Apurva Sircar on driving higher awareness for Bandhan Bank

Bandhan Bank has started off the new year with its integrated marketing campaign featuring the Bank’s brand ambassador, cricketing legend, Sourav Ganguly. The ‘Jahaan Bandhan, Wahaan Trust’ campaign emphasises the ‘trust’ that the brand has been able to earn in a span of seven years as a Bank and over the last two decades in the various avatars prior to the Bank.

Conceptualised by Leo Burnett Orchard, the campaign uses the analogy of Ganguly’s career, who became the Bank’s customer soon after the Bank was launched seven years ago, to showcase the trust of customers and stakeholders that the brand has been able to achieve. In the film, Ganguly is seen reminiscing the days when he wasn’t a star and there were only a few spectators at the ground. As he worked harder, started scoring runs, and established himself as a dependable member of the team, he gained the trust of millions and that brought more people to the stands. Exactly in the same manner, Bandhan started small as an NGO. As it started expanding and its work received recognition by stakeholders, Bandhan Bank gained the trust of people.

In an interaction with Adgully, Apurva Sircar, Head – Marketing, Bandhan Bank, speaks at length about bringing on board Sourav Ganguly as the brand ambassador, the ‘Jahaan Bandhan, Wahaan Trust’ campaign, expanding the Bank’s exposure beyond the non-Eastern states, and more.

Why did Bandhan Bank choose Sourav Ganguly as their brand ambassador? How is he connected with the brand?

Sourav established himself as a champion despite all odds in the beginning and legend purely on his talent just like Bandhan, starting as an NGO, is a universal bank today, driven by customer’s trust which is a result of good work done.

Sourav has roots in Kolkata, but is a global icon just like Bandhan has roots in Kolkata but is spread across the country today.

Sourav is a living example of giving opportunities to those who deserve; at Bandhan, we have been doing that since 2001 – we support businesses that deserve credit, but do not have access to formal credit.

Sourav has been a Bandhan Bank customer for a while now and the fact that he has agreed to be our brand ambassador means that he is happy with the Bank and there cannot be a bigger endorsement than this.

Why did you choose a brand ambassador for Bandhan Bank?

Bandhan Bank started operations seven years ago and the initial agenda was to establish presence in markets of strength. As the Bank grew, it started expanding rapidly and today is present across the country. The brand wants to drive greater awareness and familiarity, and to accelerate the same, Sourav Ganguly has been brought on board.

What is the idea behind the campaign that you have launched? How will it connect/ resonate with your audience?

The idea behind the campaign is to use the persona of the brand ambassador and drive the message of Bandhan Bank being a trusted bank.

India is a cricket loving nation and Dada is one of the most loved and respected cricketers of all times; the brand leverages that. The film also recounts Dada’s journey as a cricketer, which the audiences would love to relive.

The choice of media and the execution is also linked to driving the audience to the film so that they engage more with it, thereby driving brand recognition.

What message do you want to give the audience through this campaign?

The key message within the campaign is that Bandhan Bank, with 2.77+ crore customers, nearly Rs 2 lakh crore of total business and with a presence across 34 states and Union Territories, is a trusted Bank.

How is this campaign different from the previous one that the bank had launched with Zubeen Garg in 2021?

Zubeen is a brand ambassador for Assam and Ganguly is the brand ambassador for all markets where the Bank operates. The Zubeen campaign was aimed at the Assamese population to establish that Bandhan is a Bank in Assam, for Assam and from Assam. It was to engage with the audiences further.

What are the goals that Bandhan Bank wants to achieve through this campaign?

The primary goal is to enhance awareness of the brand. The brand is a household name in the East, but in the rest of the country, there is a lot more that needs to be achieved. Hence, by bringing in the brand ambassador, the brand is grabbing attention and thereby, driving higher awareness.

What is the media mix for your latest campaign in terms of percentage of distribution?

Percentage distribution of budgets will not be the ideal method of ascertaining important of media verticals to be used.

TV will drive large scale visibility on channels where people are watching content. This is a pan India TV campaign and the plan has 65 channels.

Print will drive recognition by a unique ad placement in major English dailies, a placement that the brand or many brands haven’t done much of. There will also be regional newspapers covering the Hindi speaking markets, Punjab, Gujarat, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Tripura.

How are you going to position Bandhan Bank through this campaign?

Bandhan Bank has presence across the country. The one value that consumers would like to associate with banking the most is trust. This campaign relies on the credibility of one of India’s finest cricket captains and also hard coded evidence in terms of key numbers, to drive trust around the brand.

Bandhan Bank has been a household name for years now. How are you planning to establish a connection with younger people when it comes to using traditional products?

Younger people need new products. We are in a state of tech transformation now. Once the transformation is complete, using data, tech and digital, we target the younger audiences with offerings that they would need most. Even in terms of traditional products, the Bank will use insights about various segments and approach them through the channels of communication that they most consume.

Who is the advertising agency for this campaign and how did they come up with this campaign idea?

Leo Burnett Orchard is the advertising agency for this campaign. The campaign idea was co-created by LBO and Bandhan Bank marketing team. It was a process of evolution from the brief to the final product.

Are we going to see more Bandhan Bank campaigns featuring Sourav Ganguly?

Absolutely. We would want to first establish the impact of this campaign and then evaluate where and how would Dada’s persona be used for all future campaigns.

What are the marketing plans of Bandhan Bank in 2023?

The Bank is well on our journey to diversify by assets portfolio and geographically. As a part of our diversification strategy, we are expanding our exposure in Non-Eastern regions. Most of the new branches by the Bank will be based out of non-eastern region. Hence, driving higher awareness about the Bank would be the main priority. In hand with this, increasing awareness, interest and consideration about key products will also be a focus area. Supporting online products with acquisition campaigns will be another area of importance for marketing.