Birla Sun Life Equity MF: Time Multiplies Money

In its latest campaign under its Jaanoge Tabhi Toh Maanoge initiative, Birla Sun Life informs investors about the benefit of staying invested for a long time in equity mutual funds.

Investing money and then patiently waiting for it to grow can be unnerving. Often, due to half-baked knowledge and anxiety, investors end up mishandling their portfolios. Jaanoge Tabhi Toh Maanoge (JTTM) - an investor education initiative spearheaded by Birla Sun Life Asset Management Co (part of the Aditya Birla Financial Services Group), an investment manager for Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund (BSLMF) - aims to keep investors informed and help them make better investment decisions.

As the initiative enters Phase III, the company has rolled out a third TV campaign titled 'Tutor' which opens with a shot of a man holding a boy's hand firmly and walking down the road. The voice reveals that the protagonist's (Mr Mehra) son has failed in Maths and that is why he is enrolling him in the best tuition class in the city. Signing the form Mr Mehra asks the visibly surprised tutor 'abb yeh kal se top karega naa?'

The camera pans towards the narrator, a salt and pepper haired man dressed in neat blue shirt explaining to the viewers "Even you will agree that one does not get results this fast, but if I tell you the same thing about Equity Mutual Funds, will you agree?" He then urges the viewer to give enough time to their equity mutual fund investments to grow. The ad ends with the narrator highlighting the tagline, Jaanoge tabhi toh Maanoge, urging viewers to visit the JTTM website for more information about mutual funds.

Ajay Kakar, chief marketing officer - financial services, Aditya Birla Group notes that as subject matter experts, they know the opportunity Indian equity mutual funds present to investors but the investor experience, however, seems to be marked either by their 'fear of volatility' or 'expectation for short-term gain'. "Our objective this time around is to try point out how patience and long-term duration of investment can be key to fruitful returns in equity mutual funds," explains Kakar.

He notes that this programme is more 'empowering' in nature and is a form of investment in the market. He believes that the company is undertaking it without any intention of any immediate sales or business targets. The target group for the Tutor campaign are those investors who have already invested in mutual funds but they are hesitant to invest in the equity mutual funds.

Agnello Dias, chairman and chief creative officer, Taproot India stresses that advertising for an investment product needs to be simple and non-preachy. "The 'penny-drops' moment leading to sharp realisation is very important. Our attempt was to create a non-preachy yet persuasive communication."

"The JTTM initiative has always drawn parallels between mutual funds and real life," notes Pallavi Chakravarti, creative director, Taproot India. "We needed investors to understand the merits of staying invested in equity mutual funds for a long period of time, because good returns are not an overnight phenomenon. It led us to the real life analogy of anxious parents - the kind we see all around us, who expect miraculous things from their kids in very little time."

Directed by Shamit Amin of Chak De! India fame, the film aims to send across the message about expectations without any distracting story "It was fun working the mischief angle, subconsciously working in Chaplin's The Kid," he quips.

Phase III of JTTM comprises a complete 360-degree communication mix for multi-channel and multi-screen visibility. The television commercial aims to draw viewer traffic to interactive website www.jaanotohmaano.com designed by Grey Digital. This is supported with radio-spots across leading radio stations and direct emailers across audience clusters and branding across BSLMF's national network.

Since its launch in November 2013, Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund's JTTM was focused on delivering the right awareness and the right perception about mutual funds so even a common man can know, understand and realise the potential of mutual funds as a powerful investment option.

JTTM's launch TV commercial titled 'Restaurant' drew a parallel between fresh, good quality food preparation and mutual funds, explaining that both require time for best results and cannot be hurried. The second commercial titled 'Tea Stall' targeted the primary audience of traditional investors to address the popular perception (barrier) that equates mutual funds with equity, and therefore with risk. The TVC used the analogy of different varieties of tea preparations to explain how mutual fund offerings extend beyond equity to several other options.

With Phase II, JTTM used the the Mutual Fund Song to target the younger segment of digital natives to mirror general myths and perceptions associated with mutual funds in a light vein, while presenting mutual funds, generally perceived to be serious and boring, in a new and refreshing light.