Introduction

Amidst this burgeoning market of the investment solutions sections in India, Bajaj Finserv Asset Management Limited has emerged as a promising new entrant. As a wholly owned subsidiary of the revered Bajaj Finserv Limited, the company brings with it a legacy of trust and innovation. With the mutual fund industry's assets under management (AUM) expanding to over INR 37 trillion as of 2023, highlighting people's interest in diverse and strategic investment avenues to secure their financial futures, Bajaj Finserv has responded by offering a wide array of innovative financial products focused on tailored and future-focused investment strategies.   

Challenges

Bajaj AMC, a sister subsidiary of Bajaj Finserv, faced the daunting task of carving out its niche in the competitive market which is dominated by giants like HDFC, Axis, ICICI, and SBI. To counter this and accelerate brand recognition, they collaborated with ARM Worldwide's paid media marketing team, leveraging their expertise to enhance the brand’s visibility. 

Objectives

Our primary goals were: 

• To enhance brand recall and visibility
• To educate the market about Bajaj Finserv's New Fund Offerings (NFOs) and educational podcasts and videos.

 

Strategy

To achieve the desired objectives, the team crafted a tailored and customised strategy.   

#1. Right Platform Segmentation as per the Target Group 

  We strategically selected YouTube for its excellent video marketing capabilities, enhancing brand recognition by delivering engaging, visually appealing content to a broad audience. Additionally, we utilised Meta platforms, known for their vast reach and interactive features, to target users aged 25 to 55, thereby increasing our brand’s visibility and fostering meaningful interactions with potential customers.  

#2. Campaign and Budget Allocation

  For our Google campaigns, we implemented two strategic campaign types: Reach and Views. 

• We allocated 40% of our budget to Reach campaigns to enhance brand searches and recognition, broadening our digital footprint and visibility. The remaining 60% was dedicated to Views campaigns, focusing on using brand films to educate users about our products.

  For our Meta campaigns, we strategically allocated our budget across three main areas.   

• We allocated 65% of our budget to Awareness campaigns to boost posts extensively, enhancing broad visibility and foundational brand awareness. Another 15% was directed towards Views/Consideration campaigns, specifically targeting our New Fund Offerings (NFOs) to spark interest and encourage engagement. The remaining 20% supported Traffic campaigns, aimed at driving specific actions like website visits or sign-ups during NFO promotions.

 

#3. Geographic and Demographic Focus

  Our paid media campaigns were tailored to reach a broad and diverse audience across various geographic locations. We implemented a PAN India approach on Google to ensure our brand's presence was recognised nationwide. Meanwhile, for our Meta campaigns, we specifically targeted Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities for our traffic-focused initiatives, while maintaining PAN India coverage for our broader awareness and consideration campaigns. 

Implementation

 

#1. Tailored Distribution Approaches for Varied Objectives

 

• NFO Launches: For bi-monthly newly launched NFOs, our goal was to maximise reach and effectively disseminate information. We implemented a strategic advertising strategy that ensured the target audience received timely information about each new NFO launch.

 

• Educational Podcasts: The team leveraged Bajaj's extensive library of educational content to fetch the key snippets which were repurposed into engaging ad formats, boosting viewer engagement and extending the reach of the content 

 

• Brand Films: Leveraging Bajaj’s brand films, which were crafted to solidify brand identity and engage potential customers, we strategically guided users towards these films to enhance brand visibility. These films provided a detailed and visually compelling view of Bajaj’s values and offerings, thereby strengthening brand recognition.

 

#2. Ad Types and Durations

  Different ad format combinations were carefully chosen to target specific user preferences and ensure sustained engagement. Skippable ads allowed us to tailor our messaging to resonate with diverse viewer interests, maximising relevance and interaction. Meanwhile, non-skippable ads were crucial for delivering our full message uninterrupted, significantly enhancing brand recall and ensuring comprehensive viewer engagement.   To optimise exposure and maintain viewer engagement across our platforms, we implemented a strategic variation in ad durations:  

• 20-second ads: These non-skippable ads provided a concise and powerful method for guaranteed viewing, ideal for strong, impactful messages that capture attention quickly.
• 30-second ads: These ads balanced brevity and detail, offering enough time to convey more complex information while keeping the audience engaged.
• 40-second ads: These longer ads were used for detailed storytelling or when deeper explanations were necessary, allowing us to thoroughly explore the benefits and features of Bajaj Finserv's offerings.

