Today India’s youth is bombarded with advertisements and brands in the BFSI space are increasingly targeting them. They are being given the bait of making easy money by some platforms and traditional banks are relying on their legacy to lure them in. But, what is it that will actually that the young consumers of India seek. Read more to find out!

1. Are we marketing
finance to youth right?
A strategic instigation for what BFSI brands should offer
Millennials and Gen-Z

2. Today, consumers are living the fast & convenient life. Want food – order
online, want to go somewhere - book a cab, want access to unlimited
content – here’s an app for that, want to shop for anything and everything
– here are some options. This has made the consumer used to
convenience and they seek this in every facet of their lives.
ARE WE “APP”ing the youth right

3. Message – Invest in crypto. It’s
simple
Communication personality – A
friend who knows everything and
simplifies it for you
Message – The stock market does not
care about your age/race/colour/class
etc.
Communication personality – Am
innovator who was tired of people
refraining from investment and
simplified it for them
So, what are new age investment apps saying?
Video link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShgtgIGXw-4
Video link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxcfjtASNLQ

4. Message – Other things might seem
hard but we assure you that we make
investment the easiest thing
Communication personality – A teacher
from school that simplifies subjects
Message – It’s so simple that almost
everyone is investing. So what are you
waiting for?
Communication personality – A
community one should not miss out on
joining
Video link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZT4YXJmvLo
Video link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUvGHlrIy2o
So, what are new age investment apps saying?

5. New age investment apps are chasing
ease & convenience and ignoring
everything else
“SIMPLE” HI SABKUCH HAI!

6. THIS HAS CAUSED A MASSIVE CLUTTER
OF SIMPLISTIC APPS IN THE CATEGORY
Not just investment apps but every other new age app in the
BFSI space is talking simple and easy

7. And, how are traditional banks
talking to today’s ‘App’y
consumers?

8. Message – Put your money in the hands of
people who know and are experienced
Communication personality – A father
figure that guides you
Message – Why worry when you’re
with HDFC bank
Communication personality – A genie
who comes in and resolves all your
worries
Video link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uJ3vB1i9RM Video link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GS6k7PpQ0Ag

9. Message – Understanding the market
and your needs to deliver the best
results
Communication personality – A mentor
from whom you’re willing to seek advice
Message – Invest in yourself and your
dreams
Communication personality –
Someone who believes in you and wants
you to scale heights
Video link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YHDYETCtuk
Video link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSFEDccla7U

10. Traditional banks are ignoring ease &
convenience. They are relying on their
legacy & busy chasing gravitas
LEGACY, LEGACY, LEGACY…

11. Let’s draw a comparison
between the two
TRADITIONAL BANKS
NEW AGE INVESTMENT APPS
New age investment apps have gotten
it right when it comes to showcasing
the youth. They have tried to capture
the various interests of today’s youth,
their ambitions and their lifestyles.
Peppy, upbeat and electronic sounds
are used in their communications
which appeal to the youth and are
relatable for them.
THE MISSING LINK? - The missing link
in these apps is trust. Although this content
is relatable, it does not give enough reason
for the consumer to trust the app
Traditional banks are showcasing
youngsters but it is limited to that.
Their lifestyles and ambitions are not
properly captured which makes it
irrelevant for this cohort.
And in case traditional banks do get the
visual representation right, they rely
on emotional, touching or light music
which is not appealing to the youth.
THE MISSING LINK? - Traditional banks have a
strong legacy to build trust amongst the youth but
they are not crafting communications that are
relevant for this consumer

12. None of them are actually looking at what the
consumer wants and losing out on a not so
active yet not so nascent consumer base

13. Convenience vs.
Legacy/Trust/Wisdom
What is the the way forward for BFSI brands?

14. Understanding the consumer & category
We conducted consumer immersions in the age group of 18-33 and
understood their attitude, mindset and behavior towards financial
products, investments and management to decode how BFSI brands
should be marketing to them. We also conducted an in-depth
communication analysis to understand what brands are saying

15. HOW ARE BFSI BRANDS PERCIEVED?
Serious
Relaxed
Boring
Exciting/Cool
Other traditional banks

16. Serious
Relaxed
Boring
Exciting/Cool
Other traditional banks
Traditional banks have the advantage of
legacy and trust but are perceived as
boring which does them no good. They
need to move towards being
exciting/cool through positioning,
proposition, UI/UX, targeted
communication, services, etc.
HOW ARE BFSI BRANDS PERCIEVED?

