Kotak talks of being intelligent; introduces more online services

Kotak Mahindra Bank has rolled out two ad films based on the ‘samajhdari’ campaign. The film has been conceptualised by Cartwheel.

 The two films are centered on two digital services that Kotak has introduced.

The first film entitled, ‘Instant Pin’, begins with a group of friends sitting at a table, sharing a few laughs.  One of the friends interrupts everyone to tell them that he has forgotten his card PIN. As panic begins to set in due to the fact that no one on the table has any money, the boy with the card asks everyone to settle down and tell him two numbers each. Once the friends do this, he informs them that he has just reset his card PIN. He then proceeds to pay his bill. As one of the friends tells the boy that everyone knows his Pin now, he retorts back saying that he has changed it once more.

The film ends with a voice over telling the audience that they can change their Pin anytime.

The other film entitled, ‘Mail money’, begins with a young girl browsing books at a book store. She picks up and puts back books due to their price. The film cuts to an old man on a computer. He has the Kotak website open where he is sending an email out to someone. The film cuts back to the girl in the shop. She finds an envelope containing money. Excited, she goes back to purchase a book she really likes.

The film ends with a voice over asking people to send some happiness by sending money using email. 

Karthi Marshan, executive vice president and head, group marketing, Kotak Mahindra Bank, said, “Our campaign focuses on digital offerings which simplify otherwise cumbersome banking processes. We have designed the ads around services which address consumer needs with innovative and seamless solutions, while taking a youthful, digital savvy positioning.”

D Ramakrishna, founder, Cartwheel Creative, said, “Banking has always been seen as a chore and bank ads have always tried to remind us that it needn't be. So, at the risk of crying wolf, it needs to be said that this new crop of products from Kotak does take ease to a whole new level. For instance, losing a PIN number is usually a cause for panic. But the character in the Instant PIN film is so chilled about losing his PIN, he turns it into some kind of magic act. Then, there's the mail money film, where we wanted to emphasise the incredible simplicity of sending money using something as basic as email. Here, we also wanted to emphasise that, ultimately, money's real power lies in its ability to get us the things we love. And in an upcoming film we introduce an even newer concept that we're calling hash tag banking. There was also radio, outdoor and print highlighting each of these new products. Another factor was that Kotak is young as banks go, and the imagery needed to reflect that fact. Showing youngsters in a category where the young hardly ever get featured, is already clutter breaking. This was a great opportunity to create a banking campaign that didn't feel like one, and we do believe we're well on our way."

Credits:
Client: Kotak Mahindra Bank
Creative agency: Cartwheel Creative
Production house:  Jamic Films
Director:  Nikhil Rao
Director of Photography:  Karthik Vijay
Producer: Mekala Krishnawamy, Akshay Uchil
Agency Planning: Mehboob Ghai
Agency Servicing: Shaun Pereira, Ashish shah
Film: Shumon Bhattacharya