  With this approach we ensured that each ad was effectively tailored to meet the specific goals of the campaign, leveraging the strengths of different lengths to maximise reach and impact across YouTube and Meta platforms.  

#3. Real-Time Adjustment

  We continuously adapted our strategies based on real-time feedback to maximise campaign effectiveness.   

• On Google, we found that short video formats were particularly effective for promoting New Fund Offerings (NFOs), capturing the audience's attention quickly and efficiently. 
• For Facebook, longer, video-based content yielded superior engagement, providing more in-depth information that resonated well with users. 
• On Instagram, however, static visuals proved to be the most effective, appealing to the platform's visually oriented audience. 

Results

• The brand searches of Bajaj AMC  increased by 77.38% since Jan 2023

• The website traffic increased to 164% with a 41% lower cost per traffic than the targeted plan
• We surpassed our targeted aim by achieving a 58% lower cost per click
• Bajaj Finserv Mutual Fund maintained higher view counts than other competitors across most dates of NFO launches, indicating a consistently higher level of viewership among other competitors

NMAT (NMIMS Management Aptitude Test) by GMAC (Graduate Management Admission Council) is a national-level entrance test conductor for MBA admissions at NMIMS University and other reputed B-Schools in India as well as abroad. This test is attempted by students aiming to pursue MBA as well as working professionals. Brands nowadays aim to maximize their visibility and reach to a larger audience via robust paid media strategies, and NMAT was walking on a similar journey. To increase the registration of the students while making them aware about the advantages of taking the NMAT exam , NMAT joined hands with #ARM Worldwide.

Challenges

• Drive stipulated registrations from a Landing Page which was changed wherein we anticipated users drop offs due to multiple exit points.
• Hike in the registration fees which led to students having a dilemma in filling up the registration form.

Strategy

• Robust Media planning and distributing the overall budget across platforms to achieve the desired goal.
• Creative Communication Route: Emphasizing on the advantages of taking this test.
•  In order to have sharp targeting cohorts we looked at the behavioral affinity of registered users interacting with the ads and then created TGs with identical interests that included Students along with working professionals.
• We launched this on multiple partner platforms to ensure we targeted the people most apt for our product and the sniper approach in targeting made us achieve results within our benchmarks.

Approach

#ARM Worldwide identified the challenges of the national-level MBA entrance conductor and devised robust paid media strategies to overcome the same. Our team of expert paid media professionals picked each challenge and provided solutions accordingly. Our team started with identifying the most-suited platforms to run media advertising campaigns for NMAT. After an in-depth analysis, we finalized three platforms – Google, Facebook, and YouTube, and carefully allocated a budget to each platform. In the next step, our team began with A/B testing for campaigns with a custom audience remarketing campaign to target users who have visited the landing page to register for the exams. Moving ahead, we devised and ran multi-channel digital campaigns including brand-specific, generic, competitor, and remarketing campaigns on Google, non-skippable and skippable videos for YouTube, and conversion & remarketing ad campaigns on Facebook. In the post-campaign analysis, the team ran an A/B test and optimized the most performing channel – which was Google, in this case. Additionally, we approached educational publishers and ad networks such as IMS, Shiksha, Chaitoast, MBA Universe, Careers360, and more to increase registrations for NMAT. To draw high intent students amidst the fees hike, our team devised a content strategy that showcased to students the pros of taking the entrance exam. The benefits were showcased via creatives and RSA copies on Google. Another approach that the paid media team instated for addressing the low volume of generic keywords was emphasizing more on Brand Keywords on Google Search to push the maximum number of registrations.

Results

Lead to Registration Rate increased from 23%  to 41.19% year-on-year The #ARM Worldwide team was able to achieve all the desired targets along with the company’s goal of creating a sturdy digital presence with valuable inputs and solutions provided by the paid media team. Why is it important to have a strong paid media strategy?  Paid media strategies are like recipes. The paid media marketers have complete control over the campaign – from reviewing to resetting benchmarks. It is imperative for brands and businesses to include paid media in their digital marketing strategies as it allows you to be directly in front of the target audience and engage them in the platforms they are already spending their time. Paid media helps brands generate exposure and credibility, hence it becomes important for them to have a strong paid media strategy for fruitful results.

