HDFC Bank is at the forefront of digital transformation in the banking sector, leveraging technology to enhance customer experience and security. In an exclusive interview with exchange4media, Ravi Santhanam, Group Head, CMO, and Head of Direct-to-Consumer Products at HDFC Bank, discusses the evolving role of marketing, the shift to digital banking, and the bank’s initiatives to combat fraud.
With 90-95% of banking transactions now digital, he highlights how customer expectations have changed, making seamless omnichannel experiences crucial for success.
A key focus for HDFC Bank has been security awareness, leading to the launch of ‘Vigil Aunty,’ a digital persona educating users on fraud prevention. With over 2 million followers, this initiative has become a powerful tool in spreading awareness about digital scams. Ravi Santhanam also sheds light on HDFC’s marketing strategies, emphasising data-driven campaigns tailored to business objectives and customer behavior.
Here is the full interview.
How do you see the CMO landscape shifting? What unique challenges does the banking sector face in adopting direct-to-consumer strategies?
The role of marketing has expanded significantly—from pure branding to demand generation and now demand fulfillment. This shift is driven by industry evolution and the ability to fulfill demand digitally. Consumers now buy household items online, something uncommon 15 years ago. Banking, as a non-physical product, was limited by supply constraints rather than consumer reluctance. As digital supply increased, adoption followed—today, 90-95% of banking transactions are digital.
Consumers now distinguish between transaction types: high-value ones may still require RTGS for security, while routine transactions are handled digitally. Technology has transformed industries that prioritise customer experience. In banking, transactions became digital first, followed by services, and now sales.
Consumer behavior has also evolved—people rely on online searches, ratings, and reviews instead of seeking expert opinions. Trust builds over time, reinforcing digital adoption. Adapting to change has been key to industry success, and HDFC Bank has embraced this by shifting transactions, services, and now sales to digital. Today, 80% of service transactions are digital, and customers can apply for credit cards, home loans, car loans, and personal loans online—getting approvals and disbursements without leaving their homes. This is the power of technology in banking.
In banking, where direct-to-consumer interactions often involve a human touch, does marketing take a backseat in a traditionally sales-driven environment? Has technology helped expand marketing’s role in this landscape?
Traditionally, marketers were brand custodians, but at HDFC Bank, we expanded this to brand experience custodians in an experiential economy. With technological shifts, consumers now compare banking experiences to e-commerce, mobility, and ticketing platforms. Their expectations are fluid—they expect seamless, intuitive interactions across all industries and channels. To meet this, marketing ensures consistency across physical, telephonic, and digital touchpoints, with smooth handoffs between them.
Beyond generating demand, marketing also fulfills it by leveraging communication channels, personalising interactions, and converting interest into intent. If a consumer is searching for a product or service we offer, marketing must ensure they are aware of it, understand its advantages, and have a seamless journey to complete the transaction. Not all consumers with intent will complete the sale immediately—some explore, while others are ready to buy.
Through analytics and remarketing, we nurture potential drop-offs, re-engaging customers via multiple channels. By creating additional touchpoints, we guide them back to complete their journey. This evolution has turned us into "revenue marketers," directly driving business by showcasing products, highlighting advantages, and streamlining purchase journeys to maximise conversions.
With transactions moving increasingly to digital platforms, have the ad spends also gone completely digital? How has your marketing communication evolved to keep pace with this shift?
The question of whether ad spends are digital or traditional is becoming redundant. What truly matters is our structured three-step approach for every campaign: defining the business objective, marketing objective, and campaign objective.
For instance, if the business goal is maximum visibility in the shortest time to drive sales—like during festive treats—we focus on reaching all customers across India within a 30-45 day window. Here, traditional media often outperforms digital in ensuring mass awareness quickly.
However, when targeting specific customer cohorts, digital media provides better precision and efficiency. Our media mix is always determined by the campaign's objective, balancing traditional and digital channels accordingly. While digital continues to offer increasing advantages, its role depends on the strategic needs of each campaign.
BFSI has been among the fastest-growing advertisers across platforms. How have HDFC’s marketing spends shaped up in 2024, and do you anticipate further growth in 2025?
HDFC's marketing spend targets two areas. First, our new-age Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) products like PayZapp and SmartWealth. As these products are in the nascent stage of market entry, ensuring consumer awareness requires substantial investment. For instance, we leveraged IPL last year to promote PayZapp and will engage in similar high-impact marketing efforts as needed.
For our regular banking products, where the majority of customers are existing HDFC Bank clients, we use media channels most relevant to that specific audience. We’re flexible in our media choices, selecting whatever best aligns with our objectives at any given time. Our spending will always align with the bank's overarching business goals.
With rising digital fraud concerns, how is HDFC integrating security awareness into its marketing communications? Also, how is ‘Vigil Aunty’ contributing to this effort?
See this is something which we are very happy about. And also something which we all feel very bad about. That digital has its own advantages. But it also had its other side which is the rampant digital frauds. And as India's largest private sector bank, we have been always saying that it is our responsibility, our accountability to go ahead and make sure that our consumers are aware of what is this digital fraud and how do we prevent them from falling prey to these kinds of frauds.
We take a two-pronged approach. First, on the technology front, we continuously enhance security through measures like SIM binding, multi-factor authentication, cooling periods for fund transfers, and wrapper technology that prevents unauthorised access. These investments help minimise fraud risk.
Second, we focus on consumer awareness, as human vulnerability remains the biggest challenge. People often share sensitive information due to fear, urgency, or social pressure. Fraudsters exploit this by creating panic through scams such as fake electricity disconnection threats, frozen bank account warnings, or claims of digital arrest.
To counter this, we launched engaging awareness campaigns, including a rap song to educate younger audiences, who in turn educate their families. This led to the creation of Vigil Aunty, our digital influencer, now in her third year. With over 2 million followers, she helps spread fraud awareness in a relatable, engaging manner.
We also collaborate with government agencies, regulators, and organisations to expand our reach. The goal is to ensure more consumers stay informed and protected, and we will continue evolving our efforts to combat digital fraud effectively.
Can you give us a sneak peek into the new campaigns HDFC has planned for this year?
We will not give you any sneak peeks on the ad campaigns that are planned. All our campaigns will be very specific to the needs that we see. And obviously we see a lot of opportunity in the consumption space with respect to what has happened in the country of late.
So we do expect a consumption boom to happen starting April, May, June. And we will be happy to participate in terms of kick starting that consumption growth. You will see some work happening on that.
And we are very particular about what I said earlier. That all our spends are related to the objectives that we lay for ourselves for the year. And we will continue to be at it.
.jpg)
