MAM
How Different From Competitors?
No longer a recluse in the world of advertising, Indian financial services are out there in full force to grab customer attention offering rosy policies and even rosier dreams. On the other hand, what the agency ‘wallas’ have to keep in mind is to refrain from making any tall claims in the ads they churn out for these financial bodies… which in turn leaves them with a very limited milieu to work on. And what with all the clutter, one can hardly differentiate one ad from the other these days as far as this particular sector is concerned. So what is the solution? As always, the clichéd word “different” springs to mind.
And different it is… The recently launched ad campaigns across the media for HDFC Bank has sure caught on with people. When one thinks about the banks which advertise in the media, the first (and maybe only) name that comes to mind is that of ICICI and its larger than life brand ambassador – Amitabh Bachchan. Well, nothing as flamboyant as that in the case of HDFC; though whatever has been done has been noticed, to say the least!
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The ‘Don’t Wait’ hoardings of HDFC Bank seen all over the city
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With a 360 degrees approach in advertising which covers television, radio, print and outdoor; HDFC’s ads with the tag line “We understand your world;” conceptualised by Euro RSCG are surely making their presence felt. The message is clear and the consumer connect is ubiquitous.
The team behind it:
Agency: Euro RSCG
Chief strategic officer and executive director: Suman Srivastava
Concept: Deven Sansare, Ashok Karnik (Vice president & creative director)
Art Director: Kapil Sawant
Film Director: Mahesh Mathai (Highlight Films)
Outdoor pictures: Suresh Natarajan
Account Managers: Vikas Kumar (associate VP), Rishi Sharma (account group head), Aparimita Basu (account executive)
Message conveyed through the ads:
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Radio Spot for HDFC Credit Cards
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Boy: I tried flowers, chocolates, love letter bhi likha, stood under the window in the rain and sang a love song, arre kya nahi kiya, but didn’t even get a smile from Pooja…
MVO: Don’t wait to express your love. Call 1600-33-4332 to get a credit card from HDFC Bank. Boy: Then I gave her this diamond ring and… Girl: Amit, you think we should call my second cousins for the wedding reception…? Signature tune MVO: HDFC Bank. We understand your world. |
The baseline of ‘We understand your world’ is an old one that HDFC Bank has been using for the past couple of years. What Euro RSCG has done is explain to the consumers how exactly HDFC Bank understands their world and how exactly it fits into their lives.
Talking about how the agency tackled this particular ad campaign, Euro RSCG chief strategic officer and executive director Suman Srivastava said, “We believe in tracking “prosumers” – the section of consumers who are the trend setters and opinion leaders in a given category. In the banking industry, we noticed that prosumers were asking for everything right now. Not only did they want service immediately, but they were not even willing to wait to buy durables or for that matter even a house.”
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Radio Spot for HDFC Car Loans
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| Man: Pooja… Woman: Hmm… Man: I love you. I want to marry you. I want to spend my whole life with you. I want to spend my next life with you. I want you to be my companion as we make the journey of love on the road of life… Woman: How? You don’t even have a car… MVO: Don’t wait to get onto the road. Call 1600-33-4332 to get a car loan from HDFC Bank. SFX: Car on the road. Man: I love you. I want to… Pooja (from a distance): Amit! Are you talking to the car again? Signature tune MVO: HDFC Bank. We understand your world. |
Srivastava elaborates, “HDFC Bank has a very wide range of products and we found that it was in a position to satisfy all the needs of these prosumers – in terms of products as well as service. However, consumers did not know of all the products that HDFC Bank offers – for example – even HDFC Bank savings bank customers did not know that the bank offers credit cards. All this thinking helped us crystallise our thought and led to the creation of the “Don’t wait” theme campaign.”
