 "Below-the-line is the best bet in rural India")
In the late nineties of the last century, the Reserve Bank of India introduced new norms setting limits based on the ratings of individual businesses; whereby NBFCs (Non-Banking Finance Companies) were restricted from taking deposits from the public. Though these norms were well meant, yet they adversely affected well managed NBFCs like the Shriram Transport Finance Co (STFC).The company is a part of the well known Chennai-based Shriram group, with head office in Mumbai. To get out of the crisis, STFC came out with an innovative product - the portfolio management scheme - which would effectively turn the existing fund based model into a fee based one. Many multinationals were eager to enter the huge retail finance space in the country, but did not have either the network or experience to do so.
Under the new scheme, STFC assured prospective investors that a retail portfolio of commercial vehicles could provide them with the needed safety and liquidity.
Citicorp, the NBFC wing of Citi Group was the first among the investors who decided to use the franchisee model and placed nearly Rs 1,000 crore with STFC to start lending money to, retail customers on behalf of Citi for a fee. The unique selling proposition of the idea was that the borrowers got their loans sanctioned at bank lending rates but without the delay and limitations involved in dealing with banks.
Shriram traditionally believed in lending money only to small fleet operators having just a couple of vehicles, and was also the only NBFC, lending money for purchase of second hand vehicles. The recovery rate among such customers was 98 per cent.
Since most of the borrowers of STFC products were based in semi urban and rural areas, STFC approached Anugrah Madison seeking their help to develop an effective communication programme; to promote their loan products aimed at the truck industry in Southern markets in a big way, with Tamilnadu as a first step.
This case study clearly establishes the effective use of below the line activities for promoting identified products based on understanding customer needs, using the right communication package, and a focused delivery strategy, to achieve the desired objective.
The tremendous success of the Citi experiment saw the lineup of other Indian banks and financial institutions placing their funds with Shriram. This concept of securitization caught on and today STFC is the biggest NBFC company in the trucking industry having an AUM (Asset Under Management) of Rs 39,260 crores as on December 2011. A mind boggling growth, considering that STFC had just about Rs 1,000 crores to lend in 2001.
Anugrah Madison has been the activation agency for STFC since 2001.
The challenge of creating target-specific campaigns
In the brief given to the agency, the client had listed a basket of eight loan products aimed at the trucking industry, out of which, the following four products were shortlisted:
a. New truck finance
b. Truck Exchange Scheme
c. Used truck finance
d. Recon truck finance (Re-conditioned Trucks)
In order to help them develop a communication package, Anugrah Madison decided to conduct a qualitative study among the potential target audience of small fleet owners and drivers. The study helped the agency understand the mindset of the customers, their hopes, their fears, aspirations, etc. Based on the findings, the agency recommended that the products be grouped and targeted at; (a) small fleet owners, for New truck finance and Truck Exchange Schemes and (b) the drivers, for Used truck finance and Recon truck finance.
The next challenge was to create separate communication packages which were not only appealing in terms of concepts and content, but also had to be delivered in different locations. The agency developed a very focused campaign aimed at the owners, who had to be persuaded to buy more trucks; and drivers, whose dream of owning a truck someday could become a reality with the help of Shriram.
So, the communication strategy developed for the 'Owners' was to 'appeal to their business sense' and promote Shriram as their best friend (Shriram - your best friend}. The communication strategy for the 'Drivers' was to 'appeal to their 'aspiration' and the theme "Even a Driver can now become an owner" literally tugged at their hearts and made them act on their dream of becoming owners with the assistance of Shriram.
Location-specific delivery of the campaign:
Once the creatives were ready, it was decided to deliver the campaign in two phases. In the first phase, the small fleet owners were targeted which was followed by the campaign targeted at drivers.
In both the cases, it was decided to have very focused target specific get-togethers, with clearly focused creatives, to achieve maximum cost effectiveness. The entire campaign for both the target audiences was meticulously planned and executed.
Owner's campaign
The campaign used an exhaustive database of fleet-owners, consisting of Shriram customers, as well as that of the competition. Truck owners were invited to the special 'Shriram Prosperity Shows', conducted in hired auditoriums in selected towns of Tamil Nadu.
As a first step, a special 'pop-up' invitation card for the show was designed to trigger interest in the programme and was personally delivered to the target audience. The invitation card with lucky dip numbers provided a strong incentive to ensure good participation. From among the invitees who arrived on time for the show, five lucky winners were chosen. Everyone who attended was provided with gift kits, including promotional brochures and refreshments, after the lucky dip coupon was detached from their cards.
To add a touch of glamour to the show, an anchor who was a well known TV personality was chosen to conduct the whole show. As an audience involvement gimmick, and in order to promote the Shriram logo, the invitees were offered exciting prizes; if they could 'guess the money in the briefcase', carried by a cut out of the Shriram mascot. Everyone who filled the forms got a 'Thank you' gift which was sent to their houses and the first three correct entries got special prizes. An added benefit was that the customer database was further refined. The show itself had three major communication packages. The first, was a specially created motivational video film, based on a popular film tune depicting friendship. The core message of the owners campaign was Shriram - your best friend.
