 Hello, welcome to the Euforium Talk Show. Our guest today is Mr. Puneet Gupta, Digital Business and Marketing Head, Personal Wealth, Edelwees Wealth Management. Welcome to the show, Mr. Puneet. Yeah, very good afternoon, Kanchan. Thank you very much to have me on the show. Puneet, you have launched a new digital campaign recently, Don't Waste in Waste. Consumer market companies must be pissed off. I mean, do you think that your campaign will be able to distract people from offers and discounts? So there are two questions. Yeah, so I'll try to answer it. So frankly speaking, when we made this campaign, our target was not the consumer FMCG companies or something like that. So they are giants in terms of marketing spend in terms of compared to any financial services company, in terms of the spend in the market. However, frankly speaking, the whole objective and genesis was when we were getting the consumer insights, when we were doing the consumer research, the most important thing which comes when it comes to creating wealth or investing is people are scared. People say that it's very risky to invest. Second thing, which generally is an excuse, all of us give when we are in inertia, when we don't want to do something, we generally give an excuse that we don't have enough money. Now, when we are looking at this insight of the consumer, we went ahead and did a lot of research and we spoke to and we put our brains together and we said, okay, well, this is true that markets may be risky for somebody or investments for that matter may be risky for somebody who doesn't understand, who doesn't have a discipline of investing in the markets. Well, point taken, but when it comes to shopping, impulsive shopping, are you really careful about it? Like when there's an offer, buy to get free free, maybe I need only two shirts, I'll go out and end up buying five. So the question came and our team started saying, is it really true that your money is safe with you? So that's how the whole campaign got generated, that we talk about when it comes to investing that it's not safe. But frankly speaking, the most risky thing is that our money is not safe with us. Because when it comes to impulse, when it comes to discounts, when it comes to shopping, we just end up spending more than enough. And that's how the whole campaign got created. And the second thing is, as I said, people say, I don't have enough money. Now, if I end up spending more impulsively, if I do those small savings, it can actually, a lot of forums, all wealth managers talk about it, the impact of compounding. So if small investments made regularly over a period of time can actually help you buy X number of many shirts or trousers which you bought in the shopping in the impulse. So frankly speaking, when we created this concept, it was purely based on the insights from the consumer not to take on the bids on the FMCG, in terms of creating an ad which was against them in terms of a campaign. So one thing, your campaigns are, I suppose, largely based on digital platforms, including I can get planned on to launch it on OTT also. So this shifting wealth management campaign from traditional medium to digital platforms is remarkable. So is it to expand the reach to younger population or is it for better impact and ROI that digital platforms offer or maybe both? So partially it is both. But if you look at it, the trend is changing now, the way markets are evolving. Initially, in the yester years, TV was the medium, then people thought in financial services, pink paper is the medium and I'm not taking away, they are the mediums today also. But the way market is growing, it's large influence of the digital platforms because if you look at the research, around two and a half hours, every Indian who is using the smartphone spends on these digital platforms on a social media today. So you get that sort of an attention. Second, digital marketing helps you to basically talk to your customers in different segments, which the other above the line mediums don't allow you. So if I do a TV ad, it's generic TV ad, am I right? But if I want to talk to a specific age group, say from an age group from 30 to 40, 45, who have actually started earning well and who are moving into the next level of effulence and who are spending more, so I can have a very targeted conversation with that segment using the digital platforms, which is not possible on above the line platforms or maybe on a newspaper or a TV. But so frankly speaking, that's one. Second, as you rightly said, if something which you can do very targeted, if it can actually be, we can build up those cohorts and speak to those customers and interact with them very one-on-one basis. When I say one-on-one basis, digitally when you are on their phone, we are interacting with them. So your ROI also improves. In the recent IPL, you know, media rights auction, you might have seen that TV and digital rights are sold off for almost equal amount. So I mean, do you think that digital advertising will continue to grow and even surpass the TV in next few years? I mean, in general, not only IP. Yeah, so a very good question. So I'll tell you what will happen. I think the way market is going to grow exponentially, there will be a market for everybody and it will grow for all the channels. I don't think that