IDFC First Bank hard sells new brand identity via topical content, influencer marketing

After the merger of IDFC Bank and Capital First, the financial institution created a new entity, IDFC First Bank, and a new brand proposition, #AlwaysYouFirst. To promote this new customer-first approach and its 7% p.a. savings account, Interactive Avenues, the digital arm of IPG Mediabrands, took to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube to create a content-driven influencer marketing campaign.

In partnership with Mastra Media (influencer agency), Interactive Avenues roped in social influencers such as Soha Ali Khan, Karan Kundrra, Anusha Dandekar, Mohsin Khan, Siddharth Nigam, Prince Narula and Harsha Bhogle. The agency supported several social conversations through interesting content around Game of Thrones (GoT), Avengers: Endgame and ICC World Cup 2019. The best traction was, however, received around conversations on GoT.

The brand created an intellectual property (IP), a micro-series called ‘Cricket First with Harsha Bhogle’, to leverage conversations around ICC World Cup 2019. Through the micro-series hosted on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, fans got first-hand predictions and analysis of India matches. Harsha’s on-time and on-point predictions about Indian #GameChangers like Rohit Sharma and Yuzvendra Chahal led to more fans tuning in. IDFC also ran a teaser poll called #HarshaAsks on social media to gauge fan opinions.

A deep dive into the bank’s audience’s content consumption habits revealed a preference for entertainment/celebrity content. Capitalising on the growing trend of celeb reaction videos, #AlwaysYouFirst was promoted through India’s first-ever television commercial (TVC)-reaction video series, featuring influencers. The TVCs showed people putting the needs of others first and the influencers shared similar moments from their lives in the films. The series created a huge impact and consumers started sharing their own #AlwaysYouFirst stories.

In a bid to connect with the fans directly, Prince Narula took to the streets of Mumbai to do a vox pop that captured heart-warming stories of people in the maximum city.

Talking about the campaign, Shantanu Sirohi, COO, Interactive Avenues, said, “The bank’s new brand ethos #AlwaysYouFirst is all about people. That’s why we created a people-powered approach in the campaign, which included influencer marketing and user-generated content. It was the best way to amplify this message on social media. Getting celebrities and fans to share their #AlwaysYouFirst stories also helped create maximum impact around the brand message.”