Going beyond just banking; Bank of India launches new campaign

The communication for Bank of India has always been real and easy to relate to. The earlier corporate campaign for BOI "Rishte kai tarah ke hote hain" was about quirky, real relationships. It further established Bank of India as an organization that understands the many sides of relationships and is therefore better equipped to serve customers. This product led campaign which is primarily insight led, is basically an extension of that and echoes the same tone.

"The truth is that married couples in India have to huddle in unfriendly corners and grab romantic moments outside because their home is probably bursting at the seams with people. Half the couples you see at the sea face are married. Tragic but true. That's the insight that led to the home loan ad. All the other ads came from similar insights", says Louella Rebello, Creative Director on the brand. It is a four ad campaign for home loan, auto loan, SME loan and education loan. The education loan film will be released soon.

The film is shot in crisp frames and the message is clearly communicated. Although the campaign is subtle, it is a scenario most Indians can identify with.

"The Bank of India campaign doesn't stick a finger in your eye to say notice me. Working rather differently from standard advertising, it enters your mind space like a family member, never intrusively, but gently and then suddenly endears itself to you in that shining moment when you see yourself reflected in it", says Sumanto Chattopadhyay, Executive Creative Director, South Asia.

As the campaign has just been launched, it would be too early to predict its outcome in terms of business. Talking exclusively to Adgully, Asheesh Malhotra, Senior Vice President, Client Servicing, Ogilvy & Mather said. "However to give you some idea on the bank's performance, bank of India has reported a 43 % growth in net profits in the year 2010-11. O&M had worked on the campaign last year as well."

Malhotra further explained, "On the creative front, we have got a good response from the bank and its associates. General response from marketing fraternity, public at large has been very encouraging, but we are still collating a full response, since the campaign has been recently launched."

According to Malhotra, the mandate was to take the positioning of 'relationships beyond banking' more relevant in terms of product and services offered, catering to new age needs of internet or mobile banking, and appealing to wider target audiences. The priority is not only metro or sub metro markets but also empowering rural markets under the national agenda of financial inclusion. | By Janees Antoo [janees(at)adgully.com]