion Brand Solutions won the creative mandate for SBI General Insurance.
The new brand identity and logo will be used across all communications from 1 July 2020. The entire change will be done gradually at all visible touchpoints.
