Dainik Bhaskar Unmetro: 'The metro-unmetro myth is being busted everyday" - Kotak's Karthi Marshan

Marshan explained Kotak's strategy towards the unmetro consumer via the 'Kona Kona Kotak' campaign.

Kotak's acquisition of ING Vysya has made it the fourth largest private sector bank in India. But, while it grows in numbers, one of the strategies at play for Kotak was increasing the reach of Kotak to the Indian hinterland. The 'Kona Kona Kotak' campaign, which we have written about before, is a testimonial to that effect. Karthi Marshan, head of marketing, Kotak Mahindra Bank, presented a case study at the Dainik Bhaskar Unmetro Conclave, to explain exactly how Kotak designed the communication post one of the biggest mergers in the financial space.

One of the questions, Marshan said, the bank asked itself post the merger was 'how ready are we to serve the unmetro consumer?' However, he was quick to accept that while they have grown, they have not reached a level like a Unilever has. The stereotype is that Kotak is a 'big city' bank. However, even before the merger, around 40 per cent of Kotak's branches were in the semi-rural, rural and un-banked locations. The same was true for ING. Kotak is also the leading bank in tractor financing and actually owes 17 per cent of its loan books to the agricultural division.

"When we graduate from our colleges and come into our jobs, we come with this idea about metro and unmetro. But, these are the myths which are being busted every day. You have to realise that everything we are making or breaking is for all customers - metro and unmetro," he declared.

Marshan also attempted to explain the complexion of customers in the BFSI sector. According to him, the quality of credit in a small town is quite good and has worked well for the brand. This goes against the common perception that smaller towns do not have strong credit.

According to Marshan, education is one of the most important aspirations for smaller towns. This is followed by healthcare and financial security. Kotak has also understood that there is an opportunity to differentiate with the same commodity in a way that it speaks to different people. For example, Kotak's offering of six per cent return on savings has helped it to grow in the last few years.

Kotak has also spoken directly to women, children and senior citizens. The brand has launched various products to target specific audiences, for example - Kotak Silk and Kotak Junior. Both of these have been launched on the basis of psychographic insights which showed that parents want kids to learn about money responsibly, or in the case of Kotak Silk, women wanted to feel emancipated from answering their husbands about where they have 'spent the money'. The bank realised that the 'aging affluent' are people who do not have their kids living with them and require health benefits at their age. Thus, the special packages for senior citizens take that piece of insight into account. All of the above products, though introduced in the metro cities, have picked up in unmetros as well.

According to Marshan, the things that consumers in the unmetro would want are not so different from what a metro consumer wishes for. They both want a better chance at life. They want novel career chances, recognition and quick wealth. The unmetro consumer, however, has a huge amount of local pride and is not only a value-seeker but also brand conscious. The term Marshan uses to describe them is 'rurbanites' - neither rural nor urban.

"The rurbanites are consuming the same products as we are. Not because it is cheaper, but because it is accessible," he stated.

In that context, the retail audience looks at a bank merger differently; which is why the brand made sure that the customers for both banks were made to feel comfortable. Kotak's TG of the young, along with its brand perception of being a young bank, was reflected in the choice of the outdoor campaigns for 'Kona Kona Kotak'. Again, the communication in the pink press was kept more informative and different. Though, in a marketing scenario, this may be seen as an unnecessary risk, the strategy was to keep the readers informed.

Marshan ended his presentation by saying that, "while we acknowledge the new India, our positioning is likely to change in the future. It will calibrate on the back of this."

See the full presentation below.