Traditional Media and BFSI .....................
CMOs of BFSI companies discuss the role of traditional marketing in the digital era:
Arecent study by Radiocentre and Ebiquity shows that marketers are overestimating the effectiveness and value of online media compared to traditional channels like radio, TV, etc. True, one of the biggest selling points of the digital medium is its accountability. You can invest, measure and understand who exactly you reached out to. Yet, traditional media still provides better personal connect, longevity and recall.
BFSI institutions consider print, radio, TV, Out of Home, or OOH, PR and seminars as the top traditional marketing channels. They use different channels to reach different customer segments.
Anand Bhatia, CMO, Fino Payments Bank, says the bank uses print, PR and Facebook channels predominantly. “We have received good customer response from print media in states like UP, Bihar and MP. We are also using PR and Facebook. We have 3 types of customers - customers who want to open their savings accounts or a current account with us, merchants and influencers. The print medium is effective for us in engaging with the merchants and the digital medium is good to target the customers who wants to open new bank accounts.”
HDFC Credila finds participating in seminars at colleges, holding loan desks and involving in international education fairs beneficial in its marketing efforts. The company is, however, more focused on digital media than traditional media for marketing and it uses radio, TV and OOH channels very sparingly.
The company has done customer segmentation based on the destination country of the students and the 3 key segments for higher education are the US, other countries abroad and India. Ajay Bohora, co-founder, MD and CEO, says the marketing efforts of the company focus on the core philosophy of adding value to the students from the time they plan their higher education until they join their course of choice.”
TRADITIONAL TOO
Prabhakar Tiwari, CMO, Angel Broking, says while the company is a highly digital first organization, traditional channels too become part of the campaigns. “TV business news channels give us reach to multiple customer segments. We also have experimented with the print media and will test OOH and radio channels too in our future campaigns. Traditional media channels like TV and print too have given us reach and frequency.”
OOH, radio and print channels are the top 3 traditional marketing channels used by Utkarsh Small Finance Bank. The bank is getting good response from radio and OOH, which help it in reaching out to the regional markets. Sachin Vasan Nair, head - Branding and Marketing at the bank, says: “We use regional content, which gives us strong connect with the customer segments. Radio helps us in creating buzz about our products and outdoor acts a reminder media and enhances brand visibility.”
He adds that print media helps the bank to create awareness about the brand and banking solutions. Print campaigns creates brand awareness, which in turn helps it in building credibility required for a growing bank. “We have used print media in while launching branches and promoting products such as savings accounts and fixed deposits. We use a good mix of digital and traditional media to ensure that our banking solution offerings are presented to wide range of audience,” he adds.
NEW TRADITIONAL CHANNELS
Even in digital media there are traditional and new age channels. Facebook has now become a traditional channel, while the new age ones are Tiktok and Share Chat.
Anand Bhatia of Fino Payments Bank says traditional channels like TV and new age channels like YouTube are morphing into one. “From the last one year, we are using the print channel to acquire customers as we find that print has more longevity compared to digital channels. Twitter has longevity for 1 hour and compared to Twitter, Facebook has longevity for few more hours. We are focusing on PR too as coverage about the bank in the newspapers and magazines creates good impact. Around 15% of our total marketing budget is allocated to the traditional media,” says he.
Tiwari of Angel Broking feels traditional media has its own advantages. “We have used business news channels effectively and have also experimented with the print
media. However, most of our performance marketing initiatives are digital in nature. Our annual budget for traditional media is above `20 million,” says he.
TRADITIONAL CAMPAIGNS
BFSI institutions use Below the Line (BTL) and Above the Line (ATL) activities to promote traditional marketing campaigns using a combination of print and digital. HDFC Credila conducts hundreds of seminars across prestigious colleges. Ajay Bohora says these efforts are more BTL than ATL. “The results of BTL activities are easier to gauge as compared to ATL. Given the niche segment that we operate in, it is more cost effective and impactful to use BTL mediums,” he says.
Utkarsh Small Finance Bank had done a 10th anniversary campaign using radio and OOH and it saw huge increase in visitors on its website and social media page in a period of 1 month. It also created substantial awareness about the bank in local areas.
Fino Payments Bank used the print medium when it launched its operations in Bengal and Assam. The campaign was targeted at merchants and availability of banking facilities in every location was the theme of the campaign. The associated merchant turns banker as he would provide micro ATMs and other banking services. Bhatia says the campaign also targeted millennials, for which the bank selected newspapers that have good readership among the young generation.
Angel Broking had a unique campaign called ‘Don’t be A Chomu’ to promote a new mobile app. It showcased the frustrating experience of investing in India and the increasing sense of financial awareness. At the same time it highlighted the seamless trading experience and expert advisory service Angel Broking offers through the app. “The campaign generated good business for us, and the volume went up by 30%. We have seen 35% increase in our website traffic and there is 80% increase in our organic app download after the campaign.”
RURAL AREAS
BFSI institutions generally use traditional media channels like regional newspapers, radio, outdoor and road shows to reach the rural customers. Bhatia flyers in newspapers can be the successful traditional media channel for Fino Payments Bank to connect with the rural customers. “We are adopting an integrated approach as the link between traditional and digital is blurring. “The same marketing message gets spread through different channels. It surrounds the customer, so the customer gets better recall and response,” says he.
Tiwari mentions that in stock broking business, most of the new customers come from tier 2 and 3 centers. “The awareness and access are the biggest challenges that we face in these centers. Our performance marketing campaigns have worked in these centers,” says he.
FUTURE OF TRADITIONAL MEDIA
Bhatia insists that Fino Payments Bank will continue to adopt an omni-channel approach in its marketing campaigns. This will involve integration of print and digital. “The mediums are the pipeline, what matters is the story, proposition and objective. The medium will change based on the objective of the campaign,” he explains.
Aj a y Bohora s ay s t he role of traditional media in the form of BTL engagement activities will continue as a part of the marketing mix in the future. Such a proposition gives an opportunity to engage directly, to have a personal connect with customers and partners etc. However, the percentage of spends on such mediums and the dependence on it has been reducing with more spends and focus, he adds.