Case Study: How Kotak 811 inspired Indians to open digital accounts

Category Introduction

Usage of Social Media has evolved in The Indian banking system with features like Digital Assistants, Real-Time Banking and more. The Social Media ecosystem has the power to generate business for the sector.

Brand Introduction

Kotak Mahindra Bank is an Indian private sector bank offering a wide range of banking products and financial services for corporate and retail customers through a variety of delivery channels and specialized subsidiaries in the areas of personal finance, investment banking, general insurance, life insurance, and wealth management.

Kotak 811 is the country’s first downloadable digital bank account and has been driving growth in savings accounts for Kotak. It allows people to open a zero-balance digital bank account which gives up to 6% per annum interest to every citizen of the country. The account can be opened through an app without physically visiting the bank branch.

The only requirement for opening an 811 digital bank account is that the applicant has to be Indian, communicating which was the marketing objective from social media.

https://www.facebook.com/KotakBank/videos/2097709953607103/

Summary

The brand realised that people from different walks of life tend to get intimidated to walk into a branch, because of the fear of being judged. Kotak 811, India’s unique full-service banking ecosystem on mobile and web, launched its campaign - #IndiaInvited, where every Indian - irrespective of their caste, creed, gender, religion and abilities, were welcome to open a digital account from wherever they are. The #IndiaInvited campaign draws attention to how 811, just like a bench at any railway station in India, does not discriminate against anyone.

https://www.facebook.com/KotakBank/photos/a.214267861951331/2082225921822173/?type=3&theater

Problem Statement/Objective

The objective was to communicate that Kotak’s 811 bank account is an anywhere, anytime digital bank account that makes banking digitally inclusive so that banking services are made accessible to every Indian.

Brief

The story of inclusion was narrated by Bollywood Superstar Ranveer Singh in the campaign’s ad film and the Digital Agency Tonic Worldwide  amplified the thought on digital and engage with the digital audience through quality conversations and innovations.

Creative Idea

The #IndiaInvited communication was amplified on social media with the help of stories, innovations and activities that showcased the concept of inclusion and indiscrimination and called out to every Indian, urging them to join Kotak 811’s movement towards building an egalitarian society. The objective was to engage with the audience, while keeping in mind, both, the diversity and uniqueness of India and its people.

Execution

The #IndiaInvited campaign was an integrated campaign across touchpoints like Search, Social, videos, Key Opinion Leaders.

The campaign kick-started with the Kotak 811 customizable AR filter on Facebook. Users could click a picture alongside Ranveer Singh and share it on their profiles.

https://www.facebook.com/KotakBank/photos/a.214267861951331/2059533650758067/?type=3&theater

In the next phase, people were invited to share their perspectives of how they could take inspiration of non-discrimination, by emulating the Bench in the story by participating in the ‘Bench Ki Aatmakatha’ activity. From poems to rap songs, shayaris to mini stories, the 500+ video entries that featured on the brand’s page were both interesting and humorous, while being aligned to the brand campaign. What’s interesting? The contest was judged by the famous stand-up comedians- Sourabh Pant and Sonali Thakker.

https://www.facebook.com/KotakBank/photos/a.214267861951331/2061255303919235/?type=1&theater

https://www.facebook.com/KotakBank/videos/2092633974114701/

https://www.facebook.com/KotakBank/videos/2104550006256431/

As a conclusion, Kotak 811 launched a unique digital bench called The Bench of Unity. A digital community formed by over 2.5 Lakh Indians who believe that they can be the change the society needs to inculcate a sense of inclusion. Stereotype- breakers like Bharti Singh and Geeta Phogat were also a part of the initiative and became members of the bench of Unity.

https://www.facebook.com/KotakBank/photos/a.214267861951331.59019.210520628992721/2087717181273047

https://www.facebook.com/KotakBank/posts/2101648416546590

https://www.facebook.com/KotakBank/posts/2094250147286417

Challenges

The campaign had crafted, keeping in mind the digital natives as well as the digital immigrants who aren’t tech-savvy but have access to social media and digital platforms. The ideas had to be innovative, yet simplified, for the greater masses.

Results

The #IndiaInvited campaign got over 2.5 Lakh Indians supporting the ‘no judgements’ and ‘no discrimination’ movement while fetching the brand the highest engagement in the category during the period.

In terms of Quantitative results,

Reach during the period was 9.56M
Impressions were 702M
Engagement - 873K
Views - 15M on Facebook
Growth in Engagement Rate - 47%

Key Takeaways:

- Kotak had a fan growth of 7%, highest amongst the category during the campaign period.
- Kotak received the highest engagement during the campaign amongst key competitors

Karthi Marshan, Chief Marketing Officer, Kotak Mahindra Group

With 811, we simplified banking in India and in a year since launch, 811 has been embraced by Indians. In our endeavour to make banking more accessible and widespread, we realised that people from different walks of life tend to get intimidated to walk into a branch for the fear of being judged. The #IndiaInvited campaign builds on this insight, and draws attention to how 811, just like a bench at the railway station, does not discriminate against anyone on the basis of personal or physical characteristics.

Elizabeth Venkataraman, Executive Vice President of Marketing, Kotak Mahindra Bank   

Inclusion is not only the right thing to do, it is also necessary for a country as diverse as India. Digital is a great equaliser, especially in banking, providing equal access to everyone. And 811 represents those very qualities of equality and inclusiveness. 811 is truly for everyone.

Chetan Asher, CEO and Co-Founder, Tonic Worldwide 

One of the biggest parameters of success for a social message led campaign is whether it moved its audiences enough to garner participation. We met this parameter with flying colors and managed to get lakhs of Indians to participate which crossed all benchmarks. Our digital approach not only successfully communicated the 'Inclusiveness' story but also enabled participation with a simple technological user experience of clicking your selfie that transformed you next to Celebrity Ranveer Singh. Users could also join the virtual movement with a social action. We stayed true to our communication and cause of 'Inclusiveness' by making the campaign inclusive for people to participate across different parts of the country in the simplest way possible"