Mktg - Time for banks to pitch 'safety' as a message again ?

Ashley Coutinho

ICICI Bank. It’s a smart choice. Take my word for it.’ That’s brand ambassador Shahrukh Khan’s sign-off line in one of the bank’s television commercials from not very long ago. Contrast this with State Bank of India’s (SBI) recent full-page print ad splashed in a business daily, which waxes eloquent about the virtues of the fixed deposit — ‘Fixed Deposit: No Volatility, All Safety.’

With the current turmoil in the global financial system threatening to boil over, a liquidity crunch squeezing Indian banks, and the stock market descending into the cavernous crater of Mount Doom, it hardly calls for genius guessing which of the two ad messages will weigh in better with investors. The collapse of the onceinfallible global investment banks has cast a cloud over the operations of commercial banks, and customers are looking to governments for renewed assurances before trusting banks with their hard-earned money.

This calls to mind the kind of advertising that banks in the US created for themselves during the Great Depression of the 1920s and 30s. Ads spoke of safety and security, the tone was one of reassurance and the visuals of the banks’ monolithic edifices served to drive home the ‘stable and unshakeable’ character of the institutions. In fact, even ads for Indian banks from the 60s and 70s chose to dwell on the bankable nature of banks — banks routinely highlighted the better returns they offered on savings, and the element of bank deposits being safe was never far from the surface.

However, with the rise of retail banking and easy consumer credit, bank advertising underwent a steady change. First, safety and trust — inseparable parts of the relationships that customers share with banks — began being taken for granted, and banks, instead, chose to highlight value-added services. Then, as valueadded services achieved parity status, bank advertising began taking the emotional or human route. For that matter, many began projecting themselves as partners and enablers of their customers’ aspirations. And safety and trust got buried even deeper — even though taglines like ‘Hum hain na’ seemingly hark back to ‘reliability’ and ‘trust’, the accent was rarely on the ‘safety’ of the depositor’s money.

Agony Time Marketing

But in the light of prevailing economic scenario, the question that needs asking is whether banks need to once again assure depositors about their stability. And whether ‘safety’ will have to be extricated from the debris of other brand attributes and reinstated as a cornerstone of the brand building process. “During these challenging times banks will have to reinforce their core brand message, and ensure that the tone and manner will lead to a consumer takeout of trust,” points out MG Parameswaran, executive director & CEO, Draftfcb Ulka. According to Ravi Deshpande, chairman & CCO of Contract Advertising, it’s important that people know the bank has enough liquidity and minimal exposure to risky assets. “Whether this is done through advertising or PR-initiated activities, it doesn’t matter. What’s important, is that it’s done,” he says.

Take the case of ICICI Bank. When the bank’s stock plummeted to a new 52-week low in the second week of October, it was evident that there were no takers for its Main Hoon Na-ambassador’s hum hain na assurances. In an unprecedented move, the bank had to SMS its customers, requesting them not to believe any rumours surrounding the bank. ‘Your deposits with ICICI Bank are safe. Your bank is well capitalised with good liquidity. Please do not listen to baseless rumours. Happy festive season’. The bank also released print ads highlighting its sound financial health by putting financial figures and facts upfront. A degree of normalcy, though, was restored only after Chanda Kochhar, joint managing director & chief financial officer, and CEO KV Kamath made several appearances on the telly, debunking rumours about the bank.

The fire might have been temporarily doused, but it’s quite clear that banks are still unsure about what strategy to adopt to communicate the message
of safety and solidity to consumers. But what’s really strange is that the banks don’t even seem prepared to engage in a conversation to explore a way forward. In fact, they seem to be in no mood to discuss anything. Reminiscent of a turtle withdrawing into its shell, each and every one of the 10 banks that Brand Equity got in touch with — SBI, ICICI Bank, Standard Chartered, HDFC Bank, Barclays, HSBC Bank, Citibank, Deutsche, Axis Bank and Yes Bank — either declined from commenting on how they plan to tailor their communication in the changed environment, or chose not respond to the questionnaire.

“The whole focus of marketing in banking today is on ‘customer acquisition’, and so the communication focus in recent times has been on hammering the ‘competitive edge’,” says Ali Merchant, co-founder, Triton Communications. According to Aniruddha Banerjee, president & COO, Ambience Publicis, the banking sector has evolved beyond product attributes as everything is on product parity. “It’s about the service/experience and brand image now,” he says. “Banks are trying to create a halo around themselves.” For his part, Suman Srivastava, CEO of Euro RSCG India, which currently handles the HDFC Bank account, believes it’s this tendency to promise the moon to consumers that has compounded the crisis of confidence. “In this changed business environment I would advise banks to tone down their growth focus,” he says. Deshpande feels that there might be a need to revisit branding for some banks in the wake of the current turmoil. “If the brand has been suffering from inconsistent, lackluster performance — either because of its under-performance or simply because of a perception problem — it might merit revisiting branding and the overall brand strategy.”

Accentuating the safety aspect is one thing; doing it convincingly is quite another. Parameswaran feels that a modern, progressive bank cannot overnight start saying that ‘we make money the old-fashioned way’ — implying that they prefer taking a cautious approach. What’s more, the message will have to be a subtle one. “By loudly saying ‘we are safe’, a bank may be pressing the wrong buttons,” he warns. “Trust and safety will have to be the consumer takeout from the advertising, from the PR and from all other things that a bank does.” Srivastava agrees, saying safety and trust are not good propositions. “If I go around saying ‘I’m safe’, people will assume I am not.” He adds that banks should project a partnership image that will tell customers that the bank is not just a fairweather friend but is with them always.

Drumming up the ‘safety’ issue using mass advertising may also end up triggering panic among consumers. Banerjee suggests a more direct or a one-to-one response, much like the way ICICI Bank went about text messaging its customers. Srivastava also endorses a direct method of talking to customers. His best bet: an MD or CEO or chairperson communicating the bank’s position on a television commercial. It’s something fast moving consumer goods company PepsiCo had to resort to when embroiled in the pesticide controversy — the company’s former chief Rajeev Bakshi made an appearance in an ad assuring consumers about the cola’s safety.

That said, transparency in communication is the key to gaining consumers’ trust. “It’s time to go back to classic, non-gimmicky advertising,” Deshpande says. “Banks should tell people a simple thing: ‘Your money is safe’ — provided it is. And that sort of confidence and reassurance will work wonders in retaining consumers.”