Trust is the bedrock of our business: Abhinav Iyer, Muthoot Finance

Muthoot Finance has launched a new campaign titled “Gold Loan Kamaal, Doosre Loan Bemisaal.” The campaign features a three-film ad series focusing on their Gold Overdraft Loan, Personal Loan, and Loan Against Property (LAP).

In an exclusive interview, Abhinav Iyer, Senior General Manager – Marketing and Strategy at Muthoot Finance, discusses the company’s new campaign, the trust customers place in Muthoot Finance, and how the brand is expanding its offerings beyond gold loans.

Excerpts:

Are there any specific outcomes you are targeting in terms of brand perception, engagement or customer acquisition with this new campaign?

Muthoot Finance has long been recognized as India’s leading Gold Loan brand. In fact, as a Gold Loan Category Leader, our portfolio has been growing consistently year after year. This is a clear demonstration of the ever-growing trust people have in the brand and our gold loan offering. I believe we can all agree that when it comes to gold loans, the name that comes to mind is Muthoot Finance.

Our new campaign, ‘Gold Loan Kamaal, Doosre Loan Bemisaal,’ is a 3-film ad series covering three important products: Gold Overdraft Loan, Personal Loan (PL), and Loan Against Property (LAP). Each film presents the compelling value propositions of these three products.

In terms of brand perception, engagement, and customer acquisition, our aim is to present Muthoot Finance as a financial supermarket, offering not just great gold loan products, but also other secured and unsecured products such as Loan Against Property and Personal Loan. 

To put it simply, while Gold Loan is synonymous with the brand, this new campaign specifically aims to showcase and assure audiences that they can benefit equally from availing our other great financial services, such as Gold Overdraft Loan, Personal Loan, and Loan Against Property.

Is there a new product being launched with this new campaign?

Yes, absolutely. Personal Loan and Loan Against Property are fairly recent inclusions in our product portfolio, and we are actively working to scale them up. Additionally, this campaign also introduces an exciting product called Muthoot Finance Gold Overdraft, a gold-backed overdraft product tailored for business owners such as shopkeepers, traders, restaurant owners, chemists, garment dealers, brokers, agents, and other SMEs and MSMEs, as well as self-employed professionals like lawyers, doctors, and solicitors. 

This product came about after substantial due diligence and research, where respondents expressed the need for a gold-backed overdraft facility. Inspired by this feedback, we specially designed this product to address customer pain points around cyclical fund needs, particularly for business owners and self-employed professionals. However, the product is open to all and can be availed by any individual or family with similar periodic fund requirements.

With Muthoot Finance Gold Overdraft, customers can pledge their gold and receive a 24x7 credit line, which they can access anytime, anywhere, from the comfort of their home or workplace using our iMuthoot Mobile App or Muthoot Online web service. Customers only need to pay interest on the amount utilized, and there are no gold evaluation charges, no pre-payment or part-payment penalties, and no charges for non-utilization of the credit limit. I'm glad to share that this new product is receiving a heart-warming response from our customers, and one of our three films is aimed at promoting this product in a big way.

How do you ensure that your campaign not only reaches your core audience but also resonates with younger, digitally-savvy consumers?

Communications around financial services are usually on the serious side, considering the nature of the product or service itself. However, the creative strategy we adopt while curating our films is to convey customer-centric value propositions in an interesting and engaging manner that resonates well with our audience.

We consciously use characters depicting a wide cross-section of people across age, gender, cross-cultural backgrounds, and geographical diversity to make the films relatable to a wide spectrum of audiences. Being a true Bharat brand with a strong presence across 22 Indian States and 6 Union Territories, our communications are quite inclusive.

We also devise and deploy a robust media plan that addresses all segments, including youngsters. Our media mix also entails a healthy investment in new-age channels such as social media, hyperlocal platforms, performance marketing, and connected TV, to name a few.

Amitabh Bachchan has long been associated with Muthoot Finance. How has his role as a brand ambassador evolved in terms of messaging?

Mr. Bachchan is unparalleled, and we feel extremely honoured to have him endorse our brand for the past several years. He is a thorough professional, and working with him is such a delight. He wholeheartedly embraces the role our storyline demands and improvises on it beyond measure.

Having a brand ambassador who is so loved, admired, and accepted across age groups, genders, and geographies is such a blessing. His role as a brand ambassador has evolved in many ways over the years of our association. In more than 30 films we have created with Mr. Bachchan, he has played the role of a sutradhaar (narrator), a catalyst, and more than a dozen characters, dazzling us with his finesse, style, delivery, performance, and charisma. Mr. Bachchan has been an integral part of the brand’s marketing transformation journey over the last six to seven years.

With him, we have created a wide array of films—whether it was a song-and-dance film alongside CSK players in our “Life Mein Aagey Badhiye” campaign, leading an attitudinal transformation in our “Soch Badliye” campaign, or projecting Muthoot Finance as a home-grown brand contributing to nation-building in our “Taking India Forward” campaign. 

Whether he’s playing the role of an inspirational storyteller in our “Sunheri Soch” campaign or helping grow the gold loan category with our “Gold Loan is Good” campaign, Mr. Bachchan has done it all with aplomb. Above all, he has projected Muthoot Finance as the true Guardian of Trust, empowering society to unlock the true potential of their emotional currency.