A consumer-first approach, adopting Digital for insights and brand associations with a role for the brand are strategies that make Axis Bank tick, says Sagnik Ghosh, Vice President and Head-Marketing, Axis Bank
BY SALONI DUTTA
Q] How have associations with properties like Satyamev Jayate and Kaun Banega Crorepati helped build brand voice?
It is important for the brand to have a connect in brand associations. If the brand has no role, then the customers will not find a connect with such associations. Axis Bank’s brand philosophy of progress, Badhti Ka Naam Zindagi, fit with both Satyamev Jayate and Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC). Both the shows are about an individual or group’s journey of progress. In KBC, the cheque that is handed over to the winner comes at the right moment and the association gets cemented. With Satyamev Jayate, our role is much more than that of sponsor. We work with the teams at Star and Aamir Khan Productions to help channelize donations, and we are the collecting banker for the NGOs. This two-pronged filter of relevance and strong brand connect has received a positive response.
Q] How do you keep up with the ever-evolving consumer?
We live by the mantra, ‘start with the consumer’. As a challenger brand, we always try to challenge convention and do things differently which is possible only if you have your pulse on the consumer. There is no one-size-fits-all strategy. Every campaign is evaluated from the consumer’s point of view. We analyse the impact it will have on a consumer’s life and arrive at a strategy keeping the brand, consumer and product/service in mind. Apart from regular interactions, which help us gather insights, we also leverage the conversations consumers have online. We are not only listening but also mining insights from the same.
Q] What does your media mix look like?
Since Axis Bank has a national presence, TV continues to get a major chunk of our spends, followed by Print, OOH and Digital. Given the change in consumers’ media consumption, there has been an increase in the proportion of spends on Digital. We have doubled our spends to over 20% on Digital. Since the budget remained more or less constant, we had to cut down on mass media spends, which we did happily.
Q] While planning communication, what are the essentials of your brief to the creative agency?
One of the most essential elements is consumer insight. It is important to understand how the brand, product or service impacts the consumer’s life. As a brand, we believe in being a partner in the progress journey of our consumers, hence the communication needs to be a slice of the consumer’s life.
Q] How does Deepika Padukone add to your brand identity?
We saw a seamless fit between Deepika Padukone and Axis Bank. She is contemporary, but at the same time, there is an innate Indian-ness about her. That is how we are as a brand. We are very Indian but at the same time modern. She has acceptance across India which was important for a brand like ours. This association will help us in building brand consideration with the young and progressive India. Research shows that banking as a category will be driven by first jobbers. Most of these consumers are exposed to almost all banking products by the time they are in their early 30s.
Q] How does itsallaboutmoney.com help in marketing the brand?
Today we resort to the Internet for any kind of ‘How to...’ help. itsallaboutmoney.com is our attempt to create a destination where consumers can go with questions on banking, finance and investments. We are not advertising or pushing any particular product/service, even the branding is very minimal. Instead, we want to be seen as a trusted advisor. It contains simple and practical information in the form of articles, infographics and videos, and ranges from basics such as how to write a cheque, how to use an ATM, how to file taxes; to advanced content on investment advisory such as features of ULIPs, equity funds, etc. We have also partnered with Google’s Helping Women Get Online initiative and itsallaboutmoney.com is one of the content hubs for educating women about banking online.
Q] What is the strategy applied for the development of your premium banking service, Burgundy?
We have taken the endorser brand route for Burgundy, primarily because we wanted to create a different brand identity for the affluent brand. The mother brand caters to the younger, mass TG on the journey of progress. Unlike this core TG, the affluent TG has tasted success and their focus is on enjoying privileges. Burgundy partners this TG in their success journey by taking managing wealth off their mind. We have extended the brand philosophy of progress to even the affluent brand, but tailored it to resonate better with the affluent audience. The nomenclature chosen for the brand, Burgundy, is something we feel only we as a brand can own, given that it is the brand colour. There is a certain richness and affluence associated with the name as well. Unlike most luxury brands which are positioned in power, Burgundy has been positioned in the joy and harmony space. The communication for Burgundy is, ‘Precious moments are a privilege’.