it will actually de-grow for either TV or hoardings or above the line other activities or for papers. But I personally believe digital platforms will grow faster than the other mediums. The reason being the penetration of internet and if you look at globally, internet rates, data is cheapest in India. Now that allows you basically to spend more time on all these social platforms. So what is happening because of that? And so example you take, if there's somebody in a tier two, tier three city, so I'm not trying to actually promote or de-promote a specific platform, but I'm just trying to give you a perspective. If you have a tier two or tier three city, if somebody is working, he gets only two hours in the evening to maybe watch the TV or he will watch the TV when it is an ITL match or something like that because the whole day he may be working either in a shop or maybe working with some corporate. However, because of penetration and smartphones in India, now mobile is in your pocket every time. You can actually watch it for half an hour while you're having your lunch. You can actually watch it maybe while driving to the office coming back and you will also watch it in the evening when you come back to home. So your chances of getting the span and attention of a user are much higher when you use digital platforms. First, second, digital platform allow you to talk to the customers. You can actually create different personas of the customers. So there can be multiple personas created and I can have a very targeted conversation with the specific set of customers using digital, which is not possible in other maybe say for TV or for a newspaper sort of a medium. However, as I said, everything will have its own place. It will continue to grow. So like as you rightly said in IPL, the rights have sold because IPL still has its own attraction. People watch it on a TV. People want to go in a bar, want to watch a TV on a large screen, want to have a coffee or a drink along with it. So that can never be replaced by the digital medium. But if you want to have a very specific target based conversation one to one and if you want to build personas of different customers, have those cohorts and talk to them, I think digital plays much more. I would also like to know from you what are the new marketing trends in the BFSI space in general and in Edelweiss wealth management in particular? I mean, asking this question, I support the sales and marketing is bit tough in this space compared to the consumer. Yeah, sure. So I'll tell you, so, thanks to COVID. Okay, a lot has changed in terms of a consumer behavior. As you rightly said, in financial services, it is a lot about educating the customer. Okay, everyone doesn't understand investing is a little complex, especially if looked from an outside world. Okay, it may be very easy once you start learning about it. But from an outside world, it's a complex world. As you rightly said, it's maybe easy for somebody to choose a shirt or go and buy a grocery, but it looks very complex to somebody who has to start investing or saving money. Now, what happens? Thanks to, as I said, thanks to COVID, a lot of consumer behavior has changed and it has made life much easier for people like us in wealth management. Okay. Now, I'll tell you, earlier, we used to do a lot of events which used to be offline. And you know, you were not sure how many people will come attend those events because you want to just educate or launch a new product and explain the features of the product. But now, you know, as I said, thanks to COVID, the behavior has changed. Now, people can come on webinars, you can do multiple webinars, you can explain your products, you can speak to specific set of consumer with a specific set of a product or a feature who you think within your data or within your consumer base can be spoken about that specific product. So example, we have a million plus customers. So I have a specific product which only shoots to say 10,000 people in my base. I will invite those 10,000 people on a webinar, explain them how the feature in the product works. So first is webinar. So that is catching up. It helps educate the clients, it helps to speak to a specific cohort of customers within your existing base. Number one. Number two, I am seeing a great trend in WhatsApp. So what's happening? WhatsApp is becoming a new region. Though it is encrypted, though it is quite, you know, in that way controlled, it is not open platform where you can do the marketing. But it is used to help consumer basically service the consumer better. A lot of bots have been built now on WhatsApp. It helps consumer to basically get the service, you know, on a fly with a touch of just a finger. It also helps generate an intent and interest about a product. So if I explained a product, you create a, you know, a specific set of a bot and it can help you generate the intent of a customer, okay, without interfering into his life. Otherwise, somebody used to call a customer, he used to be included. Now all that is gone. Okay. So webinar, WhatsApp, bots, WhatsApp, okay, your social platforms, remark, display, all that helps, you know, if a customer has come to your website, he has looked at that specific thing. As you rightly said, you know, it's not as easy as in a consumer marketing thing