While earlier, most financial services ads revolve around the aged; in the various versions of the HDFC TVC (television commercial) there is a clear indication of targeting the youth who is eager to settle down in life. Thus indicating a clear marketing thrust by HDFC towards the youth – the 24 to 30 years segment. Srivastava explains the reason, “Banking is a habit that forms early in life. To that extent all banks focus on the youth and young professionals. This is not a new thrust from HDFC Bank, but the trend has been there for a while now.”
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Radio Spot for HDFC InstaAlerts
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| SFX: SMS beep. MVO: That was an alert that your salary has been credited to your HDFC Bank account. SFX: SMS beep. MVO: That was an alert that your cash withdrawal amount is greater than the specified limit. SFX: SMS beep. MVO: That was an alert that your telephone bill needs to be paid. SFX: SMS beep. MVO: That was an alert about your bank balance this week. MVO: Introducing InstaAlert from HDFC Bank. Don’t wait to get your account information. Get updates about your accounts through SMS and email. To know more, call 1600-33-4332. Signature tune MVO: HDFC Bank. We understand your world. |
With so many financial services in the fray and all of whom advertise extensively, HDFC makes a deliberate effort to differentiate itself from the rest. The bank’s key strength lies in their ability to consistently deliver a superior banking product. Says Srivastava, “The Bank has always focussed first on their own back room processes to ensure that they can deliver a great product before they go to the market to make a noise about it. Therein lies the strength of the Bank.” Not one to swagger unlike some banks which announce products first and then figure out how to deliver them, HDFC Bank believes in investing money in ensuring that the product is perfect. That is one of the reasons behind its success and profitability.
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| “I like it when my bank opens when I want it to” |
Being one of the more visible advertising campaigns recently, HDFC has made a mark with its print ads too. The ‘We understand your world’ print campaigns emphasise the fact that the HDFC bank can be accessed at the convenience of the banker. One of the ads conveys, “I like it when my bank opens whenever I want it to.” This ad shows a man working on his laptop and promotes the bank’s e-Age servicing account which provides 24 hour net banking and ‘a lot more.’
Another ad provides us with “Five ways to visit the bank on a bank holiday.” Here again stressing that the bank understands the needs of its clients. These ads seem to be aimed mainly at today’s net savvy youth.
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Now you don’t have a car… now you do!!
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Yet another print ad focussed on car loans and has the tag line – “Now you don’t have a car. Now you do.” This one emphasises that the HDFC Bank that people need a loan without hassles and delays and that they approve car loans, personal loans, etc against most shares, investments, relief bonds as well as insurance policies in almost no time. And here’s a cracker… If you’re in a real hurry, just can just log onto www.hdfcbank.com for e-instant loan approvals in 60 seconds flat. What’s more, the bank promises to take care of all your dreams by financing every loan you need. Quite a reverie!!!
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| HDFC’s International Silver Credit Card – The card for wherever you go |
Another way that HDFC understands the world of the consumer is by its International Silver Credit Card which is tagged as “the card for wherever you go.” The card offers diminishing interest rate, comprehensive insurance coverage, attractive rewards programme, travel benefits and balance transfer – a complete range of products and services.
Coming to the TVC of HDFC loans; with the tagline ‘Don’t Wait!’ it endorses the new age living mantra – live for today. Sprinkled with a generous dose of humour and omnipresent laughter track (the way a sitcom is conceived actually), the TVC shows a guy proposing to his girlfriend after being ‘coached’ by his sister and brother-in-law. In a bid to reassure his girlfriend about his seriousness and stable financial condition, he flaunts his HDFC credit card. In the process he fumbles and hence the laughter element. Unlike other TVCs, this one is neither flashy nor does it rely on any other element to hold its ground and drives home the point that with HDFC around, one does not need to wait to make any decision in life.
Srivastava claims that the initial response to ad campaign has been really good. “We have received positive feedback from HDFC Bank employees and business associates as well as our friends and associates. We had done a base brand track before launching the campaign and will be doing a check after the campaign gets over. And that will be the real test for us.”