Q] How has the use of Digital for Axis Bank evolved and how is the medium faring?
We look at Digital not only as a medium for driving ROI but also for creating brand awareness, and for creating effective communication. One of its biggest advantages is relevance. We are mining insights from the conversations our consumers are having about the brand online and ploughing that back into our media and communication strategies. We are using social media not as a broadcast medium, but as the brand’s human voice. The idea is to build conversations and engagement with our consumers, and we want to engage with them on topics beyond banking, on topics they are interested in, and build a relationship with them. We have not yet introduced banking products and services in the social space. We are keeping a close watch and trying to understand the traction with consumers. Last year, we used Digital to gamify five of our products, which was a first in the industry and we had pretty good interaction.
Q] What are your BTL activities, sales promotions and innovations engineered to increase consumer engagement?
Just like social media, even with BTL activities the objective is not just to drive sales, but build a relationship with our customers. We have carried out national level activations, like Splash (a painting competition for children on the occasion of Children’s day), and Plant a Sapling (along with our customers, we planted over 1 lakh trees across the country). We continuously organize consumer literacy programmes for educating customers about safe banking practices. We have partnered with brands like Thyrocare and Johnson & Johnson to help our customers with regular health check-ups.
Q] What is the brand’s current market-share in India and what is the target market-share?
Axis Bank commands over 4% of the market. Our brand’s current valuation in India as per the Interbrand Best Indian Brands Survey 2014 stands at Rs 79.73 billion. We saw a +13.8% movement from the previous year, and we aspire to continue growing at this pace.
Q] Which markets contribute most to the brand’s growth? Looking ahead, which areas do you see as potential growth drivers?
Currently, the four metros - Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai - contribute maximum to the brand. However, the growth markets are different. Markets like Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Pune and Bangalore are growing markets for the brand. But cities like Indore, Lucknow, Coimbatore, Patna, etc., are the markets to nurture and look out for. Rural is also extremely critical, with around 20% of our branches in rural areas. We are working towards creating a differentiated brand and communication experience in rural markets.
Q] What is the marketing strategy for Tier II and Tier III cities? How do you ensure rural reach?
In Tier II and Tier III cities, the focus is on driving brand awareness. Unlike larger cities, we do not have such a vast network in these markets. For rural markets, we engage in a lot of consumer research to understand the mindset, media consumption habits, and need for banking and financial products. Considering the limited financial literacy in these markets, we focus on educating the rural masses about the benefits of banking through local entertainment forms like dances and skits.
About the Brand
Axis Bank is India’s third largest private sector bank, and offers the entire spectrum of financial services to customer segments including large and mid-corporates, MSME, agriculture and retail businesses. The bank has a retail footprint of over 2,500 branches and 12,500 ATMs, spread across over 1,300 centres. The overseas operations of the bank are spread over its seven international offices with branches in Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), Colombo and Shanghai and representative offices at Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The bank recently upgraded its representative office in Shanghai, China to a branch to become the first Indian private sector bank to set up a branch in China.
FACTS
Creative agency: Lowe Lintas & Partners; Metal Communications
Media agency: StarcomMediavest
OOH: Milestone Brandcomm
Social and digital media agency: Indigo Consulting; SMG Convonix
BTL/Activation agency: Leo Burnett, Utopeia
Marketing Tip
Have an eye for detail.
Keep consumers at the heart of everything.
Don’t worry about failures.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions.
CMO File
In his role at Axis Bank, Sagnik Ghosh manages brand and strategy, digital marketing, branch marketing and marketing communication for Axis Bank and its subsidiary companies. With an experience of 15 years in marketing communications, strategic planning, brand building and consumer insight, Ghosh believes that no two days should be the same. He has been associated with HSBC and Franklin Templeton in the past. His experience with TBWA\India and Grey Worldwide helped him understand the agency perspective on strategic planning across various categories.
Feedback: saloni.dutta@exchange4media.com