DON'T FLIRT WITH RURAL MARKETING: THE HANDBOOK OF RURAL MARKETING
AUTHOR: RV Rajan
PUBLISHER: Productivity & Quality Publishing
Price: Rs 395
ISBN: 9788185984629
Under the new scheme, STFC assured prospective investors that a retail portfolio of commercial vehicles could provide them with the needed safety and liquidity.
Citicorp, the NBFC wing of Citi Group was the first among the investors who decided to use the franchisee model and placed nearly Rs 1,000 crore with STFC to start lending money to, retail customers on behalf of Citi for a fee. The unique selling proposition of the idea was that the borrowers got their loans sanctioned at bank lending rates but without the delay and limitations involved in dealing with banks.
Shriram traditionally believed in lending money only to small fleet operators having just a couple of vehicles, and was also the only NBFC, lending money for purchase of second hand vehicles. The recovery rate among such customers was 98 per cent.
Since most of the borrowers of STFC products were based in semi urban and rural areas, STFC approached Anugrah Madison seeking their help to develop an effective communication programme; to promote their loan products aimed at the truck industry in Southern markets in a big way, with Tamilnadu as a first step.
This case study clearly establishes the effective use of below the line activities for promoting identified products based on understanding customer needs, using the right communication package, and a focused delivery strategy, to achieve the desired objective.
The tremendous success of the Citi experiment saw the lineup of other Indian banks and financial institutions placing their funds with Shriram. This concept of securitization caught on and today STFC is the biggest NBFC company in the trucking industry having an AUM (Asset Under Management) of Rs 39,260 crores as on December 2011. A mind boggling growth, considering that STFC had just about Rs 1,000 crores to lend in 2001.
Anugrah Madison has been the activation agency for STFC since 2001.
The challenge of creating target-specific campaigns
In the brief given to the agency, the client had listed a basket of eight loan products aimed at the trucking industry, out of which, the following four products were shortlisted:
a. New truck finance
b. Truck Exchange Scheme
c. Used truck finance
d. Recon truck finance (Re-conditioned Trucks)
In order to help them develop a communication package, Anugrah Madison decided to conduct a qualitative study among the potential target audience of small fleet owners and drivers. The study helped the agency understand the mindset of the customers, their hopes, their fears, aspirations, etc. Based on the findings, the agency recommended that the products be grouped and targeted at; (a) small fleet owners, for New truck finance and Truck Exchange Schemes and (b) the drivers, for Used truck finance and Recon truck finance.
The next challenge was to create separate communication packages which were not only appealing in terms of concepts and content, but also had to be delivered in different locations. The agency developed a very focused campaign aimed at the owners, who had to be persuaded to buy more trucks; and drivers, whose dream of owning a truck someday could become a reality with the help of Shriram.
So, the communication strategy developed for the 'Owners' was to 'appeal to their business sense' and promote Shriram as their best friend (Shriram - your best friend}. The communication strategy for the 'Drivers' was to 'appeal to their 'aspiration' and the theme "Even a Driver can now become an owner" literally tugged at their hearts and made them act on their dream of becoming owners with the assistance of Shriram.
Location-specific delivery of the campaign:
Once the creatives were ready, it was decided to deliver the campaign in two phases. In the first phase, the small fleet owners were targeted which was followed by the campaign targeted at drivers.
In both the cases, it was decided to have very focused target specific get-togethers, with clearly focused creatives, to achieve maximum cost effectiveness. The entire campaign for both the target audiences was meticulously planned and executed.
Owner's campaign
The campaign used an exhaustive database of fleet-owners, consisting of Shriram customers, as well as that of the competition. Truck owners were invited to the special 'Shriram Prosperity Shows', conducted in hired auditoriums in selected towns of Tamil Nadu.
As a first step, a special 'pop-up' invitation card for the show was designed to trigger interest in the programme and was personally delivered to the target audience. The invitation card with lucky dip numbers provided a strong incentive to ensure good participation. From among the invitees who arrived on time for the show, five lucky winners were chosen. Everyone who attended was provided with gift kits, including promotional brochures and refreshments, after the lucky dip coupon was detached from their cards.
To add a touch of glamour to the show, an anchor who was a well known TV personality was chosen to conduct the whole show. As an audience involvement gimmick, and in order to promote the Shriram logo, the invitees were offered exciting prizes; if they could 'guess the money in the briefcase', carried by a cut out of the Shriram mascot. Everyone who filled the forms got a 'Thank you' gift which was sent to their houses and the first three correct entries got special prizes. An added benefit was that the customer database was further refined. The show itself had three major communication packages. The first, was a specially created motivational video film, based on a popular film tune depicting friendship. The core message of the owners campaign was Shriram - your best friend.
DON'T FLIRT WITH RURAL MARKETING: THE HANDBOOK OF RURAL MARKETING
AUTHOR: RV Rajan
PUBLISHER: Productivity & Quality Publishing
Price: Rs 395
ISBN: 9788185984629
Reprinted by permission of the publisher. Copyright 2013 RV Rajan. All rights reserved