Navigating digital marketing and innovation: Insights from HDFC Bankâ€™s Jahid Ahmed

Bobble.ai, one of the global leaders in Conversation Media Platforms, recently partnered with Adgully Network to host an exclusive roundtable conference titled ‘Step Ahead’. This event, strategically curated for GroupM, aimed to foster a deeper connection between these two organisations.

The event saw an engaging fireside chat featuring Ankit Prasad, Founder of Bobble.ai, and Jahid Ahmed, Senior Vice President, HDFC Bank. The conversation revolved around the latest innovations in advertising strategy, providing attendees with valuable insights into the evolving landscape of the industry.

Some of the key points discusses included:

HDFC Bank’s approach:

Jahid Ahmed emphasised on the importance of purpose-driven activities for the brand.
The focus on hardcore metrics to determine the purpose of brand initiatives.
Evaluation of tools and campaigns based on their alignment with the brand’s purpose and their potential impact.
The challenge of ensuring that sales representatives maintain the right tone and effectiveness in their conversations with consumers and mentioned the use of voice-led heat maps to guide conversations.

Financial literacy:

Ankit Prasad praised Jahid Ahmed for focusing on financial literacy as part of HDFC Bank’s brand initiatives.
He highlighted the need for brands to educate people about new developments, such as UPI apps and credit via credit cards.

Decision-making process for brand ideas:

Ahmed shared that they evaluate brand ideas based on alignment with the brand’s purpose, their potential impact, and the amount of work required for integration.
He stressed on the importance of scalability and practicality when considering whether an idea should become mainstream.

Standing out during crowded marketing seasons:

Ahmed discussed about the importance of understanding the nuances of different platforms and creating content tailored to each platform.
He emphasised on the need for actionable content that aligns with the brand’s thought process.

Impact Vs personalization in digital marketing:

Ahmed discussed the challenge of balancing personalisation and impact in digital marketing.
He mentioned that personalisation can take away from the impact of a campaign.
He highlighted the importance of creating inventories for impactful engagement in digital marketing.

Role of personal biases in decision-making:

Ahmed discussed about how personal biases, such as appearance and behaviour, can influence decision-making, even when making rational choices.
He emphasised on that understanding these biases can help marketers create more effective campaigns.

Leveraging data and context for innovative campaigns:

Ahmed explained that data is essential for understanding customer preferences and creating personalised offers.
He discussed using real-time signals to adjust content and offers dynamically.

Recent innovation at HDFC Bank:

Ahmed mentioned about their initiative to create an influencer, named ‘Vigilante’, to raise awareness about online fraud.
He explained how they used this influencer to educate people about fraud tactics.
Ahmed also discussed the challenge of scaling up innovations and the need to prove their effectiveness before mainstream adoption.

Scaling up innovations:

Ahmed explained that innovations are evaluated based on their scalability and results.
He discussed the allocation of an experimental budget for innovations and their potential to become mainstream, if proven successful.
He emphasised on the importance of understanding the brand’s goals and requirements before approaching them with proposals.

Advice for young marketers:

Ahmed advised young marketers to be precise and understand the brand’s objectives.
He emphasised on the importance of doing homework and tailoring proposals to the specific needs of the brand.
He also discussed about the tools and techniques they use for influencer marketing, such as real-time reporting and buying media rights from influencers.
He mentioned about the potential of nano-influencers and the challenges of using generative AI to create influencers.

Emphasising on HDFC Bank’s focus on metrics and the purpose behind their brand initiatives, Jahid Ahmed said that they prioritise purpose-driven or acquisition activities and assess how tools contribute to their goals. They use generative AI and voice-led heat maps to ensure conversations with consumers align with their brand's tone and purpose.

They aim to create templatised communication for different scenarios – from sales interactions to addressing immediate product queries. Alignment with the brand's purpose and meaningful impact are essential criteria when evaluating ideas or campaigns, and they consider the effort required for tool integration.

Ankit Prasad praised HDFC Bank’s focus on financial literacy and the importance of educating people about new developments, such as UPI apps and credit UPI via credit cards.

Regarding standing out during crowded marketing periods, Ahmed stressed on the need to tailor campaigns to each digital platform’s nuances. He mentioned using behavioral economics principles to guide their messaging. He highlighted the shift to a “mobile-first” mindset in marketing and how it parallels the transition from websites to mobile apps.

He discussed the trade-off between personalisation and impact in digital marketing, emphasising that personalisation can sometimes dilute the campaign’s impact.

He further explained that personal biases often influence consumer choices, emphasizing the importance of understanding how consumers perceive a brand. He shared insights into how they personalize their marketing content based on various factors, enhancing engagement without being intrusive.

Ankit Prasad asked for a recent innovation story from HDFC Bank, and Ahmed shared their initiative to address the rising issue of fraud in the digital economy. They created an influencer, named ‘Vigilante’, to raise awareness about online fraud, leveraging the concept of a community watchdog.

Ahmed also discussed how they approach innovation and experimentation in marketing, emphasising scalability as a critical factor. He believed that innovations should ultimately align with mainstream marketing efforts if successful.

In conclusion, Ahmed advised young marketers to understand the brands they approach, be precise in their proposals, and be aware of the brand’s goals and challenges. He also discussed the importance of real-time reporting, influencer marketing, and the role of AI in creating influencers.

Overall, the conversation highlighted the complexities and considerations involved in modern marketing strategies, particularly in the digital realm, and the importance of aligning brand initiatives with purpose and context.