Vignesh Murali - Good Things Don’t Come Easy (Senior Vice President & Head - Marketing, Equitas Bank)

Brand recall is a metric that explains how well consumers can remember a brand. It measures, often through surveys, how likely it is people instantly recall a brand’s name when asked about certain products, services, or markets, prompted or unprompted. 

1. Tell us about your background and journey?

A result-oriented professional with more than 16 years of experience in the field of Marketing, Branding Management, Communications, and Product Development and management. Ä Acquired in-depth knowledge and expertise in Marketing, Corporate Communications, Advertising, Promotions, Events, Agency, Vendor Management, and PR. 

Proven track record of developing, and implementing brand standards and guidelines to ensure consistency and standardization in communication and Branding. Ä Proven track record in establishing systems and procedures to ensure cost efficiency for Agencies, vendors, and internal customers. Proven skills in planning and implementing high-budget campaigns across media. Specialties: Marketing Strategy, Digital and social Media Marketing, Product Marketing, Brand Management, Advertising, BFSI Marketing, Activation, Visual Merchandising, Research, and Business Development. 

I have a Master’s degree in International Management from Newcastle Business School, Singapore, and also earned a prestigious degree in digital marketing & analytics from the Indian School of Business. Also won the award from Business World Marketer 40 under 40.

2. What has changed about marketing in the last decade and what will be the future according to you?

· How to win over the mind and at the same time customer’s heart

· Influencer Marketing will evolve into a common marketing tactic.

· Video marketers will keep the content short and simple

· Social Media will become a customer service tool

· Mobile optimization will be more important

· Brands will test out more native ads

· Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality will experience a slow adoption in the marketing sphere.

· Aligned marketing and sales team will win

3. How do you gauge recall of your creative ads or in-stadium displays and activities? More importantly, how do you assess whether your brand was correctly linked to your ads and activities? 

Billions of people worldwide enjoy watching sports, and there is endless opportunity for marketing to this audience. There is no energy like the felt inside a stadium full of thousands of screaming fans. The passion, excitement, and total commitment of everyone in the stadium take over. 

We had installed our own Equitas-Gujarat Titans and Royal Challengers Bangalore stall at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad and Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. Also, there were Equitas digital ads running on the scorecard LCDs inside the stadium. The pull was great and overwhelming with lots of eyeballs. We kept it very simple. Messages that provided value to the customers, were consistent and these created emotional connections.

4. How do you measure if your brand perceptions and imagery were enhanced during the IPL and how much of it was due to the various IPL activities that you conducted? 

Through our IPL Campaign and our partnership with GT and RCB we can measure brand perceptions in 2 ways, one is Awareness created in Digital and through ATL, BTL mode. 

Another is Business generated for a top line of the Bank, it can be a number of Selfe SA & FD converted. We got close to a million eyeballs through Hoardings in Bengaluru and Ahmedabad.

5. Do you feel it is important to gauge whether recall of your brand is impacted by the performances of your team? How do you achieve this currently?  

Brand recall is a metric that explains how well consumers can remember a brand. It measures, often through surveys, how likely it is people instantly recall a brand’s name when asked about certain products, services, or markets, prompted or unprompted. 

For Equitas, the brand recall value will definitely be the CSR initiative ‘Circle of Life’, our association with IPL giants Chennai Super Kings, and yes off-course the famous 7% interest rates on SA. What is so unique about Equitas is when you bank with us you contribute which is our entire positioning as well. Today we are very strong in terms of digital but we also focus heavily on below-the-line activations. The team is very competitive and has successfully advanced to create visibility so that maximum consumers can be attracted to the brand and the product proposition.

6. Which is your favorite book and why?

Rich Dad, Poor Dad.

This story is all about what his "rich dad" taught him about money that how he can achieve financial freedom by building a passive income instead of doing a regular 9 to 5 job.

This book will change your perspective about money and how to earn it. It will challenge your beliefs and understanding about money and will tell you why some people become rich and some remain poor all their life

7. What is your greatest life lesson so far and a piece of advice that you would like to share with future marketers?

Good things don’t come easy

If you want to have a good life with a successful career, emotional satisfaction, and trustworthy friends you have to work hard. Luck can take you only so far and the rest is entirely up to you, the amount of effort you put in every day, and the ability to learn from your mistakes.

· Proactively meet challenges. Everyone's career has challenges. ...

· Have courage.

· Respect others and their opinions

· The people and the job are equally important.

· Listen.

Brief Bio:

Established marketer with 16 years of experience in serving brand audiences via real-time, digital, and virtual innovation through striking stories. Amalgamating business acumen and creative strategy to create best-in-class marketing initiatives with the experience of building brands from scratch is my core competence.

Currently: Head of Marketing, Brand, and Corporate Communication at Equitas Small Finance Bank Inc. This includes heading activities across ATL, BTL, Digital Media, Loyalty Programs, Product P&L Management, and Digital Customer Acquisition.

A strategic leader with demonstrated success in unleashing, recognizing & maximizing individual, agency, and cross-functional team potential. Possesses proven expertise in building C-Suite board relations, investor relations, and vertical plus horizontal business alliances to chart brand growth, reach and leverage upon win-win opportunities.

Having solid career stints with Murugappa Group’s Cholamandalam Finance, Times Group, and now with Equitas, I have a proven track record in establishing a deep-rooted presence for brands through new-age marketing campaigns. I have spearheaded campaigns with a 360-degree approach guaranteeing apt positioning in desired markets.

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Interviewed By - Aarya Gode