  The digital revolution in the FinTech industry has enabled consumers to seek solutions for all their financial needs at the touch of a button empowering them to seek for absolute best and nothing less. This extends responsibility to the brands to ensure a hassle-free experience. The powerful 3-in-1 app by Bajaj Finserv ensures a holistic experience for the customers to manage all their financial needs  (lending, EMI Shopping, Repayment, Recharge, and Bill Payment, all from the comfort of their homes) With the new launch, Bajaj Finserv aimed to drive massive installations for their app, and for that, #ARM Worldwide supported the financial services company. With collaborative efforts, #ARM Worldwide’s bespoke team devised robust strategies to increase awareness about the app among its existing and potential customers.   Leaving one problem statement for us to solve - How do we make our customers adopt?

Goals

Mobile apps have indeed taken the world by storm. A profusion of businesses, like Bajaj Finserv, aspires to be at the fingertips of customers. And for that, Bajaj Finserv joined hands with #ARM Worldwide to increase customer engagement in tandem with business growth. #ARM Worldwide had two goals in front of them – 

1. Drive app installs in an intense and competitive category
2. Drive a complete digital journey in an environment where offline intervention to close the transaction is a norm

Strategies 

The #ARM paid media team conducted an in-depth market analysis to identify the target demographic and narrow the right audience via market segmentation. They were divided into 2 major categories – 

• Existing customers - A large customer base who had interacted with various Bajaj products in the past and over the years.
• Prospect to Bajaj customers - The potential audience data set which has been filtered and refined 

The team created a two-pronged strategy to reach out to the aforementioned market segments and

• Deployed customized Sequential matching of communication with existing customer base mapped with the products 
• Deployed download and usage campaigns with multiple ad formats for Prospect to Bajaj customers 

The look and feel of the entire campaign were developed to keep the product offering as the hero and a way of communication that was informative for the target audience. Offered format for creative communication were : 

• Static Images  
• Carousel Sets Videos 
• Gifs
• Dynamic Ads 
• Data feed

Solutions

The strategy was put into action in two phases.  Phase 1- Product Line Bifurcation

• USP, Offer driven creatives were used to ensure audience engagement and action.
• Cost cap was implemented to drive installs under the CPI benchmark 
• Audience and creative refreshes were done periodically to maximize deliveries.
• The campaign was scheduled at time slots which delivered the lowest CPI. 

Phase 2- The Google UAC Campaigns For the Prospect to Bajaj Customers #ARM Paid Media team deployed

• Google UAC campaigns ensured volume in terms of the number of installs and cost efficiency by delivering a lower cost per install. 
• Ads were placed across Google properties like 

1. Search
2. Play Store 
3. Display 
4. YouTube and 
5. Discovery to get the best value from each download 

Deploying the above, the campaign not only drove app installation but also in app usage which helped us in distribution of loans, sales through emi store, cards and more.

Results: 

By implementing the well-devised strategy & executing the aforementioned 2 phase plan, a substantial spike in the app installs and usage was noticed. During the campaign, the Bajaj Finserv app broke into  Top 10 finance apps in India’ on Google Play store and noted

• 20 Mn active users
• 45lac+ Monthly App Installs 
• 52% in app usage
• 55% decrease in CPI
• 90% Sign Ups post App Install
• 75% Retention rate

The successful execution of the campaign & the result won the renowned Maddies Award 2022 for Bajaj Finserv & #ARM in the category of “Most effective app install campaign”. 

Conclusion

From banking to shopping to communicating with people in far-flung locations in the world, there are a myriad of mobile apps available with the progression of smartphones and technology. Businesses, whether modern or traditional, have contemplated developing mobile apps to reach at the fingertips of their customers. Mobile apps help businesses in increasing brand awareness and drive customer engagement, along with maximizing productivity, minimizing costs, and driving sales. Mobile apps have indeed opened a world of possibilities for SMBEs and large organizations, and many companies are utilizing them to advance their business.

