Summary
India's First Video KYC Savings Account With the outbreak of Covid-19, most banking services could shift to a digital approach, however the mandate of in-person KYC was proving to be a challenge. Spurred to develop a digital-first solution Kotak reinvented the process to create a first of its kind, zero-contact, video KYC savings account. In partnership with Ranveer Singh, our brand ambassador, Kotak Bank successfully drove growth in both brand perception and key business metrics.
Challenge
With the world reeling under the unforeseen onslaught of Covid-19; words like quarantine, self-isolation and lockdown became a part of our reality. While people quickly adapted to a home-bound life, banking picked up pace and Kotak Mahindra Bank's branches and ATMs continued to remain open, undaunted in providing essential services to our customers. The safety and security of our customers and employees became a critical priority, resulting in the launch of our digitally driven #BankFromHome initiative to make everyday banking safer. However, not all tasks could be completed seamlessly from home, especially the most basic requirement for opening a fully functioning savings account, the KYC process which required customers to verify their identity in-person at a bank, not an ideal situation during a pandemic. Our challenge was to re-invent this most basic of processes for the most unprecedented of times, while keeping it simple enough for mass dissemination.
Objective
As the pandemic spread, the RBI eased restrictions, allowing banks to accept a digital KYC in lieu of in-person visits. A good move, but one that still needed out of the box thinking to bring it to life. And who better than Kotak Bank, with its predominantly digital-first approach, to solve for this challenge? Within a matter of a few months, we designed, tested and launched, India's first zero-contact, Video KYC Savings Account, which enabled customers to open a fully functioning account from the safety of their homes. We innovated to make the lives of our customers and employees simpler, but we also needed to build awareness and understanding amongst a widespread audience, some of whom we had never interacted with.
Strategy
Rising to the need of the hour, Kotak Bank had developed a simple yet elegant solution that enabled customers to get a fully functional savings account from the convenience of their couch in just a few simple steps. Now, we needed to demystify the ‘how and where' of this process for millions of Indians with varying levels of education, familiarity and tech savviness. The success of both, our solution and our communication, depended on how well we tread the line between simplification and overtly so, all while ensuring that we followed the strictest safety protocols in creating our campaign. We needed to identify the most efficient treatment, style and channel to get our message across and since conducting new primary research was clearly out of the picture, we delved into previous research reports and market studies to identify key success parameters.
Data
Existing research showed us that it had to be a video-driven campaign for our message to achieve meaningful penetration at scale; but just a walk-through video wouldn't be enough to capture the consumer's attention, or for that matter leave a lasting impression. It had to go beyond the informational and be both comprehensive and comprehensible at the same time, it also had to be from someone who was perceived as a reliable and authoritative figure, most importantly, it had to be entertaining to be memorable.
Solution
With these learnings in mind, we decided to craft a simple yet effective digital video campaign featuring one of India's most beloved and cherished stars; our brand ambassador, Ranveer Singh. Enthused by the innovativeness of our solution, Ranveer wholeheartedly jumped into the role of a customer seeking to open a savings account with Kotak Mahindra Bank and in doing so, walked millions of potential customers through the simple and convenient steps required to open a zero-contact, Video KYC savings account with his characteristic charm and disarming humour. The Kicker? Bound by lockdown guidelines and staying true to the shared spirit of safety-first, the entire campaign was conceptualized, directed and executed from home, with Ranveer also giving audiences a look at his rather imitable stay-at-home style. We also extended our video campaign across social media and digital display channels in an effort to drive increased interest and convenient access to sign-up for India's first zero-contact, Video KYC Savings account.
Results
A consumer-first, fully digital product designed to meet the consumer's pressing need combined with Ranveer's enduring charm ensured that Kotak's game-changing ‘Zero-contact Video KYC account' campaign was a massive hit. Clearly, audiences far and wide, appreciated one India's most bankable guiding them through a new process in his own unique style, with the video garnering over 2 million views in just a couple of days post launch. More importantly, it encouraged a vast section of potential customers to open a ‘first of its kind' savings account with Kotak Mahindra Bank, resulting in a 4X growth in new Video KYC Savings accounts as compared to the pre-campaign period.
