MAM
PhonePe unveils new brand campaign on motor insurance renewals
Mumbai: PhonePe has launched an integrated multi-media brand campaign focused on tension-free motor insurance renewals. The campaign drives awareness around the benefits of renewing motor insurance tension-free on PhonePe.
The campaign was designed by The Script Room agency and is produced by Zig Zag. It highlights real, everyday problems that consumers face with sales pitches that have now become an unpleasant purchase experience.
It is a pan-India campaign that will be launched in a phase-wise manner with eight ad films in total.
Focused on category creation and driving consideration for motor insurance renewals on the PhonePe platform, this campaign inspires consumers to question the way bike and car insurance are traditionally sold to them. It uses creatives specially crafted for Hindi-speaking audiences in the north markets, starring Aamir Khan and Alia Bhatt, while for the south markets of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana, the campaign features Dulquer Salmaan.
The light-hearted series of films highlights how, with PhonePe, consumers don’t have to settle for unwanted sales calls, unnecessary add-ons, and other limited options. Both bike and car insurance products on the platform come with a wide range of options that empower consumers to choose the best price.
It also gives potential buyers the power to choose any add-ons rather than setting them as defaults. Once done, the insurance is renewed instantly, does not need an in-person inspection, and is available at affordable prices. This conscious brand stance makes the purchase experience simple, easy, and tension-free while also setting PhonePe apart in this category.
Speaking on the launch of this new brand campaign, PhonePe director of brand marketing Ramesh Srinivasan said, “Based on our recent consumer research, we have been able to identify some of the current challenges in the insurance industry. The results highlight a general discontent from a consumer point of view with unwanted sales calls or unnecessary add-ons. We have built our latest motor insurance campaign sharply on these consumer insights to invest in our audience’s needs. At PhonePe, we have eliminated the problem of consumers facing unsolicited sales calls, thereby keeping up the product promise of ‘tension-free insurance’ on the platform. We have also continued with our brand approach of driving localised connect with our audiences with not one but two separate campaigns for the north and south Indian markets with a full 360 media mix.”
Brands
YES Bank hands the keys to SBI veteran Vinay Tonse as it bets on a new era
Former SBI managing director appointed as YES Bank’s new MD and CEO
MUMBAI: YES Bank is done rebuilding. Now it wants to grow. The private sector lender has appointed Vinay Muralidhar Tonse as managing director and chief executive officer-designate, with RBI approval secured and a start date of April 6, 2026 confirmed. The three-year term signals the bank’s intent to shift gears from crisis recovery to full-throttle expansion.
Tonse, 60, is no stranger to scale. Most recently managing director at State Bank of India, he oversaw a retail book of roughly $800bn in deposits and advances, one of the largest in the country. Before that, he ran SBI Mutual Fund from August 2020 to December 2022, a stint that saw assets under management surge from Rs 4.32 lakh crore to Rs 7.32 lakh crore across market cycles. Add stints in Singapore and four years leading SBI’s overseas operations in Osaka, and the incoming chief arrives with a genuinely global CV.
His academic grounding is equally solid: a commerce degree from St Joseph’s College of Commerce, Bengaluru, and a master’s in commerce from Bangalore University.
The appointment follows an extensive search and evaluation process by the bank’s Nomination and Remuneration Committee. NRC chairperson Nandita Gurjar said the committee unanimously backed Tonse, citing his leadership track record, governance credentials and ability to drive the bank’s next phase of transformation.
Non-executive chairman Rama Subramaniam Gandhi was unequivocal. “I am certain that Vinay Tonse, with his vast experience as a senior banker, will propel YES Bank to its next phase of growth,” Gandhi said, adding that the bank remains focused on strengthening its retail and corporate banking franchises and expanding its branch network.
Rajeev Kannan, non-executive director and senior executive at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, the bank’s largest shareholder, said Tonse’s experience across retail, corporate banking, global markets and asset management positioned him well to lead the lender. SMBC said it looks forward to working with Tonse and the board as YES Bank pursues its ambition of becoming a top-tier private sector lender anchored in strong governance and sustainable growth.
Tonse succeeds Prashant Kumar, who took the helm in March 2020 when YES Bank was in freefall following a severe financial crisis, and spent six years painstakingly stabilising the institution, rebuilding governance and restoring operational scale. Gandhi was generous: “The bank remains indebted to Prashant Kumar, who is responsible for much of what a strong financial powerhouse YES Bank is today.”
Tonse, for his part, struck a purposeful note. “Together with the board and my colleagues, I remain deeply committed to creating long-term value for all our stakeholders,” he said, pledging to build on Kumar’s foundation guided by his personal motto: Make A Difference.
Beyond the balance sheet, Tonse played cricket at college and club level and represented Karnataka in archery at the national championships — sports he credits with teaching him teamwork, situational leadership, discipline and focus. In quieter moments, he reaches for retro Kannada music, classic Hindi songs, and the crooning of Engelbert Humperdinck, Mukesh and Kishore Kumar.
YES Bank has its steady-handed rebuilder in Kumar to thank for survival. Now it has a scale-obsessed growth banker at the wheel. The next chapter starts April 6.