happens. But you can actually keep showing the consumer and keep generating the interest from a consumer. So I think a lot of, so I was just, you know, looking at a new trend has come, rich email, that's called AMP, okay, automated mobile, something, I'll just have the name, automatic, automated mobile pages, okay. Now this is something very new, okay, where it is not a bot, but it works like a WhatsApp bot where you have an email which is interactive, okay. And you can generate the interest on it, you can actually showcase the entire product, infographics and a long email can be actually captured into a small email where, you know, you can have sections which can open as an interactive conversation. So I'm saying a lot of innovation is happening in the industry, a lot of things are coming up. So these all mediums are helping, you know, reach out to the consumer without including his privacy or the time, okay, and a consumer can choose, okay, which platform he wants to use, what sort of information he wants to use, and then in the, in the back end, we are using a lot of data analytics, okay, okay. So now you're, you know, you're giving an omni, omni channel experience to the customer. He can be connected on the phone, he can be connected on the WhatsApp, he can be messaging on in-app notifications on the app, on your mobile app and email, all these things are available to the customer. Now data analytics helps us find out consumer is what is his favorable mode of communication. So somebody who is good at maybe notifications, somebody is good at, you know, or read a lot of WhatsApp messages, somebody basically prefer to read emails. So we look at it holistically, okay, a consumer and then we try to optimize. So if your behavior is that you only respond to WhatsApp, I will try not spam you, but communicate only on WhatsApp with somebody like me who maybe, you know, old school and still read emails, I will basically communicate with you on email. So that's what happens. So we optimize, we do not spam too much, you know, to the consumer by communicating from all the angles. And that is how I think digital marketing is becoming sharper by that day. And I believe as the market grows and if you look at global trends, there'll be a lot of innovation which will keep coming in this. So you are catering to, you know, worldiest families in India and high-net-worth individuals. So how are you leveraging new tools in the market technology, I mean, which you have just explained to get them on board? So as I said, okay, it is the same tools which you use for a commoner like me or you are using different tools for them. No, no, you are not a commoner, okay. But I'll tell you, so what happens? Digital marketing and platform and communication helps you to make it more sharp. As I said, you know, if you are an HNI customer and so there's always an assistance which is available, okay, because that's what you prefer to want somebody to assist you as an RM, as a service manager, which is a promise to you and we will provide you. So we believe in a hybrid service. So we use digital communication, digital platforms for you to do the transaction and servicing. But at the same time, there's a promise that we will actually assist you if you want, either through an RM or through a service relationship manager. So that's our promise as a part of our proposition. Now, when you talk about, as I said, it keeps becoming more sharper and sharper, looking at your preferences. So somebody who is an HNI and I can have your behavior or you can actually maybe tell me that you need only send me WhatsApps. And I read only on Sundays. Okay, my time is 10 to 11. So it can be very specific for you. Okay. And frankly speaking, I would love to give that experience to all my customers, but that may not be possible because you may not be able to store that sort of a data and analyze for every customer. Okay, but as you rightly said, for ultra HNI customers, for wealthy families, which is your that cohort of customers, they're very specific. Okay, what is their liking? What are the preferences of channel? What are their timing? We will ensure that that the customer is not included and he gets the communication as per his preference, both by channel timing, everything. What is your strategy for further brand building? And I have just last question. What exactly you are doing to expand your reach among women? I mean, women are largely still not interested in managing their own wealth. Yeah. So I'll tell you, you know, this is very interesting topic. Okay. And this is very close to my heart. Okay, three years back, we launched a program called Blue Bindi. This is a program which is focused on women. Okay, we launched it three years back on women's day. Okay, this program basically encourage women to enroll in this program where we want to talk and educate women about, you know, financial independence, about financial planning, goal setting, how the entire complex word of financial services work. Okay. And give them the confidence that we are by your side. If you know, you are, you have become independent, you're doing professionally great in your own career. So why to leave your financial decisions on somebody else? You can take them yourself. So the whole genesis of the entire program is around, you know, educating the