LETTER FROM CHAIRMAN

April 2013

There’s a TV commercial by SBI Home Loans that’s being aired for some time, showing a young, seemingly middle class family in a slice-of-life setting.

The spot starts with a young school-going son coming home in his cricket gear, almost in a heap of tears. The boy says his team was not available because “they’ve gone on a holiday…” His little sister also chimes in with a “mujhe bhi jaana hai.”

The father then makes their day, saying he too would take them on a holiday – much to his wife’s surprise who knows that the family is weighed down with a home loan.

Though the final message and payoff is linked to a product promise, I found the treatment of this commercial interesting. I could see the logic of a strong creative platform that used peer pressure from family members to underline a concern and get a positive message across.

With a “chuttiyon mein ghoomne chalenge” storyline, this could just as well been a commercial for a timeshare company. Because there’s a big growing opportunity in customer segments that identify with this treatment. It’s a good idea to address the successful, hard working professional who wants to give his family safety, security and yes … the good things in life.

As you can see there seems to be a clear shuffle in family priorities and budget allocations. A holiday for this middle class family is within the same “consider me” basket as a serious investment product. In a sense, the leverage factor is actually the solution in itself.

Which brings me to the need to re-invent our marketing strategies, for selling our products. I firmly believe we have a great product that is fast evolving with the needs of our prospects – a product the customer perceives as a useful and interesting component in the family’s budgeting calendar.

And unlike people of the previous generation, who typically waited till they retired to take things easy and enjoy life, today’s professional wants to work hard and play hard. He wants to enjoy his rewards now and have a good time with the family.

I also feel there’s great potential talking to the young, professional working woman. She too is capable of making a timeshare decision based on her financial status and income. I know of a case where the fund flow plans of a family are seamless and smooth - in spite of the fact that the woman earns substantially more than her husband.

These days, women also want to share the fruits of their financial successes with the family. And believe me, today’s woman works just as hard, and comes back home with the same work pressures we associate with traditional breadwinners.

If there’s a lesson here, it is useful to look at opportunities from a constantly changing view-point. And focus on today’s emerging customer and the dynamics that surround him, or her.

As David Ogilvy once said: The consumer isn't a moron; she is your wife.

B. S. Rathor
Chairman, AIRDA

PS > This is the link to the commercial I was referring to in this message.