Why settle for less than what you deserve?  “EMI Hai Na” is the recipient of Digital Dragons Awards 2022, a winning campaign that was conceptualized and brought to life by #ARM Worldwide for Bajaj Finserv, to spread knowledge about the alternative buying method of EMI that can be availed by everyone, from town to village with zero stress!

Embrace The Festive Frenzy

The campaign rolled out before the upcoming festival of Diwali; a festival where the lights illuminate the country and the smiles of those who have long craved a reset. From embracing new beginnings to reconnecting with their roots, everyone needs a change. Bajaj Finserv was there to facilitate this change every step of the way, as the campaign enabled people to make stress-free purchases through the comfort and security of EMI.     Bajaj Finserv is a household name in the Indian market and with over 2 Crore+ customers availing their EMI services, they have established themselves as the market leader. This campaign was an expression of their gratitude. They desired it to reach every nook and corner of India, and they choose #ARM Worldwide to execute this vision.

The #ARM Strategy:-

The #ARM Worldwide team through extensive market research planned a multi-tier mass media campaign to target as many demographics as possible. Short-video platforms have seen tremendous growth in the past couple of years and are more relevant than ever. They have a very wide range of user base and have seen robust popularity in the T2 Areas. The #ARM Worldwide team utilized platforms Moj and Josh for the aforementioned reasons. Several short videos were posted to spread awareness about E.M.I. as an alternative for payment, conveying its advantages over conventional methods.

Josh	Moj

For the purpose of reaching the masses, the #ARM Worldwide team choose radio marketing. Radios are still very relevant in certain T2 Areas and act as one of the primary forms of media. The tune of the “EMI Hai Na” campaign left its imprint on the listeners as they hummed along to the catchy lyrics, ensuring it lingers in their minds when they feel like delaying their wish list. Videos as well as static creatives were posted on top social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for the purpose of maximising the reach of the campaign.

A wish list of Success and Instalments of joy.

The customers might be paying later, but the results could be seen immediately. And spoiler alert, they were astounding, all thanks to the proficient implementation of contemporary marketing strategies by the #ARM Worldwide team. Over 3.4 lakh web user visited the campaign page. The various videos posted across the platforms accrued over 2.77 Million views with 77.3% completion! 90+ posts on social media got engaged more than 4.7 lakhs times and had over more than 6.9 million impressions. #EMI Hai Na - Radio Campaign was launched in 6 cities namely Pune, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Jaipur and Hyderabad via 5 most popular radio stations  with 1655 spots. The campaign was trending on Josh for 6 days and grabbed 12.7 MN video view and 3.5 MN engagement along with 29.6 MN and 1.3 MN video views and engagement on MOJ, respectively.     The campaign was successful and had notable acclaim, for which, #ARM Worldwide were bestowed the Digital Dragons Awards for the exemplary work done in the “EMI Hai Na” Campaign.

With the penetration of the Internet at an all time high, MTS wanted to create a tremendous wave of excitement around its latest offering, 3G Plus Network. To facilitate this and to build a strong bondage between the brand and its consumers, MTS created a video with potential to go viral featuring a new born baby who, right from his birth is addicted to the internet. The video traces how the young one is able to log on to the internet easily, cut his umbilical chord himself by following the instructions, stream his birth and walks away following GMaps. The video makes a deep emotional impact while stressing upon the need for fast Internet connection.

Campaign Duration:

60 Days

Campaign Objective:

To target the young (18-25 year old) tier-1 audience, pan India educating them about the latest 3G Plus Network from MTS and leave them with a stupefying experience cultivating brand delight. To achieve it, we had to creatively drive traffic to the 1:00 minute long ad hosted on YouTube in order to take the video viral and kick start the chatter around the whole MTS experience.

Campaign Execution and Details:

In order to drive traffic to the destined landing page here, as one of the leading consultants of digital marketing in India, we identified the best performing portals, both in terms of number of eyeballs they attracted and the content they served. After a thorough investigation of their ranks and market position, we decided to crack deals in order to place rich media content including video rolls, eye catchy creatives, persistent branded banners etc. on the most popular pages. These creatives were designed tastefully, and were tailor made for the various sizes across the portals that we had selected. A strong click to action message appeared on all the rich media content, which instigated a curiosity and prompted the users to click on them leading them to the landing page. The details of the portals and their performances were as follows:

Yahoo India

We took over the homepage of Yahoo India for two complete days. Various banner sizes, including 300×250, 728×90 creatives with a strong brand message as well as an integrated hashtag were used. We made sure to use hashtag #MTSInternetBaby in all the bigger creatives, to ensure a continuity of communication from the Social Media profiles of MTS where the hashtag was universally being used to connect the communication around the video. In our two day take over, we received over 81,30,674 impressions with 12,924 clicks.