17. 23 year old female - Pursuing post graduation
and doing an internship
1. "As a girl researching about financial terms
and finances is very difficult. Brands claim to
help me but no one really does. Brands like
cred are very new and hep, but don't give
out every information. Bass hook kar dete
hai. As a bank, you should understand the
lingo of girls.
2. “Gpay se payment fat fat fat hojayega and I
won’t have to deal with the entire process of
entering the CVV and all”
25 year old male – Mid Jobber
1. “Shuruvaat toh papa ne jo bataya usi se ki
thi which is why I started using the bank’s
investment platform but it was too
confusing isiliye I shifted to a different
platform”
2. “I prefer Zerodha because a lot of my
friends had recommended it. Unhone bola
interface accha hai, easy hai aur app
reliable bhi hai”
WHAT IS THE CONSUMER SPEAK?

18. What consumers are actually looking for
from you?
Easy, innovative and
convenient Complex, legacy and trust
Others
Others
A mixture of both – Consumer
wants age old brands to offer
new age solutions
This becomes the area
where, we as a brand, offer
our wisdom of numerous
years of banking and
financial management in the
form of new age smart
solutions. A mixture of ease,
innovation and convenience
with the wisdom of legacy
and trust is what consumers
want from us.

19. LIFE CONTEXTS
18-24 25-29 30-33
A post graduate student or a first
time jobber who has experienced
financial independence for the
first time. They are sandwiched
between wanting to enjoy
financial independence and
becoming responsible adults.
Currently financial planning for
them is a way to fulfil their
esteem needs.
They have experienced financial
independence for a while now.
They want to contribute to the
family and become responsible
for people other than
themselves. They want to invest
& save for not just their
materialistic needs but to be
ready for contingencies.
They are now married & well
settled into their jobs. Their
esteem needs are still there but
they seek stability. For them
investment and saving means
wealth creation for the future.
They weight of responsibilities
on their shoulders will increase
and they want to be ready for it.

20. Convenience and ease has now become a “must do” in this
era of apps. What consumers seek along with this is trust
and a purpose that these products serve in their lives
Brands should craft a proposition that lies at the cusp of
the two and merge it with various life contexts of the
youth, to deliver an offering that actually serves a purpose
in their lives.
HOW DO WE APPEAL TO
THE YOUTH?

21. Convenience/
Easy etc.
Need basis life
context
(Esteem, Safety
& Security,
Belongingness)
Communication can be crafted by combining the aspect of convenience (which
is a must in today’s era) along with understanding the need that respective
cohorts are seeking from the category.
Example : Start early to hit your milestones (for the 18-24 cohort)

22. We also stumbled upon a few other
interesting findings that are crucial for the
category

23. Old has to be the new ’New’
The young audiences trust the wisdom of institutional banks however are
attracted to the new age, fast paced, innovative startups.
They seek innovation and easy to use applications from legacy & traditional
banks
Why: When it comes to finances, the stakes are very high. They believe that only the
experienced can handle finances well which is why they turn to the elders of the family who
have the ‘experience of life’
“I want to start off with whatever I have
access to currently toh existing bank ke
through invest karna prefer karungi”
“I already have an account in a bank and
my family members invest through the
same. So, its more trustworthy for me”

24. My Money, My Rules
Indian parents are culturally known to be over controlling when it comes
to every decision their child makes.
The youth are seeking complete financial independence because they
want to get out of the controlling hand of their parents. They have financial
priorities that change with their stage of life and might not be understood
by their parents. They want to feel free and live life on their on terms.
This becomes a great opportunity for us as brands to handhold
youngsters and show them the right way to manage their money and
achieve their goal of becoming financially free.
“I don’t want my father to look at my
finances after a point of time because
he will question my methods”
“I want to be independent and learn
how to take care of money myself”