women, making them self-confident, okay, making them confident and giving them the confidence we are along your side to help you actually become educated, to make you self-reliant, to take financial decisions and become independent. So there's a program which is running for three years. But, you know, because of COVID, it was little volatile, but we are committed to it and we are going to invest heavily around it. And the first part, what is your strategy for further brand building in general? So, see, brand building is something which is a very, very large concept, okay. So we believe that if, so we are a very customer-centric organization. So we believe if you look and if you think about customer's interests, your brand gets built over time automatically. Okay, so first is that we as an organization keep customer's interests first. Second, okay, we use a lot of communication with the customer. So in financial services, you know, as you, it's a complex word. So communication is most important. So you need to keep communicating with the customer at ups, downs, highs, lows, when the portfolio is doing good, when the portfolio is not doing, second is to do keep communicating with the customer a lot. Okay. Third, as I said, we have just made these two ads which you referred, you know. So similarly, we are increasing our little bit of presence on the digital platforms. And on digital platforms, the objective is to start creating a lot of content. Because content helps you educate customers, talk to them in the language which they understand. Okay. Rather than using the complex jargon, using a content, you know, a layman content, you can explain the, explain the complex financial products into easy ways. So a lot of investment is happening in basically creating digital content. Where you can engage with customers digitally, explain them to products, features and educate them. So I'll give an example. Okay. Now, a lot of people in equity markets do transactions. However, you know, you have to be very disciplined to create wealth in equity, right? Or you have to be very disciplined in terms of, you know, type of stop losses, markets, ups and downs. So it is all about rather than giving people only the research and strategies and everything which a lot of people today are giving on, on, on Twitter's of the world and YouTube's. The important thing is how to explain to or inculcate the discipline in the investors is a question. Now you can create a lot of blogs, content, which you can promote, you know, using your own handles, your own digital platform, and maybe using the influencers, those who have a lot of subscriber base and talking about all these things. So the whole objective is to, as I said, consumer is the first, you know, focus of the organization. The whole thing is to build content around a consumer, which will help consumer basically get to the next level and create wealth for them and use the digital platform to communicate. Your answer is prompting me to ask one more last question. What is your media mix? So, so I'll tell you, okay, a large part of our spend is digital right now. Okay. And the reason is specific. As I said, for us, all mediums are same. The only thing why our spend is digital today is because we are able to talk to a very specific cohort of customers. Okay. And we can actually curate the content and the channel as per their preference. Okay. So the slip, so, so, so the slippage is very, very less when we talk to the customer digital, we can have a very sharp communication can have a very sharp, sharp message and a content shared with the customer. And within digital, if I ask, I mean, is it email or WhatsApp, which is more prominent? So, so I'll tell you, it all depends. Okay. So I'll be, I'll not be right position to answer you exactly how I'll tell you why. So a lot of our communication today is moving from email to WhatsApp. Okay. Now, consumer prefer WhatsApp. So even transaction communication is moving from your emails to WhatsApp. So that is how now your new product launches, product feature launches are moving to basically Instagram, where you have the highest number of views. I did used to be only Facebook. Now it's Facebook and Instagram. Okay. Some serious content influencers or something where you have, you know, some serious content is moving to LinkedIn and Twitter. So, so as I said, we use different mediums to talk to a different segment of customers. Okay. If we create a very, very user friendly product in general insurance example, like a top of insurance for our youth or a young consumers. So we prefer to promote that or to educate the consumers on Instagram. Because that's where we find a lot of youth are there. So if we create something which is, which is like, you know, education series on say structured products or alternate investment funds, we prefer to use Twitter and LinkedIn. So it depends on the, it's not about the mix in terms of we don't have any such thing like digitally how we want to have the mix. It all depends on the type of a product, type of an education, which we want to provide. And then we analyze what is the, what is the user behavior of that platform and accordingly we use that. Thank you so much for taking time out to speak with us. Thank you. Thank you so much. Pleasure is all mine. Thank you very much.