After a long time has come a brand that has neither relied on star power to sell itself nor has spent truckloads of money in doing just that. Pure creativity in the ads that have been packaged well seems to be HDFC’s forte. A reflection perhaps of the bank itself – no flash, just solid delivery.
Brands
Creative Intelligence: Using AI to Predict Which Ads Will Actually Convert
Priyanka Aeron, Director & Co-founder of Thrive Global AI
MUMBAI: In a heavily populated digital landscape, simply being creative with your advertising will not guarantee that your ad will be successful. In fact, brands today are producing more content than ever. However, very little of that results in actual engagement or sales. However, Creative Intelligence, powered by AI, is fundamentally transforming the advertising industry.
Creative Intelligence utilizes data, machine learning, and statistical behavioral insights to analyze and predict how well a creative asset will perform prior to it being published. Therefore, marketers no longer have to rely on either their gut instincts or post-campaign analytics for making informed decisions before production. That said, AI-powered creative intelligence greatly improves results and decreases wasted dollars spent.
Moving Beyond Guesswork
In the past, making ads was a mix of gut feeling, experience, and A/B testing. These methods were useful, but reactive by nature. People have already spent their budgets by the time the results are looked at. AI models can find patterns that are linked to higher engagement and conversion rates by looking at huge datasets. These datasets can include things like past campaign performance, audience behavior, and visual elements like color, composition, and facial expressions. This helps marketers guess which ads will do well even before they go live.
Decoding What Truly Drives Conversions
AI-powered creative intelligence allows for an evaluation of advertisements that is not limited to the basic data but also explores the elements of an effective advertisement through subtle reactions; clarity and directness of the ad message and how well the ad captures audience’s attention in the first three seconds. AI can also provide insights into the successful use of advertisements directed to human faces, which connect through eye contact based on media channels, and how advertisements that utilize shorter but clear calls to action may produce more clicks from certain populations. The insights, provided through AI, provide marketers with the ability to think beyond creating more advertising material and additionally create more effective ad campaigns that actually convert.
Personalization at Scale
Consumers expect relevance more than ever. Irrelevant mass messaging is not going to work in a society inundated with information. Hyper-personalization, using AI, allows companies to create content that suits individual segments within their target markets based on their demographics, interests, and behaviors. Rather than having one single message that aims to reach everyone, brands can have many versions of their messages tailored to each segment within the market. Such flexibility is what makes campaigns successful nowadays.
Faster Iteration, Better Results
Another advantage to using AI in creative decision-making is speed. Companies must improvise because their campaign cycles are shorter than ever before, and having the ability to iterate rapidly is more important than it has ever been. There is no greater way to do this work than through AI, as new technologies give brands the ability to test multiple creative avenues and figure out which ones are working well. This reduces a lot of the testing that companies would otherwise have to do and makes the process faster.
With AI, brands can also make creative changes in real-time during a campaign, allowing the, to make vital decisions and adjust their creatives, rather than waiting out. This allows for faster adaptability, well-tested campaigns and reduced lost ad spend.
The Human-AI Collaboration
Even though AI is capable of performing certain tasks, its purpose is not to eliminate human creativity. Successful campaigns require human collaboration with computer intellect since both complement each other. While computers are capable of dealing with massive amounts of information, discovering patterns, and providing predictions, humans are the one to inject stories and emotions into campaigns.
The Future of Advertising
As the complexity of advertising becomes harder with the passage of time, Creative Intelligence will play a significant role in helping marketers formulate a strategic approach. The yardstick that will set standards for determining whether a marketing firm has fulfilled its responsibilities will be the forecasting of future outcomes, as well as personalized content and optimization of creative elements in real-time. In contrast to the existing scenario where the campaigns remain fixed, these campaigns will be capable of adjusting themselves according to the customer interacting with the brand, as well as other trends on social media channels. This will enable brands to offer customers an engaging experience that will exceed expectations. The biggest hurdle marketers will face will be finding ways to utilize these capabilities without compromising branding and enhancing the creativity of the team involved.