25. Independence but selective
dependence
Financial management is perceived to be complex and intimidating especially to to youngsters
who have just started earning.
At this crucial juncture when they are experiencing financial freedom for the first time and
bombarded by colleagues/ corporates and brands to start investing and managing money, they
turn to family members (fathers, brothers and earning female members like sisters) for advice.
The youth turn to elder sisters, fathers, elder brothers, close relatives, etc. for advice on finances as
they have experience in this domain and are trustworthy
“I will seek initial advice from my
family members as they have
experience with investing”
“My father has been investing for such
a long time and I trust his judgement”

26. Experiences for life >> Asset
Creation
Financial independence and wealth creation has now moved away from asset creation and has
become an enabler for indulging in experiences. It has become a way of experiencing a larger life
and is not just about creating stability to fall back upon in times of crisis.
“I want to have a different account
after I start earning to manage my
own finances and chase my goals”
“I want to travel a lot and maybe own
a pet in the future”
“If you have money then parents let
you do everything. I want my own
money so I can travel and explore”

27. To summarize
The youth trust the wisdom
of traditional banks but
find them dull & boring.
They seek newer, better
and innovative experiences
from them
Financial independence is
being chased to live life
on their own terms and
pursue a life that they
always dreamed of
They are chasing
independence but are
selectively dependent on
their family members
(father, elder sister,
brother, close relative,
etc.) for sound advice on
finances
Indulging in experiences
has taken over asset
creation. The youth want
to live a full life and not
miss out on anything.
OLD HAS TO BE
THE NEW, ‘NEW’
MY MONEY, MY RULES
INDEPENDENCE BUT
SELECTIVE DEPENDENCE
EXPERIENCES FOR LIFE >
ASSET CREATION

28. Instigations
For marketing to the youth better and increasing brand preference amongst them

29. 1.) Building trust amongst new to
category consumers :
Convenience, accessibility, ease, etc.
have become must do’s but even
today consumers seek trust and want
that especially from financial apps. If
one wants to increase conversions,
building trust is very crucial. It could
be by building advisory wings,
investment recommendations basis
life stage, gamification (mock
investment/trading platforms)
Zerodha built a platform to educate
consumers about the workings of stock
market. This helped them built a base
for their platform but also established
trust amongst consumers as Zerodha
had a well established advice seeking
platform
Although gaming is on the rise and has
great potential in the Indian market. It
wasn’t the greatest move to introduce
a gaming platform for a company that
wanted to create a platform for all of
one’s banking and investment need. It
dilutes trust

30. 2.) Be like any other frequently used app on
their phone (Instagram, Swiggy, Zomato, etc.) :
Although, millennials/Gen-Z’s are most aware
of traditional banks, they find these banks
extremely boring and dull. Banks need new
UI/UX interventions that appeal to them as
their interactions with apps has increased and
they want similar innovations/simplification in
all their apps. These interventions will help in
increasing app stickiness and increase time
spent on the app by consumers. If this is not
done, banks will lose out on this opportunity to
target & convert these not so active but not so
nascent consumers. This could not only be done
through UI/UX interventions but service
innovations too. One should aim for becoming a
‘synonym’ for the category like ‘Paytm karo’.

31. 3.) Riding the wave of FOMO by utilizing your
legacy :
New to category consumers are entering the
category because of FOMO. They want to
experience trading in stocks, investing in bitcoins
and mutual funds. New age investment apps are
taking advantage of the boring/dull perception of
banks but traditional banks have a legacy and a
previous association with the consumer in some way
or another (home loan, car loan, family savings
account, demat account etc.).
This legacy must be capitalized to ride the wave of
FOMO. This can be done by UI/UX interventions,
service innovations or by becoming a synonym for
the category. “Fi” has done an amazing job of
generating FOMO through UI/UX and service
innovations in the neo banking space.

32. 4.)Influence the right personal influencers :
Youngsters still look up to their family
members and take advice from them on
financial management.
Personal, familial influencers are the ones who
influence the financial decision making of
youngsters. Creating touchpoints with these
older generations will help us in roping in the
younger generations.
Most consumers of the older generations are
existing customers of traditional banks.
Creating incentives like extra rate of interest
on savings for teenage/young adult kids of
these consumers, preferential banking
treatment to their children, free demat
accounts, special family referral rewards etc.
will work well in influencing these personal
influencers.

33. To become a brand preferred and
loved by new age consumers, give
us a Howl!