The Hindu Business Line : Selling life

There are images to tug at your heartstrings — babies with soft, wispy hair clinging to their fathers, children zipping around on cycles gifted by retired grandparents, wives with bright red sindoor and the glimmer of a tear in their eye, proud and confident men and women of a certain age who don't need their spouse's/child's steadying hand when they get off the train.

And there are the amusing ones - of the young man who insists on buying oversized clothes, much to the consternation of the store's owner, of a waiter who takes a bite out of the food he's serving, and his guests' matter-of-fact acceptance of it, as if it was the most normal thing to expect, of the aggravated customer at the coffee shop who dumps his coffee on the over-solicitous waiter, of the grandfather who drops his grandson at school one day, only to be confronted by a gaggle of children the next, of the traveller who does a well-choreographed striptease at the security check at the airport much to the growing uneasiness of the staff ... And to add that obligatory bit of glamour, there are a few celebrities as well.

Sitting in front of your idiot box you must have spotted all or some of these images described above. Advertising for the growing category of financial products is now more than facts and figures and currency notes floating down the screen; it's a combination of many emotions, from the time-tested `protect-your-family' appeal to the latest `insurance-is-a-happiness, not-sadness product.'

Money Managers

Says U. Jayraj Rau, Vice-President and General Manager, JWT, "Financial institutions have begun selling themselves as `money managers.' They are moving people from a state of shame (associated with borrowing money) to managing money."

The warmth that oozes out of these ads is the frame of reference for all the financial companies. The newer banks and non-banking finance companies represent a new genre of companies that offer money in different ways. Unlike earlier, today's target is the individual, not organisations and their finance officers, so these companies are going all out to tell them that they are their friends in need, he explains.

The bigger advertisers come from the insurance and mutual funds sectors. There is considerable advertising by banks as well.

General insurance companies were the third largest spenders (after housing/construction loans and personal/professional loans) on TV advertising in 2005 — they spent Rs 10.66 crore compared to Rs 2.25 crore in 2004.

Banks, the fifth biggest spenders (after auto loans), spent Rs 8.31 crore.

MFs were the highest spenders with Rs 38.66 crore in the print media in 2005.

Banks came third, spending Rs 6.6 crore, following Chairmen's speeches (Rs 6.8 crore).

Fire, travel and agriculture insurance together accounted for Rs 1.6 crore spends in print in 2005.

Don't worry be happy

Most insurance companies now sell "happy products," and try hard to remove the gloom associated with it. "Unlike MFs and banking, insurance was never about facts and figures. There was an emotional connect, but a sad one. Only, the attempt is to now tell people they will be able to continue living well even in the face of unpredictability; mortality is only the extreme end of the surprises life springs on you," says Gaurav Suri, Director of Marketing, Metlife India Insurance Pvt Ltd.

The humour/emotion is used to create awareness. None of these are "frivolous," or simple, products. "There's a huge amount of advertising (for all products, not just financial) targeting the SEC A & B 35-years-plus male, and this tactic helps break the clutter," says Rohit Mull, Vice-President (Marketing), Tata AIG Life Insurance Company. When it began advertising, Tata AIG deliberately stayed away from the `trust' platform most other financial companies took and touted its innovative schemes instead.

The market has changed over the last two years and the products on offer have to match the distinct consumer segments, says Ajay Kelkar, Vice-President (Marketing - Retail Banking), HDFC Bank. There's the youth, and there are those who have arrived in life, and each group approaches financial services differently, he says.

Srinivas Jain, Chief Marketing Officer, SBI Mutual Fund, says the humour employed in mutual fund ads is an attempt to get around the jargon that goes with the product. Mutual funds started gaining appeal about two years ago in the country, and advertising has helped generate much interest, though penetration still remains very low - below 0.5 per cent of the population invests in them, says Jain.

However, the hurriedly mentioned warning (which is mandatory) at the end of an ad that MFs are subject to market risks is a bit of a dampener. "At the end of a nice, happy ad, telling people that so-in-your-face might put them off," says Jain, adding that the Association of Mutual Funds of India is making a representation about this to the Securities and Exchange Board of India.

It's BrandLine!

BrandLine is the new avatar of The Hindu Business Line's Catalyst whose renewed focus is branding, advertising and marketing. Brands are increasingly getting entwined with our lives and today's debate is not about `why branding' but how brands are seeking a meaningful role in consumers' lives. The section will focus on how top companies manage their brands,publish interviews with brand managers as well as senior A&M professionals, and feature columns by industry veterans. Do mail your queries, feedback and suggestions to brandline@thehindu.co.in

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