Partnering with IPL’s Royal Challengers Bangalore is HDFC Bank’s strategy to enhance visibility for PayZapp and expand its reach, especially among the younger generations, shared Ravi Santhanam, Group Head, Chief Marketing Officer & Head of Direct to Consumer Business at HDFC Bank.

HDFC Bank has not only partnered with the IPL team but is also one of the sponsors on both TV and digital. 

During a conversation with e4m, Ravi Santhanam spoke about the strategic significance of this partnership and how HDFC Bank is leveraging IPL to enhance its presence and outreach.

Excerpts:

What were the driving factors and key objectives behind the partnership with RCB and broadcast partners (Star Sports and Jio Cinema)?

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is one of the most-watched sporting events in India, attracting millions of viewers from all regions, cutting across all age groups. By partnering with IPL and specifically with a popular team like RCB, PayZapp by HDFC Bank aims to enhance its brand visibility and reach a vast audience across the country, especially the younger generation. RCB has a large fan base, which provides a strategic platform for PayZapp to interact with cricket enthusiasts. 

IPL is popular across a diverse population of the country, including young and tech-savvy consumers who are likely to use digital payment solutions like PayZapp. Partnership with RCB helps us enhance our boundaries and reach out to today’s 'Digital Natives,’ who prefer to use technology to access most services. This collaboration allows PayZapp by HDFC Bank to directly engage with its target audience via cricket-related content and promotions. With the increasing popularity of digital and contactless payments, PayZapp is leveraging this partnership to promote the convenience of digital payments. 

How does HDFC Bank's PayZapp envision leveraging its partnership with IPL 2024 to enhance brand visibility and engagement, particularly with cricket enthusiasts and digital consumers?

PayZapp by HDFC Bank intends to use its collaboration with IPL 2024 to significantly enhance brand visibility and engagement among cricket fans and digital consumers – people who understand and prefer a digital ecosystem, smartphone users and social media enthusiasts, among others.

PayZapp's integration into the IPL experience promises exclusive deals and offers that appeal to the IPL audience. PayZapp will use targeted advertisements during matches to highlight varied payment options and simplicity, reliability and security in digital payments, thereby capitalising on IPL's widespread viewership across several platforms.

This collaboration will not only attract new users to PayZapp, but also strengthen its relationship with existing customers by providing value-added services and experiences tailored to the excitement and energy of the IPL season, ultimately solidifying its position as India's preferred digital payment solution.

Could you share some innovative branding/marketing strategies, which we will witness during this IPL season?

From HDFC Bank, this IPL season, you can expect innovative branding and marketing strategies designed to enhance fan engagement and brand visibility. 

We have recently released an ad campaign featuring RCB players Virat Kohli, Mohammad Siraj and Cameron Green. The film humorously depicts how the players were given limited options when it comes to life, whereas PayZapp allows them to make payments anyway, anyplace, and to anyone.

Furthermore, we have been screening three PayZapp commercial videos with celebrities Tiger Shroff, Prabhu Deva and Kapil Sharma. The idea behind these films is simple: while some people are stereotyped or may not have enough alternatives in life, PayZapp is the ideal payment partner for consumers because it offers a host of easy and secure payment options.

Further, we are running the Score Big on PayZapp contest where PayZapp users can win daily, weekly, and seasonal prizes by utilising our ‘super payment app’ for various transactions. The contest offers customers an opportunity to win e-vouchers and merchandise by scoring runs on PayZapp.

Can you provide insights into the target audience that HDFC PayZapp aims to reach through its association with IPL?

Through its partnership with IPL, PayZapp by HDFC Bank intends to attract a diversified population, with a focus on tech-savvy millennials and Gen Z who like sports and entertainment. The target audience also includes urban consumers who prefer convenient and secure digital payment solutions. PayZapp leverages this opportunity to engage with enthusiastic online shoppers, sports fans and technology enthusiasts, positioning itself as the go-to digital payment platform that matches the lifestyle and interests of the IPL audience.

Looking ahead, does PayZapp by HDFC Bank have any future plans or initiatives in mind to further capitalise on its partnership with IPL beyond the current season?

For now, we are excited to be a part of this season and would like to focus on it. We hope cricket fans and more people enjoy seeing the ad series and promotions on PayZapp, as much as we enjoyed creating them.