Ajay Kakar, Chief Marketing Officer, Aditya Birla Capital, believes that the world belongs to the agile and nimble marketer, who keeps unlearning and relearning to keep up with the evolving consumer. Here, he takes us through the tenets of the unified Aditya Birla Capital brand proposition, with its need-led (not product-led) strategy and sees immense opportunity in the financial services segment as India rides a health, wellness and financial awareness revolution.
What was the motivation behind the birth of brand ‘Aditya Birla Capital’ in 2017? How has the unified brand proposition come to life? What has been your experience of financial services marketing, given the unified brand idea?
The Indian financial services industry has always seen a product-first go-to-market strategy. Thus, a consumer has the option of evaluating the many financial services categories, like life insurance, health insurance, mutual funds and loans, and the products thereunder, individually, to then decide which of them best meet his/her myriad and changing needs. But a consumer truth is that a person has dreams and ambitions for his or her life. And these needs emerge and change, from time to time, with money being a key catalyst to empower the bringing to life of these aspirations. On the other hand, a category truth is that the many solutions offered by the many categories of this industry are mere ingredients that individually may not be able to deliver on all the changing needs of the consumer. There is a need for simplicity, in a category perceived as complex. Also, the need for a trusted partner that understands the individual’s needs first, and then prescribes the right solution, at the right time. Aditya Birla Capital saw this as a white space and started with a consumer, his needs and aspirations, to enable people to live fulfilling lives, through money solutions, across their life-cycles. We chose to do so, as a single brand, across the Protecting, Investing and Financial solutions provided by our subsidiaries, where the products are enablers to meet the money needs of every customer. So, with effect from November 2017, we recognised a new umbrella category - ‘Money’ - and launched a single brand, unifying all our offerings and the consumer’s needs. Our go-to-consumer strategy is to be need-led, not product-led.
To provide simplicity and convenience, and give life to a common brand experience, we have created a unified ABC website, one app, a single helpline number, a common branch network, a single customer dashboard, and a single customer ID, across all relationships and product holdings. Across platforms, we have an analytics-backed recommendation engine that cues products and solutions that ‘people like you’ need.
A consumer of financial services expects convenience and choices, and to be recognised as an individual, with unique needs. Aditya Birla Capital was conceived to deliver on these expectations. Our move towards digital convenience, from Day 1, has also helped us create a pull for the brand and pull for a category that is otherwise considered a push category.
What are the significant talking points today at Aditya Birla Capital, across the various lines of business under it?
The pandemic made us realise that a ‘push’ category can convert to a ‘pull’ category, overnight, if we tap the right ‘what’s in it for me’, for the consumer. From a consumer perspective, it is not about life or health insurance or mutual funds, or loans, but about ensuring one’s health and the financial health of one’s family. Our continued endeavour is to empower every consumer to take the right decision, at the right time, through simple and convenient products, solutions and journeys. Accelerated digitization and focused ‘retailization’ will continue to be the two key levers, going forward.
In the BFSI category, the brand cannot be touched or experienced. How do you as a marketer gain and retain customer trust? How have things changed with the shift to digital?
Trust is built through brand experiences. We need to think of ourselves as an ‘experience’ industry. Money, as a category, plays a key role in enabling fulfilled lives for the consumer. So how do you create memorable and endearing experiences for a financial services consumer, during these key life moments or moments of truth? Rather than think of ourselves as mutual fund, health insurance or financing brands, for example, what if are a brand that enables you to buy your first car, secure your dreams for your family, live a healthy and worry-free life, and build your dream nest? Imagine the value of these moments in the family album of every consumer, and if you are the brand that enabled these moments to become a reality, simply, painlessly, without the ‘paperwork and processes’ associated with our category. Be it through instant loans, instant claim settlement, etc… but with empathy and a heart. The consumer can be ruthless and demanding. You need to first imagine the customer experience, and then look to technology to help deliver on them.
When the task before a marketer is to bring together brand message, story-telling and effectiveness in a campaign, what medium of communication appeals the most to you today?
A brand is no longer about mere mass media and BTL. It’s no longer about mere communication. It is also not a responsibility solely owned or delivered by the marketer. A brand has to be built and nurtured through holistic experiences. As the champion of the consumer, a marketer must be the fulcrum to bring together the focus of energies of the entire company and all its constituents, to deliver the brand message through memorable experiences. Story-telling remains the most powerful tool, to live and deliver the brand message and every medium of communication and consumer touch-point contributes to this.
What next from Aditya Birla Capital? Where do you spot opportunity for growth and expansion, and where do you foresee challenges?
India is at the cusp of a health, wellness and financial awareness revolution. Aditya Birla Capital has already taken the leap in the last few years, and invested in redefining itself to become more relevant through its offerings and experiences. There is immense opportunity in the financial services segment, given the increased awareness and need for money solutions to live life to its fullest. As a brand, the company will continue to bet big on leveraging big data, analytics and technology, to better understand each customer and create a robust customer engagement and life-time relationships.
At various points in your career, you have worked both on the agency and the client side – at the erstwhile Ogilvy & Mather, Reliance Capital and now ABC. What are some key perspectives that you bring to the table, thanks to this background?
I am fortunate to have worked across both sides of the table. It has allowed me to understand and appreciate both sides of the coin. As adman and columnist Jeremy Bullmore said, “People build brands like birds build nests, from the scraps and straws they chance upon.” So, it’s not about mere marketing. It’s not about client vs agency. It’s not about advertising, public relations, social and digital marketing, or on-ground activation. It’s not about online vs offline. It’s only when both sides of the coin come together, rallied around the business opportunity, that true magic happens.
Apart from your marketing role, you are an active participant at various marketing and advertising industry forums, and industry bodies. How and why do you invest time on these commitments?
At Aditya Birla Capital, we celebrate partners and partnerships. My association with the industry bodies and forums helps me get an understanding of where the world is headed, a sense of the common pain points, and an appreciation of what’s needed to get there. And then, of course, to invest in partnering the industry to create the best-of-class infrastructure, on which each of us can build on our respective vision.
