Following the merger of Lakshmi Vilas Bank with DBS Bank India in November 2020, DBS Bank India now has 530 branches across 19 countries. In April this year, DBS Bank India launched the One DBS brand campaign to communicate new benefits to its customers through banking solutions for individuals and businesses. The campaign video highlighted the bank's ability to drive value by combining its growing physical presence with its widely acclaimed digital expertise. In a chat with Brand Wagon Online, Shoma Narayanan, Group Head, Strategic Marketing and Communications, DBS Bank India, shared his views on the role of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). On the bench. Industry. Financial Services and Insurance Sector (BFSI). (edited articles)
What is the role of artificial intelligence and machine learning in the BFSI industry? How did DBS Bank use this?
There is a lot of talk about generative AI these days and it is still in the early stages of development; legal and intellectual property issues are still being resolved. However, we will be using AI generated images in some of our future campaigns.
We use some AI-generated images on our social media and use chatbots and other AI-enabled marketing tools. We use data analytics and predictive analytics to understand our customers' needs and preferences and how to best engage with them.
Invest heavily in the digital environment through artificial intelligence and the metaverse. So, what percentage of your DBS Bank marketing budget is allocated to digital marketing? What is the marketing mix and by what percentage did the marketing budget increase compared to last year?
We do a lot of outbound marketing using traditional and digital media to help us attract new customers. The majority of our marketing budgets are allocated to campaigns targeting our existing customers as we are a digital bank. It depends on the department we are talking about, if we look at our DigiBank accounts for example, all our transactions are digital, from purchases to future linking and customer service. However, for other offerings, including SME clients, we offer a mix of digital and traditional services. 10-11% is marketing for small and medium business purchases. A shift towards larger brands creating multi-channel campaigns including television and outdoor advertising.
So our advertising and marketing is about 50-50 between traditional and digital media. We increased our marketing budget by approximately 20% this fiscal year.
What is the age distribution of your customer base? How do you attract new clients?
The majority of our clients, 46%, are between 26 and 42 years old. Next comes what is generally called Generation X: people between 43 and 60 years old represent 28% of our customers. 14% of our customers are Generation Z, under 26 years old, and 12% of our customers are seniors, over 60 years old.
When we started retail in India, we launched a product called DigiBank; This product is intended to appeal to the digitally savvy generation. The Digibank app also has an AI-powered chatbot that helps you navigate the apps.
The holiday season is right around the corner, what products or services are you planning to promote? What are your plans for the holidays?
We support ongoing purchasing campaigns. There is also the concept of scale: you set up or run tests and trials, increase your costs a little and see how this affects the purchase price. So at the moment we are not doing a big campaign abroad. Existing customers receive discounts and products, including discounts on our credit and debit cards. Additionally, the interest rates we offer at retail are attractive and we will continue to promote them.
What is the importance of incorporating sustainability and responsibility into the overall brand positioning and campaign?
This shift is occurring among younger consumers as people become more aware of what they eat and how the products or services they consume affect human rights.
We have a very clearly defined sustainability strategy and we continually communicate it to our clients. A fun way to do this around the world is through our Sparks series. Primarily a web series, it is a team of bankers who try to solve clients' problems in various ways using technology and sustainable solutions.
We are seeing great engagement with our sustainability-related social media posts. Our sustainability initiative has three parts. One of them is responsible banking, which includes the products and services we offer to our clients. Second, responsible business practices, among other things, help us ensure a small carbon footprint. Then the third part is expanding your audience reach through social media or outside the bank.
How has the role of the chief marketing officer (CMO) and banks in the BFSI sector changed post-Covid?
One of the challenges we faced was digital adoption, because with free internet most people were online, but they may not have been comfortable enough with online banking or shopping. This was not exclusive to the older age groups; Even young people were happy to check their balance online, but they were not comfortable shopping and investing online.
One of the achievements of Covid is to accelerate mass digital adoption across all age groups. Post-Covid people arrive at our branches, but with a changed vision of the world. They pay more attention to sustainability. I mean the role of the CMO has changed dramatically in the last five years because it's about taking direction. Today, the choice is in the hands of customers and they decide how to interact with brands: through social networks or applications, in person or through digital channels.
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