MSN Homepage takeover

Similar to Yahoo, we took over the video banner on the homepage of MSN for two days during the campaign. The video banner performed exceedingly well, earning more than 1,65,74,549 impressions with 30,021 clicks at a CTR of .2%.

Rediff Homepage takeover, E-Mail Logout page banner and ROS Expando Banners

We used a fixed roadblock of 300×250 as well as video banners on the E-Mail logout page as well as ROS Expando banners on the posts on Rediff. While the homepage takeover was for 2 days, we used the logout page banner as well as expando banners for 30 days for sustenance. Over, 90,68,108 impressions were generated from the three units combined with over 9,565 clicks.

The Times of India Video Banner Super Roadblock

The homepage of the leading news website of India was used for two days to create a big impact on the campaign. Ad units including 1003*520, 300*250 and 1600*1050 were used with a strong brand message to enhance our reach. Over 16,54,967 impressions were generated with 13,722 clicks.

Multiple Inventories on ESPN Cricinfo

With cricket being regarded as the biggest religion in India, it was only logical to pick ESPN Cricinfo, which has long been one of the most popular weskits for cricket enthusiasts. With the World T20 going on, inventories on ESPN Cricinfo performed fabulously well. Several inventories, including ad banners on homepage, series home, Live score page, story pages as well as match point videos were used to produce more than 3,05,44,607 impressions.

Social networking sites

Facebook and LinkedIn were the chief Social media networks we used to create relevant buzz around the #MTSInternetBaby. On Facebook, we used target block to reach our audience of 18-24 year olds across India, both on Mobile and Desktop in three days for a massive impact. Overall more than 77,06,798 impressions were generated on Facebook with 1,90,881 clicks leading to the home page. A CTR of 2.48% was achieved, which is almost twice than the industry standard. We used LinkedIn for a more sustained impact, using tower and Lrec rich display banners and running them for one month, targeting those who were within MTS circle.

Saavn complete takeover

The leading music streaming service of India, Saavn was completely taken over for duration of 10 days. Rich ad unit including video, audio, static banner as well as gif banner was used across the service, including within the load screen, featured playlist as well as between the stipulated song count. We targeted the audience pan India and were able to generate 2,12,72,719 impressions from the activity.

Youtube Direct

Being the single largest host to videos online and the second most visited website in the world, we had to use Youtube as well as we could to generate momentum. A first watch in video campaign was run for first two days for an instant impact. Post that, we ran roadblocks on the masthead for a couple of days for major impact. During the activity, for a sustained performance, we ran inline pre-roll true views targeting those within the MTS circle. 37,65,679 views were generated from true view alone making it a massive hit.

Results:

• The campaign was a massive hit, and the MTS Internet Baby became a sensational talking point for over days. With an emotionally connecting video in conjunction with strategic media spend, the video became one of the most viewed videos in the history of brands advertising on YouTube with over 25 Million views already.
• The video went on to become the most viewed TVC on YouTube in India.
• Through our media planning and eye for the most engaging portal, we were able to generate 13,46,88,824 impressions in 60 days with 10,35,326 clicks that lead to 44,52,678 views.
• During the true view campaign over 16% of the people saw complete 100% of the video, which is a very impressive figure making the video one of the best retainers of audience in the similar length segment. (Above data via Google)
• Engagement via paid advertisement was the highest. Not only that, the average view time of the advertisement was the highest via Youtube, clearly indicating that we got our optimization spot on.
• Search queries rose up by almost 24% around MTS affirming that we succeeded in pollinating interest around the brand.
• Overall figures showed that brand recognition increased by 14% overall, with the females responders ousting the male counterparts by the end of the campaign. We delivered on the objective and the age group of 25-44 recorded the highest brand awareness, measuring almost 140%

Client Remarks:

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