Partnership with RCB aligns with our goal of cashless society in India: Ravi Santhanam

HDFC Bank’s partnership with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for the IPL season brings together two powerful entities in a collaboration aimed at reaching millions of cricket enthusiasts across India. As the Official Payments Partner for RCB, HDFC Bank’s PayZapp stands to benefit from extensive brand exposure and engagement opportunities, leveraging the massive viewership of the IPL. Through a strategic marketing approach, HDFC Bank aims to maximize brand visibility, drive customer acquisition, and showcase the convenience and versatility of PayZapp’s payment solutions to a wide audience.

In conversation with Adgully, Ravi Santhanam, Group Head, Chief Marketing Officer & Head – Direct to Consumer Business, HDFC Bank, speaks at length about the partnership with RCB; how HDFC Bank aims to leverage this partnership to stay at the forefront of innovation in the fintech space, and much more…

Could you tell us more about HDFC Bank’s partnership with Royal Challengers Bangalore and what it means for both parties?

As a big cricket fan myself, I am thrilled about the partnership between PayZapp by HDFC Bank and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). It is a mutually beneficial collaboration that benefits both parties. For us at HDFC Bank, this is an opportunity to reach out to millions of cricket fans across the country, who will be glued to their screens to participate in the cricketing extravaganza of the year. Our consumers have the opportunity of experiencing the ‘All New PayZapp’ as a super payment app that offers a plethora of payment choices.

How does being named the Official Payments Partner for RCB IPL team align with HDFC Bank’s broader marketing and business objectives?

Our partnership with RCB as their official payments partner is a strategic move that perfectly aligns with HDFC Bank’s broader marketing and business objectives. It significantly enhances our visibility and brand awareness. This partnership gives PayZapp exposure to millions of potential customers, within and beyond cricket stadiums across the country. RCB has a dedicated fan following across the country. Our PayZapp campaign, featuring RCB players in humorous situations where they lack choices for the ad, cleverly highlights the core strength of PayZapp – the ‘super payments app’ with multiple payment options. The partnership will go a long way in building a strong recall value for PayZapp, especially among the young digital natives who prefer to use technology for most services.

With IPL’s massive viewership, what opportunities do you see for HDFC Bank’s PayZapp to engage with cricket fans and potential customers?

We are incentivising both existing and new users to explore and engage with PayZapp through cashback offers, RCB merchandise, contests, and pre-sale access to RCB home match tickets. With its vast reach, IPL is an excellent platform to encourage adoption of digital payments. This aligns with our broader goal of empowering a cashless society in India.

Overall, the RCB partnership allows us to showcase PayZapp’s features and benefits to a massive audience, driving user acquisition, brand awareness and ultimately, business growth for HDFC Bank.

What specific marketing strategies does HDFC Bank plan to deploy during the IPL season to maximize brand visibility and engagement?

We have released an ad campaign featuring RCB players Virat Kohli, Mohammad Siraj and Cameron Green. The film humorously shows how the players did not get options when it came to the ad film, but PayZapp offers choices to make payments anyhow, anywhere and to anyone. Further, we have also been playing three promotional films for PayZapp that feature actors Tiger Shroff, Prabhu Deva and Kapil Sharma – all of whom highlight how life may not have given them choices, but PayZapp by HDFC Bank offers unparallelled choice of payments to customers. The thought behind these films is simple – while sometimes people are stereotyped or may not have enough choices in life, PayZapp is the apt payment partner for consumers as it offers multiple easy and secure payment options.

Further, we are running the Score Big on PayZapp contest where PayZapp users can win daily, weekly and seasonal prizes by utilising our app for various transactions. The contest offers customers an opportunity to win e-vouchers and RCB merchandise by scoring runs on PayZapp.

In what ways do you anticipate this partnership with RCB to enhance brand awareness and customer acquisition for PayZapp by HDFC Bank?

PayZapp by HDFC Bank leverages RCB’s popularity, especially with their player participation. The humorous ad featuring RCB players showcases the “choice” proposition of PayZapp, making the messaging relatable and memorable. This allows PayZapp to reach a digital-savvy audience and encourages them to use the app for their everyday transactions.

How does HDFC Bank plan to differentiate its marketing efforts from other brands during the IPL season to ensure maximum impact?

Our campaign with RCB focuses on the core benefit of PayZapp for users, which is to offer them a range of payment options such as UPI, money transfer, online transactions via UPI/ Debit/ Credit Cards and Wallet, among others. The campaign features RCB players, portraying them in stereotypical situations where they have no choice but to follow the script of the ad. However, they have control over their payment methods with PayZapp, which will stand out from peers purely because of its simplicity and ease.

Further, PayZapp has chosen a unique combination of celebrities such as Tiger Shroff, Kapil Sharma, Prabhu Deva and the RCB players, who represent different entertainment sectors. This helps broaden the appeal of the campaign and ensures that it resonates with a wider audience. The creative twist lies in having these celebrities and players act as themselves, even though they are known for specific on-screen personas, highlighting the idea that PayZapp empowers users with choices, even beyond payments. While the core message is choice, the campaign subtly highlights the ease of use and security features of PayZapp.

To stand out during the IPL season, PayZapp is not only relying on commercials but also offering early access to RCB home match tickets for PayZapp users, running contests with exciting prizes to attract new users, and partnering with streaming platform JioCinema to reach a digital audience and encourage in-app payments.

With the evolving landscape of digital payments, how does HDFC Bank aim to leverage this partnership to stay at the forefront of innovation in the fintech space?

We offer a variety of payment options such as UPI, bill payments and recharge, money transfer to anyone and any app, online payments via Debit/ Credit Cards and Wallet, among others. This aligns perfectly with our view of providing a suite of products on a single platform. We are not only promoting our brand but also creating a real-world example of how financial technology can provide a more inclusive and engaging digital payment experience for millions of users.

How does HDFC Bank intend to measure the success of its marketing initiatives during the IPL season, particularly in terms of brand engagement and customer acquisition?

To measure the success of our marketing initiatives during the campaign period, we will be focussing on two key areas: brand engagement and customer acquisition for PayZapp.

We will be tracking various metrics to understand how well our campaign content featuring RCB players and celebrities resonates with viewers. This includes tracking brand KPIs, monitoring impressions, click-through rates, and social media engagement. Additionally, we will be keeping a close eye on mentions of PayZapp on social media platforms to gauge how the IPL association is impacting brand sentiment.

To further incentivise app downloads and usage during IPL, we are running the interactive Score Big on PayZapp contest. This will serve as a valuable indicator of how effectively we are engaging with potential customers.

We are confident that by focussing on these key metrics and leveraging the unique advantages of the IPL platform, our marketing campaign will drive significant brand awareness and customer acquisition for PayZapp.