Savia Jane Pinto
Advertising

Geojit BNP Paribas offers a transparent piggy bank

The investment and advisory services firm promises transparency in financial transactions

Geojit Securities and BNP Paribas entered an alliance in 2007, whereby the latter became the single largest shareholder in the firm that has since been known as Geojit BNP Paribas.

Early this year, the investment and advisory services firm appointed Euro RSCG as its creative partner. It has now released its first TVC.

Clear cut

The investment and advisory services category includes players such as ICICI Direct, Sharekhan, India Infoline, Kotak Securities, Religare and Motilal Oswal, apart from Geojit BNP Paribas.

Geojit BNP Paribas offers a transparent piggy bank
The launch campaign positions the asset management firm as a transparent broker.

The 30-second ad film opens on the shot of a man proposing to his girl. Before accepting his proposal, however, she decides to tell him some truths about herself. She removes the heels that she's wearing and also wears her spectacles. In response to this, the man removes his wig, confessing that he is bald.

The ad ends with the VO, "Lasting relationships are based on transparency". And at Geojit BNP Paribas, one can benefit with transparency.

A transparent piggy bank is seen at the end of the ad – a metaphor for transparent transactions.

The team from Euro RSCG that worked on this campaign includes Chandramouli Prasad, servicing head; Siddharth Bindra, executive creative director and Prasanna Jagtap, art director. The media agency is MPG.

In an opaque world

Quite a bold statement to make in a category that is ridden with hidden costs and fine print, but Jean Christophe, marketing head, Geojit BNP Paribas, says that it's a claim the broking firm is confident of seeing through.

Geojit BNP Paribas offers a transparent piggy bank
Satbir Singh, chief creative officer, Euro RSCG says that just as one trusts the doctor; similarly, trust is placed in an investment advisor with your life's earnings.

Hence, personal relationship were used as an analogy to bring out the transparency that Geojit BNP Paribas can offer. As Singh says, "All great and successfull relationships are built on transparency. And the relationship between the advisor and the investor is no different."

The fears most customers have while investing their money are: "What is the broker doing with it?" "Has it been wisely invested?" "Will I benefit from this transaction?" More often than not, customers are unaware of all the activities that the broker carries out with their money.

However, customers these days are asking more and more questions and want to be in the know, every step of the investment way. Dhiren Amin, the strategic planner on the account from Euro RSCG, says, "The customer today asks for more accountability and transparency, while the category talks of simplification or different price."

Christophe shares that at Geojit BNP Paribas, brokerage fees are openly discussed and the customer is involved at every stage of the transaction during investment, thus making the process quite transparent.

Doesn't the commercial run the risk of being repetitive, with just one situation to describe transparency? Singh says that's a generic malady that even the greatest of are prone to. "Exposure beyond a point will necessitate a fresher look, and we (along with the client) will take that step," says Singh.

See through

Geojit BNP Paribas offers a transparent piggy bank
Geojit BNP Paribas offers a transparent piggy bank
afaqs! asks a few adlanders if the message was crystal clear.

Sukumar Menon of Black Swan Life is reminded of a similar ad, which he saw a long time back in a Cannes show reel. However, he quickly adds that the execution puts across the message well. "Though the relationship started by fooling each other, when it came to making a commitment, they were true to one another."

Shouvik Gupta, executive creative director, Genesis Advertising, is glad that the ad is different from others in the category and that the message is relayed simply, without much layering.

Though the ad is simple, Gupta isn't sure how many will remember the brand, "because the moment the story ends, people may get busy with the fun part or start thinking about similar instances that happened in their life," he says.

The media mix for the campaign will include print and outdoor. The means of executing are being chalked out along the way. Prior to this campaign, some billboard activity was carried out in Mumbai and Kerala, as was train branding.

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